The Liberation of Leyte Part 2 with John McManus-Episode 332 

Vote in favor of Seth's introduction of CMDR. Toti ✓ 👍 Mad respect for this podcast.

I remember my wife’s grandmother telling me about the Americans coming back when she was 14 years old, and how a medic gave her some chocolate and medical supplies and food to her father. I’ll never forget her telling me of Japanese soldiers bayoneting babies and seeing them round up the men in her village and shooting them just after her father rounded her and her brother up and headed for the hills where they saw the massacre. She was crying as she told me that. Her brother flew an American flag in front of his house until he died.

My grandmother and grandfather on maternal side were 7 and 11 yrs old during the liberation of the Philippines. Today they were in their late 80s and every now and then they will tell me stories during their childhood. Stories about Yamashita and crimes they committed, stealing their farm animals and other crops. During the occupation; food were scarce and if lucky enough meals for them comes by once a day or maybe every other day. Salt were scarce because our province were landlock in particular and few crops were planted in the middle of the forest to prevent the japanese in stealing them. They would tell me about hundreds of plane dopping bombs and them hunkering down on little dug out under their tents for protection. Upon liberation, my gandmother sidehustle will be singing children songs in front of few GIs in exchange of chocolates as they reminded them about their young children back home.My grandfather remembered planting sweet potatoes for food consumption and battle-fatigued soldiers with their rations. Until now, marching soldiers in the middle of the night scared them. Hopefully they will have a lot of years more in them, they really had a tough childhood.

I think this podcast about the pacific is the finest on the internet😊

So many of the comments are appreciative of the Unauthorized History of the Pacific War as entertainment. I am disturbed by that. Should I be? I was only in the USN for two years, treating casualties from Vietnam, never under fire myself, but in direct exposure to the consequences of real battle, which I think is massively underappreciated by those of us living today. The descriptions of the combat in these episodes are graphic and give me appreciation of how much I owe to so few of my generation who actually fought. That is equally true of the Greatest Generation period of WW2. The actual number of those at the tip of the spear was miniscule compared to the number in support, both in and out of uniform. And the role of those at the spear's tip was so critical and their experience so vital that they got sent back far beyond what we would think fair today. Nowhere was this more true than in front line infantry units. ONE tour was more than one's share. I think of Andrew Haldane's death on his THIRD campaign as a massive injustice to him and his family, but the fact that he and men like him, John Basilone, wanted nothing more than to be with " their men". Thank you from the hearts of any American who has any idea of the gifts we have been given. I hope that this series of histories illuminates the landscape in truth. Soli Deo Gloria. And Semper Fi.

Most of us know all about the Naval Battles of Leyte Gulf. However very little is ever said about the land battle of Leyte. Seth ,Bill and John thank you for all the hard work for this excellent two part presentation.

The atrocious weather, a vicious, determined enemy, the lack of infrastructure and massive logistics difficulties combined to make Leyte a terrible battle. The Greatest Generation soldiered on so stoically. We owe so much to those magnificent people. Soldiering in the wet is so difficult, but they persisted and sacrificed. Awe inspiring.

I am just so moved by this whole series. Thank you so much for all the effort that you both and your guests put into this.

Thank you Seth. Thank you Bill. These gentlemen have yet to disappoint me, always providing intelligent entertainment & fine guest speakers. Lest We Forget. 🦀 🇦🇺 ✌️

Thank you Seth and Bill. John McManus is a real star. Just like John Parshall. I really look up to all of you as the cool guys.

My great uncle paid a Filipino boy to work for them running errands and cleaning their clothes. He also was present at the flag raising in Manila later on. He snapped a photo. 7th Inf Div, 49th FA. He trained for desert warfare with Patton, then shipped out to Alaska. Ended the war in Korea.

Excellent conversations! Thank you.

It hard to believe Americans don’t know history. It’s a sin. Thanks for this effort.

The episode and series is superior in all respect.

Love these podcast every Tuesday my favorite day

A great overview of a very difficult battle. Having had the disappointment of the several failed airstrips in northern New Guinea, I am surprised there was not checking of the Leyte strips or land for suitability before landing on Leyte. The description of the U.S. troops in small cut off cells supplied by air is really reminiscent of the experience of the Australians at Sattleburg, Lae and the like where the lack of troops meant that continuous lines were impossible. A key to holding these was the patrolling out from them. There were some U.S. troops involved in some of those battles and it is possible that those tactics would not have worked in a different jungle terrain on the Philippines. A number of excellent videos on those battles (and others in PNG), which this channel has not covered are on the Hypothetical History channel. That channel’s video on Gona Buna is worth watching back to back with Seth and Bill for each video adds to the other.

