Leyte 1944

The loss of the Philippines in 1942 was the worst defeat in American military history. General Douglas MacArthur, the `Lion of Luzon`, was evacuated by order of the President just before the fall, but he vowed to return, and in August 1944 he kept his word when he led what, at the time, was the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific War on the island of Leyte. This is the full story of that fateful battle, one of the most ferocious campaigns of World War II and one of huge strategic and symbolic significance.