Battle of Leyte Gulf (oct 23, 1944 – oct 26, 1944)
Description:
As the war in the Pacific continued, the allies kept going from island to island in a strategy called island hopping. This allowed them to take ground from Japan while avoiding the harshest fights. Eventually, the US had its eyes on the Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. 178000 troops, 738 ships, and General McArthur converged on the island. The Japanese however had a new tactic as well called the kamikaze attack. These were suicide bomber planes that flew their planes into ships to cause massive damage. This battle was disastrous for Japan, losing multiple battleships, aircraft carriers, and aircraft in a losing battle. When McArthur finally came ashore he stated "I have returned".Added to timeline:
Date:
oct 23, 1944
oct 26, 1944
~ 3 days