I had an uncle (my Mothers half-brother - James Moscow Mayfield), on Swordfish (USS - 193). She was lost in early January or February 1945 a good bit north of Okinawa. Any chance of an episode on the history of at least some of the less famous lost submarines? Either way, thanks again for your already exceptional efforts. Your appreciation and respect for these incredible young men comes clearly through.

The gunshot to the chest story, through the lung, is believable as long as he didn’t develop tension pneumothorax which would have created a more urgent problem. Amazing endurance, regardless.

You guys are accurate! You blast Mcarthur on other episodes but give him his due here. I really appreciate the quality of your material.

Great talk. Interesting detail about MacArthur's five stars. It's interesting to me there is the Formosa v Philippines invasion debate, but I don't hear controversy about bypassing Mindanao. There's a great reason to land there: it's on the southern edge of the typhoon belt and rarely experiences a direct hit. From 1900 to 1944 a total of four typhoons hit Mindanao directly. More often northern Mindanao experiences much rain from the storms making landfall in the Visayan typhoon alley (Central Philippines). Leyte and Samar (to the east of Leyte) are two of the islands most often walloped by tropical storms and typhoons. The Philippines sees on average 20 major tropical storms and typhoons annually. For the archipelago, October and November are the two months with the most typhoon activity, followed by September and December, and the late-season storms more often hit the Visayas directly than Luzon, which sees the bulk of early-season storms. Southern Mindanao, which was to be invaded on 25 Nov 1944 (based on MacAuthor's two-phase invasion plan of June '44), gets the least amount of rainfall of the entire country, averaging 250 to 500mm per annum whereas Leyte sees 1000 to 1250mm. Another reason: Mindanao was a hotbed of well-organised anti-Japanese guerrilla activity such as United States Forces in the Philippines (USFIP) commanded by Colonel Wendell Fertig - seven major groups were operating on the island. Eastern Zamboanga and Misamis Occidental provinces were under anti-Japanese administration by March '43. The airfield at Del Monte in northern Mindanao had supported US bombers during Japan's invasion, so it was well developed (in the Philippine context). The flight distance from Davao to Ormoc, Leyte (the site of Japanese landings) is 450 km (280 miles), so the subsequent invasion of Leyte would have had far better air support. About 35k insurgents operated on the island by late '44 and most were under unified command, so there was very good coordination. They were so successful at coast watching, gathering intel on troop locations and stealing military documents, facilitating surprise US air raids, and denying the Japanese control of much of the island (except Davao that had about 20k troops) that MacArthur felt confident bypassing it for Leyte because the Mindanao air threat to his flank had been neutralised. Yes, Mindanao had more IJA personnel based there, estimated to be 50k in mid '44, but the Japanese were able to redeploy about 35k troops to Leyte from other Visayan islands, Luzon (that had the bulk of the forces), and even Mindanao (two battalions from the 41st regiment of the 30th division on Mindanao landed on Leyte 20 Oct) that the US advantage slipped away as it struggled in the typhoons, rain, and mud as well as the problems that cascade from those. Not enough covering air and naval support was available to prevent the substantial enemy troop influx between late October to almost mid December. I get MacArthur's decision to leap to Leyte (fewer IJA and nearer Luzon), but the timing seems off. Based on his June plan, Mindanao was to be 25 Nov and Leyte three weeks later and much nearer the end of the typhoon season.

I made sure the family of Robert Nett was advised. Of this podcast. They were greatly appreciative

Your episodes have certainly raised the benchmark with factual details of whatever subject you review and share. I now take notes to possibly use information which is relevant to actions with main characters and events that occurred during World War Two in the Pacific Theater. For me, this info is gold being a volunteer at the Oregon Military Museum to share with visitors.

My father thought the campaign in New Guinea was much tougher than this campaign, the 19th inf was with the 24th at PH then moved around as required. The typhoon was always brought up at the reunions. Kruger was well respected by the men, Mac not so much. MacArthur was a known prima donna, who loved showing his courage, like Patton; they had a noted show of courage in WW I during an artillery barrage where they stood next to each other as the German guns walked to them. I look forward to your weekly graduate course in Pacific war history.

