Originally Posted by dh76513

LeatherNeckRVA, like all the opinions expressed in these posts, I have no less respect for yours because we disagree over MacArthur. Furthermore, you have every right to like the man as I do to dislike him. However and in your words, “his [implying MacArthur’s Plan] landing at Leyte is considered miraculous.” I totally agree with you in that this was a brilliant plan. Unfortunately, you gave the credit for this plan to the wrong person. Based on the fact that naval reconnaissance revealed very limited Japanese activity in the Philippines, Admiral Halsey proposed this plan to land directly on Leyte in October. This plan actually led to a change in strategy and was quickly approved by the U.S. Chiefs of Staff, who were at that time attending a Quebec Conference. Strategically, Admiral Halsey’s plan was brilliant, because it would force the Japanese to split their forces in the Philippines and practically force the Japanese Combined Fleet to come out in the open to meet the threat. So as I previously noted, “The brilliant minds of naval leaders like Admirals William F. Halsey, Chester W. Nimitz, and Raymond A. Spruance were the real tacticians and heroes behind MacArthur’s claims to success in the Pacific Theater.”