Philippines campaign (1944–1945)
Aspect of WWII history / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Philippines campaign, Battle of the Philippines, Second Philippines campaign, or the Liberation of the Philippines, codenamed Operation Musketeer I, II, and III, was the American, Mexican, Australian and Filipino campaign to defeat and expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines during World War II.
Philippines campaign (1944–1945) | |||||||||
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Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II | |||||||||
General Douglas MacArthur, President Osmeña, and staff land at Palo, Leyte on October 20, 1944. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Australia Mexico | |||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Douglas MacArthur Sergio Osmeña Chester W. Nimitz[lower-alpha 1] Walter Krueger Robert L. Eichelberger William Halsey Jr. Thomas C. Kinkaid George C. Kenney John Collins |
Tomoyuki Yamashita José P. Laurel Akira Mutō Sōsaku Suzuki † Shizuo Yokoyama Soemu Toyoda Takeo Kurita Jisaburō Ozawa Sanji Iwabuchi † | ||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
6th Army 6th Army Reserves 5th Air Force 3rd Fleet 7th Fleet Task Force 74 |
14th Area Army Directly controlled
Combined Fleet | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
1,250,000 30,000+ guerrillas[2] 208[3] |
529,802[4] ~6,000 militia[5][6][7] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Total: 220,000+ American Personnel:
Breakdown by service:
Materiel:
33+ ships sunk Unknown[15] ~10 (5 non-combat)[16] |
Total: 430,000 Japanese Personnel:
Materiel: 93+ ships sunk1,300 aircraft[12][14] |
The Imperial Japanese Army overran all of the Philippines during the first half of 1942. The liberation of the Philippines from Japan commenced with amphibious landings on the eastern Philippine island of Leyte on October 20, 1944. The United States and Philippine Commonwealth military forces, with naval and air support from Australia and the Mexican 201st Fighter Squadron, were progressing in liberating territory and islands when the Japanese forces in the Philippines were ordered to surrender by Tokyo on August 15, 1945, after the dropping of the atomic bombs on mainland Japan and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.