Seth, Captain Toti and Professor John, thanks so much for your work, research etc. bringing this great history to interested parties. I value your efforts. Thanks again, you're appreciated.

The best on the subject that I have ever seen. I don't think anyone could do any better!

Love it, my uncle died in the Battle of Leyte and this is great info. Thanks!

Seth and Bill, Ha, In response to your mentioning of William Manchester's " American Caesar, I'm just gotten to the attack on Pearl Harbor, fascinating reading. 012

Yet another episode that ratifies the comments below, likes, follows, view count, and kudos you've received for your stellar work on this series. Thank you very much!

Wow, I really respect you guys and appreciate what you do and that came to me by my father who was a 19-year-old Hellcat pilot on the Enterprise in 1944 in VF-20. We first started watching WWII documentaries starting with Victory at Sea in 1952.

Thanks, guys. Bravo Zulu!

Brilliant episode, thank you.

Keep up excellent work. Thankyou for ur service bill Toti.

Knocked it out of the park…again. Thank you.

These last two episodes are the ones I've been waiting for, and you guys didn't disappoint. About the 11th ABN, they went in as infantry but did use their airborne capabilities during the Leyte campaign. They parachuted an arty battery and cannoneers onto a plateau they were using as a base, as well as some engineers, and the lone officer or two as needed. Keep up the good work.

I am way behind schedule because of reasons so I listen it just now, but excellent material as usual. Thanks guys!. Thanks John!

"God will NOT permit this!" One of my favorite movie scenes of all time. I have no idea whether it's true, but it might as well have been. Fun useless fact: I was related to George C. Scott through my grandmother Susie Scott. I'm not looking forward to Manila, but will watch it. The older I get, the more squeamish I become.

Many thanks. The best to look forward to every week.

I have never considered this particular 'invasion' force before; and the following campaign. Thankyou once again gentlemen.

Good morning, something good ,interesting to watch and listen. Thanks.

Thank you for these last 2 episodes. The retaking of the Philippines is so glossed over. I hadn't known the fighting was so intense not only on Luzon but Leyte as well. That is a failing on my part but also history instructors.

Another great Torpedo Tuesday this time without torpedoes. I have read a book in the past about the Japanese stragglers on Leyte. Very fascinating as well as grousome. Captain Toti, when you questioned whether Patton had said his divine right speech, it made me think of the MacArthur movie about Leyte. Did MacArthur say, "they are about to see I can't walk on water", when coming ashore?

Prelude to "Rampage". James M. Scott would be a good guest to have for that one. It will be a dark episode; brace.

I read the comments start to finish and your audience loves you. You guys ARE APPRECIATED!

Thanks!

Great as ever guys.. thanks again!

I hope John writes a book about the 11th airborne!

Off subject- For Capt. Toti, bucket list to visit. Toti Island 55° 24' 45" N 133° 7' 18" W, Located 4 NM SSW of Craig AK. Toti Island in Detail. Spanish name given in 1775-79 by Juan de la Bodega y Quadra and Francisco Antonio Maurelle as "Isla Toti," meaning "robber island." The translation of this name was used by U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) but was discontinued in 1922, beacuse of confusion with Ladrones Islands. No islands found under Peridon. Thank you for educating and entertaining thousands with your program. Best there is!

Apocalypse Now was filmed on Leyte and Luzon. Both Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando along with others experienced total physical breakdowns due to the heat, monsoons, and generally pestilential conditions of the jungles there. This was from just simulating combat... being an infantry soldier there in late '44 was rough....

Just like Italy's mountain ranges that aided the German defense of Italy. Very tough on the infantry. Everything is tough on dogfaces at the tip of the spear.

This campaign is as nasty as any in Europe. So funny. The anecdote about the Five Stars is so funny and so human. Even old men can still be little boys down deep, even in the desperate times in which they held enormous responsibility, literally the weight of the world.

Tuesday is still the best day of the week!!

Fantastic as always. More more more please!

My Dad was in the 34th, they took 65% casualties on Leyte. 68 straight days in combat.

What a heavy-duty loss the McNair men were to General Bruce. And the anecdote of the Ward's loss. "YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!" You men know how to weave these human interest moments in with the flow of the action. The woulda, coulda of this campaign. "This is very messy" is exactly right per John McManus. So right. "An infantry man's fight." That's a great summation of this fight. "Don't have to take a bullet to be a casualty here!" What an environment!

