On October 20, 1944, at the crack of dawn, the "black cloak" gradually began to disappear, the battleships fired a salvo, and the thunderous cannons sounded around the cruiser Nashville, and the landing operation began.
Fired by the battleships, macArthur personally selected beachheads, from where they broke deep into Durag and Tacloban on the northeast coast of Leyte.
The choice of landing sites was exquisite, with Both Durag and Tacloban having Japanese airfields, and based on aircraft reconnaissance and intelligence provided by Filipino guerrillas, the defensive positions at the two beachheads were not strong.
The fleet was ready for a large-scale counterattack by the Japanese aircraft, but the only serious counterattack by the Japanese army was a small number of torpedo aircraft. The torpedoes avoided American fighter jets and anti-aircraft guns, wounding the heavy cruiser Honolulu, but for the large U.S. fleet, the losses were negligible.
An hour later, the transport ship sailed into the 7-mile offshore interchange area, and the soldiers entered the landing craft one after another. The main force of the landing was changed from the Marine Corps to the same army: Kruger's 6th Army, also known as the "Poplar Force", a total of 4 assault divisions, about 200,000 people.
During the transfer, the battleships stopped firing so that cruisers, destroyers, and rocket launchers could drive closer to the coast, and MacArthur's cruiser USS Nashville sailed into the bay and anchored 2 miles from the beach. MacArthur looked from the fence and could clearly see the sand marks on the beach by the waves, and he could also faintly see the city in the morning light and the jungle-covered mountains behind the city.
Durrage was MacArthur's first place of residence after graduating from West Point, when he was a captain in the Engineer Battalion, a young officer with great style, and now that he has entered the flower armor, Durage has not changed much.
Durrage, I'm back!
After several 10 minutes of barrage, the U.S. fleet again carried out bombardment. The initial explosive firing was replaced by a barrage of fire, and even "Nashville" joined in.
In the deafening sound of gunfire, thick columns of black smoke continued to rise from the ground, while densely packed carrier-based aircraft roared over people's heads and swooped down on The Japanese strongholds on the beach.
More spectacular scenes are yet to come. The rocket artillery boat was modified from an ordinary infantry landing craft, and at the sound of an order, thousands of rockets whizzed out of the gunboat, and the dazzling tail flames drew all kinds of chaotic patterns in the sky.
Only a loud cracking sound could be heard, and the entire coastline became a sea of fire. When the smoke cleared, the soldiers who had jumped on the landing craft could not believe their eyes: the shore where the dense trees had grown before was instantly in ruins.
At 9:45 a.m., speckled landing craft headed straight for the beach. The scene is extremely spectacular, if it were not for the smoke and flames rising on the coast, it would be like the migration of immigrants in large numbers.
MacArthur watched the battle progress on the bridge of Nashville, and despite the bumps of the warship, he stood motionless. At 1 p.m., he boarded a small landing craft with the new Philippine president, Osmina, chief of staff Satlan, air force commander Kenny, and several journalists.
From a young age, MacArthur, a senior commander, rarely carried weapons on the battlefield, and did not wear steel helmets unless it rained. In addition to the necessity of a large pipe in his mouth, he liked to hold a horse whip and rhythmically tap the polished high riding boots on his feet as if he were riding a horse. Many war correspondents jokingly referred to him as a "playboy in the military," and one reporter asked him in front of his face: "Why are you dressed so differently?" MacArthur was blunt: "To be famous in one fell swoop!" ”
Today's MacArthur has long been successful, but his habit of playing handsome has not changed at all. Before boarding the dinghy, he changed out of his clothes, which had been wet by the sea, and replaced them with a uniform that had just been ironed straight, followed by a pair of sunglasses, a pipe, and an old revolver left to him by his father.
The landing craft slowly rushed towards the beach against the waves. The sound of fighting grew louder and louder, and as the ship approached shore, the clatter of submachine guns and the cheers of the soldiers could be heard. MacArthur could even easily recognize the clattering of Japanese machine gun bullets less than a hundred yards off the coast.
MacArthur said to Osmina, "Ah, we're home!" Turning his head, he smiled again and patted Sutlán's knee: "Believe it or not, we're back anyway." ”
Just 10 yards offshore, the landing craft suddenly ran aground, its hull firmly sunk in the sand, and the bow ramp sank into the water with a cry like a camera shutter.
The shore was already crowded with landing craft, and the captain of the naval service in charge of the dispatch was so annoyed that he obviously had no patience to provide any special service for these senior army officers who had come to "fool around", so he shouted: "Come down and go!" ”
MacArthur and the others jumped into knee-deep water and waded into the water. They saw 4 larger landing craft being hit by Japanese mortars, 1 of which was still bubbling with flames. Kenny also noticed that there should be many Japanese snipers nearby, judging by the crackling sound of the three-eight rifles, some of the snipers were less than a hundred yards apart, which was exactly in line with MacArthur's observation.
Very adventurous, very dramatic, this is what MacArthur was like when he ascended to Philippine land. While filming this precious footage, the accompanying reporter heard MacArthur saying to himself, "This is exactly what I dreamed of!" ”
MacArthur strode ahead of the group, and it took him only thirty or forty steps to reach the beach, which were arguably the most meaningful steps he had ever taken.
Although he knew that the battle at the beachhead was not over and that the Japanese snipers were hiding in the bushes not far away, MacArthur looked as usual, chatting and laughing with the people around him.
A soldier saw him and quickly nudged his companion with his elbow: "Hey! General MacArthur! ”
The companion didn't even look up: "Ah, is it?" He probably brought Joan (MacArthur's wife) with him. ”
MacArthur loved to be in the limelight, but his adventure to land was not to simply "make a fool of himself". After asking the generals a few questions about the progress of the landing, he began to walk to the mobile radio stations that had been set up to radio address the Filipinos.