# Battle of Leyte order of battle

On 20 October 1944, troops of the United States Sixth Army under the direct command of Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, invaded the Philippine island of Leyte. This operation was the beginning of General Douglas MacArthur's fulfillment of his promise in March 1942 to the Filipino people that he would liberate them from Japanese rule.
The choice of Leyte was the result of heated discussion at the highest levels of the US military and government. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest J. King had forcefully advocated for an invasion of the island of Formosa, about 300 miles (480 km) north of the Philippines, insisting that it would both bolster the morale of the Nationalist Chinese, then fighting the Japanese occupation of their country, and provide a much closer base for military operations against the Japanese home islands. In the event, MacArthur's viewpoint that the United States needed to be seen as following through on its promise to liberate the Filipino people from Japanese oppression won out.
Summary of US ground forces:
US Sixth Army Lieutenant General Walter Krueger Approx. 202,500 total officers and enlisted
    Northern landing area
       X Army Corps
       Lieutenant General Franklin C. Sibert
          Left: 24th Infantry ("Taro") Division
          Right: 1st Cavalry Division
    Southern landing area
       XXIV Army Corps
       Lieutenant General John R. Hodge
          Left: 7th Infantry ("Bayonet") Division
          Right: 96th Infantry ("Deadeye") Division
          Reserve: 11th Airborne ("Angels") Division
    Reserves
       Landed 14 Nov: 32nd Infantry ("Red Arrow") Division
       Landed 23 Nov: 77th Infantry ("Statue of Liberty") Division

## United States

Southwest Pacific Area General Douglas MacArthur
US Sixth Army Lieutenant General Walter Krueger Approx. 202,500 officers and enlisted
    Army-level units
       2nd Engineer Support Brigade
       6th Ranger Battalion
       21st Infantry Regiment

### Northern landing area

    X Army Corps
    Lieutenant General Franklin C. Sibert
       Embarked in Task Force 78 under Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey
    Left sector (Red Beaches)
       24th Infantry ("Taro") Division
       Major General Frederick A. Irving
          Infantry
             Left: 19th Infantry Regiment
             Right: 34th Infantry Regiment
                CMoH recipients: Pvt. Harold H. Moon Jr. (KIA 21 Oct), Sgt. Charles E. Mower (KIA 3 Nov), Capt. Francis B. Wai (KIA 20 Oct)
          Artillery
             13th, 52nd, 63rd FA Battalions (105mm)
             11th FA Battalion (155mm)
          Division troops
             3rd Engineer Combat Battalion
             24th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
             24th Medical Battalion
             24th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
    Right sector (White Beaches)
       1st Cavalry Division
       Major General Verne D. Mudge
          1st Cavalry Brigade HQ
             Left: 5th Cavalry Regiment
             Center: 12th Cavalry Regiment
          2nd Cavalry Brigade HQ
             Right: 7th Cavalry Regiment
             Reserve: 8th Cavalry Regiment
          61st, 82nd, 99th, 271st FA Battalions (105mm)
          302nd Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
          603rd Medium Tank Company
          801st Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