Seth and John are very correct about MacArthur's physical courage. Israeli Gen. Moshe Dayan had the same trait.

I think the most happiest time in Macs life was when he was reunited with general wainright,and then have him stand there in front of the japanese delegation while they signed the surrender on board the missouri.I have to wonder what was going thru his mind while starring at them across the surrender table.

The Skipper might not be a historian but he's purty damn good.

The ordeals and sacrifices of the soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen awe me. Listening to at least some of your episodes should be required in all US History classes, both in high school and college.

It’s interesting when talking about similarities, how similar the situation was to the Battle of the Bulge, about to start in Europe. The Germans threw the last of their best in men and material to stop the allies and in the process, ultimately greatly reduced their strength to resist going forward.

I've been in the Philippines in monsoon season. Literally, rain drops the size of a VW beetle.

Informative. Engaging. Entertaining. Another excellent episode. Thank you, gents.

Great show gentlemen.

Damn, I was just watching All and James also...

John. Please write a book about my grandfathers unit 11th airborne!

I watched the movie McArthur the other day....great movie and I also have the movie Patton as well......GC Scott was one of my favourite actors.....thanks.....

My father was in the Philippines in 44 / 45, with the U.S. marines. He turned 15 years old there (he lied about his age). I did not think a lot about that until this series, that prompted me to dig deeper. I quickly discovered, there were not that many marines in the Philippines overall, and my father was trained as a forward artillery observer. Now, as the story goes, my father lied about his age to get in to the marines. He manged to make it to the Pacific. Some officer in the Philippines realized how young he was, and assigned him to safer jobs involving "staying with gear in the rear", and he completed his tour. He exited with an honorable discharge Ironically, my father got a draft notice for Korea some years later, showed up at the draft board, and they were not expecting someone so young to be a vet (thus exempt). He asked if he could volunteer for the Marines anyway. Off he went to Korea. Decades later he once told me he had the bad luck of being under McArthur's command for two wars, and the only thing a Marine feared was an Army General in command. 😆 I am still working on piecing together what he did. I still have a photo of my dad and a friend standing on essentially "moonscape" of the Philippines, full of shell holes. Not a plant or blade of grass anywhere. Basically 1-2 shells per meter had turned up the dirt they are standing on. The saddest and ironic thing of all, we both have history degrees focusing on WWII, and we never really talked about his experience in WWII in any great depth. We Basically read the same books, and talked about everything, but his experience. He was always very vague about the subject, and would quickly deflect any questions to some humorous antidote (e.g. how friendly the girls were in the Philippines). So, to anyone that knew a vet that would not talk about the war, my father really had no excuse. We talked about everything to do with WWII, but his experience.

It should be noted Rod Serling was in the 11th in the Philippines. His experience obviously inspired The Twilight Zone episode "the purple testament." In regard to the Ward. When asked about scuttling her Otterbridge said "it had to be done."

Hi, love your videos.@31 minutes. IF Dug out Doug is in fact facing more danger here- How and why did he get that nick name? And another thing. What is the extent of Mac Arthurs holdings in the Philippines- R.E. homes and businesses??? Is it true he ownd a brewery?

Even if the Americans didn't get what they want on Leyte, did it really matter? Up to this point in the war, I think, it didn't play that much of a role where the Japanese were forced to spent their rare forces. The important thing is, they were forced to spent their forces somewhere. May it be Leyte, Luzon or the Arctic. The numbers already have started to tell... And one more thing: Would you like to make an episode, for all us non-sailors, about how a WW2-era ship works? What were the different stations on a ship, the weapons systems, what were the duties of the crew and stuff like this?

Twilight Zone's Rod Serling Fought And Was Wounded Here, Even Made An Episode About The Soldiers Here Called, "A Quality Of Mercy."

I’ve had to watch this episode in multiple installments; every 15-20 minutes I’ve got to stop to and come back hours later or even days later. Why? Because if I watch it all at once, I have to suffer the awful withdrawal until my next fix! It’s horrible, I know…. I agree…. unacceptable! These boys are going to have to start slanging that fire Pacific War content more often! Lolol I’m a sick person, I know.

"With a great big Army; and a few Marines;...."

Good description of the battle sounds like the Vietnam of the Philippines campaign.

