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ON the morning of the 19th, the bulk of the 7th Fleet started moving into Leyte Gulf. The weather had finally cleared, the sea calm and visibility perfect. The mines in the approaching channel had been earlier cleared by underwater "swimmers", but the Gulf itself was free of these.
Dulag would be shelled heavily this time to soften up the landing of the American troops the next day. So would other beaches in Palo and Tacloban. But it was Dulag which suffered heavily both in terms of human and material casualties. "There were towns such as Dulag that had been blasted from the face of the island under the shattering attack of our invasion," wrote Gen. Carlos P. Romulo. Starting at about 8:30 in the morning till noon that day, Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf's Fire Support Unit South showed the Japanese and the terrified residents what American firepower was. Many local residents died as a result of the American bombing. "The big guns of the ship poured a rain of destruction on the towns along the coast, smashing the flimsy buildings and setting fire to the debris," noted one American war correspondent The XXIV Corps was scheduled to land on the shores of Dulag the next day. In Tacloban's beaches, similar bombardments took place thirty minutes after Dulag. Roads, possible Japanese concentration points and pillboxes, dugouts, trenches and suspected camouflage on Japanese positions were mercilessly pounded with heavy mortar and artillery. Overhead, American planes from the cruisers hovered unopposed to direct fire and report results. |
In the meantime, starting on the 18th, Filipinos had started paying visits to the American ships lying close to the shore on board native bancas. Some of them were guerillas bringing information on the Japanese troops, but many were just plain civilians who could not wait to see their liberators. The Americans however did not discount the possibility of some Japanese spies among them. So some of the ships simply held all Filipino guests on board until after their main assault.
While the beaches were being bombarded, 7th Fleet Rear Admiral Thomas Sprague sent his fighters and dive bombers on selected targets in Leyte, other islands in the Visayas and northern Mindanao. Japanese airstrips were struck. Strangely, many of these appeared to be abandoned. Other targets included ground installations and vehicles. If there was any opposition, it was negligible. The lack of Japanese air activity indicated that the Sho plan was not working the way it should be. Their Fifth Base Air Force was insignificant. Their Sixth Base Air Force, which had earlier lost half its force in the Formosan battle, had not yet begun to redeploy. And their Fourth Air Army, which had more than a hundred planes in operation, was widely scattered. Only on the 19th did the Japanese attempt to break through the American air patrols with a handful of planes - unsuccessfully. But as a whole, the Japanese plan to stop the Americans before landing on Leyte's beaches was beginning to crumble. That signalled the end of the Sho plan. On board the American ships that evening, religious services were held, their prayers broadcast in the public address system for everybody to listen. Very few slept that night as the transports slipped through the channel between Homonhon and Dinagat islands. Tomorrow was A-Day. |