### Southern landing area

    XXIV Army Corps
    Lieutenant General John R. Hodge
       Embarked in Task Force 79 under Vice Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson
    Left sector (Yellow and Violet Beaches)
       7th Infantry ("Bayonet") Division
       Major General Archibald V. Arnold
          Infantry
             Left (Yellow): 184th Infantry Regiment
             Right (Violet): 32nd Infantry Regiment
             Reserve: 17th Infantry Regiment
                CMoH recipients: PFC Leonard C. Brostrom (KIA 28 Oct), PFC John F. Thorson (KIA 28 Oct)
          Artillery
             48th, 49th, 57th FA Battalions (105mm)
             31st FA Battalion (155mm)
          Division troops
             7th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
             13th Engineer Combat Battalion
             7th Medical Battalion
             7th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
    Right sector (Blue and Orange Beaches)
       96th Infantry ("Deadeye") Division
       Major General James L. Bradley
          Infantry
             Left (Blue): 382nd Infantry Regiment
                CMoH recipient: Pvt. Ova A. Kelley (KIA 10 Dec)
             Right (Orange): 383rd Infantry Regiment
             Reserve: 381st Infantry Regiment
          Artillery
             361st, 362nd, 921st FA Battalions (105mm)
             363rd FA Battalion (155mm)
          Division troops
             96th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
             321st Engineer Combat Battalion
             321st Medical Battalion
             96th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
       Other units
          20th Armored Group
          503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment
    XXIV Corps Reserve – Landed 18 Nov
       11th Airborne ("Angels") Division
       Major General Joseph M. Swing
          Infantry
             187th Glider Infantry Regiment
             188th Glider Infantry Regiment
             511th Parachute Infantry Regiment
                CMoH recipient: Pvt. Elmer E. Fryar (KIA 8 Dec)
          Artillery
             674th Glider FA Battalion (75mm)
             675th Glider FA Battalion (75mm)
             457th Parachute FA Battalion (75mm)
          Division troops
             127th Airborne Engineer Battalion
             157th Airborne Anti-Aircraft Battalion
             221st Airborne Medical Company
             11th Parachute Maintenance Company
    Other XXIV Corps units
       20th Armored Group
       503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment

### Sixth Army reserve

    Landed 14 Nov, relieved 24th Inf. Div.
       32nd Infantry ("Red Arrow") Division
       Major General William H. Gill
          Infantry
             126th Infantry Regiment
                CMoH recipients: PFC Dirk J. Vlug, Sgt. Leroy Johnson (KIA 15 Dec), PFC William A. McWhorter (KIA 5 Dec)
             127th Infantry Regiment
             128th Infantry Regiment
          Artillery
             120th, 126th, 129th FA Battalions (105mm)
             121st FA Battalion (155mm)
          Division troops
             114th Engineer Combat Battalion
             32nd Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
             107th Medical Battalion
             32nd Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
    Landed 23 Nov south of Ormoc
       77th Infantry ("Statue of Liberty") Division
       Major General Andrew D. Bruce
          Infantry
             305th Infantry Regiment
                CMoH recipient: Lt. Robert B. Nett
             306th Infantry Regiment
                CMoH recipient: PFC George Benjamin Jr.
             307th Infantry Regiment
          Artillery
             304th, 305th, 902nd FA Battalions (105mm)
             306th FA Battalion (155mm)
          Division troops
             302nd Engineer Combat Battalion
             77th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
             302nd Medical Battalion
             77th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

## Japan

Southern Army (Southeast Asia) Field Marshal Count Hisaichi Terauchi at Manila
    Fourteenth Area Army
    General Tomoyuki Yamashita
       Thirty-Fifth Army
       Lieutenant General Sosaku Suzuki
          1st Division
          16th Division
          26th Division
          102nd Division
          Elements of 30th Division
          54th Independent Mixed Brigade
          55th Independent Mixed Brigade
          68th Independent Mixed Brigade
       Third Shipping Transport Command
       Major General Masazumi Inada
    Leyte Defense Forces
       16th Division
       Lieutenant General Shiro Makino
          9th Infantry Regiment
          20th Infantry Regiment
          33rd Infantry Regiment
          22nd Artillery Regiment
          16th Engineer Regiment
          Miscellaneous units
             2nd Company, 16th Transport Regiment
             7th Independent Tank Company
             16th Division Special Troops
             Thirty-Fifth Army Depots units
             Elements, 63rd Motor Transport Battalion
             316th Independent Motor Transport Company
             317th Independent Motor Transport Company
       34th Air Sector Command
          98th Airfield Battalion
          114th Airfield Battalion
          54th Airfield Company
          2nd Airfield Construction Unit
          11th Airfield Construction Unit
       Naval Land Forces
          Elements, 36th Naval Garrison Unit
          311th Naval Construction Unit
    Air Forces
       Fourth Air Army at Manila
       Lieutenant General Kyoji Tominaga
          2nd Air Division
          4th Air Division
       IJN Fifth Base Air Force under on Formosa
       Vice Admiral Kinpei Teraoka