When you see a wounded soldier laying on a stretcher in the mud and water and his buddies holding his helmet over the head so he does not have the rain in his face, it explains why many returning soldiers have psychological problems for the rest of their lives. Most of us, including me, can only imagine living through such conditions for days or weeks without the thought of the bullets coming your way at some of the time. That is why they are known as our greatest generation, none of them had gender issues.

The 77th or aka "The Old Bastards" were a tough group. They had one of the highest kill/death ratios of any division in the Pacific and the lowest amount of official prisoners of war taken. I don't know if this is true but I was told they fought so hard that the Marines started calling them the 77th Marine division. If true that is probably the hardest earned honor ever.

Please tell me we're going to discuss Cohima/Imphal and the Battle of the Tennis Court. The world wonders. Over.

I guess MacArthur couldn't seriously assume that any schmock could hurt HIM actually. "This is ME. Se ya later Dear Fate - try harder next time."

While you are on the Philippines will you be discussing the Los Banos Raid?

1:11:30 Last week I was almost joking in saying MacArthur was "on a mission from God" only it seems I wasn't the only one...

Don't forget the 11th airborne raid on Los Banos, Luzan

Rough fight for the Army infantry, they did well. Awful conditions, determined enemy, very unsung.

The battle sounds in many ways similar to the Burma battles during 1944 as well. No real front line, extremely difficult terrain. Little to nonexistant road or rail infrastructure, and a huge reliance on air dropped supplies and a general reverting to animal transport (especially mules) in the British, Indian and African (at least one West African and East African Division fought in Burma with the 14th Army) units simply because mules could at least GET to the troops, lorries.... not so much. The major difference is that by 1944 the 14th Army at least fought under pretty much total air superiority, even air dominance. The British there, knowing units *were* going to be cut off instituted the 'Box', where surrounded troops would form a defensive Box, be entirely supplied by air, and essentially hang on until relieved. And it did not only happen to combat troops, the battle of the Admin Box as it suggests was mostly (though not entirely) fought by rear echelon troops!

Cmdr Toti has dived to periscope depth with his camera slot moved from top right to the lower spot occupied usually by John Parson.

Amateurs talk strategy and tactics. Professionals talk logistics. Time for the Sea Bees.

CONSIDERING.. the current Middle East and expanding areas That you Bill laid down the MESSIANIC word; really targets a warrior’s sense of destiny

As much as I do NOT like/respect/admire Dugout Doug, his personal courage (bravado?) is never really in question. Check his WWI record. And, of course, he did have to follow his father's example at Misionary Ridge...

Would've, should've, could've, just maybe, just....

Too bad they didnt tell the incredible MOH story of PFC Harold Moon of the 34th Infantry the first night of the battle. 200 yes 200 dead Japanese were found around his foxhole as he battled alone that night

Just a comment on the Robert Nett story. I don’t want to minimize his heroic actions, but the idea that he suffered a “nicked jugular vein” and kept going without treatment seems inconceivable. I’m a retired general surgeon, and, if indeed, he was actually hit in the jugular vein, he would have needed immediate attention or he would have likely bled to death. Perhaps a tributary of the Jugular or other vessel in the vicinity. Any hole, other than something extremely tiny, would not have allowed him to continue. It would be a little like saying he was “shot in the heart”, but kept on going for two hours before receiving treatment. No significant injury to the jugular would have allowed that.

Whether you see them as right or wrong (from everything I have read about Patton and MacArthur) both had big heads about themselves - here is the difference: Patton believed he had been reincarnated over and over, and that God used him as a battle axe and therefore God would keep him around for that purpose; MacArthur made himself out to be god and believed it - nothing can happen to god.

Anyone interested in starting a competitive Shuttlecock team to represent the the Bilao Class Submarine Bildge Pump Association in the upcoming Bildge games?

Not sure why you say they didn’t get air fields. It was hard to move north to Luzon with Japanese airfields at your back. The. Real question is did they need Luzon since they went to Okinawa. But of course any good strategist knows it’s the enemy force not terrain as the key objective.

Don't know why you don't mention the role of Marine Air in supporting the Army with close air support ...

Also know that glider infantry regiments only had two battalions at this time.

FYI, Toti Island, the Marines did not land there.

Are there any pictures of ridge. So we can see what they were going up against.

So did this wrap up 1944 and this season of the podcast?

John, the 77th ID was not, and never was a National Guard division. It was a National division.

MacArthur was not afraid to die

up to 31k. i came in at 5k