Editing Battle of Leyte (section)

===Japanese counterattacks===
With 432,000 Japanese soldiers in the Philippines, General Yamashita decided to make Leyte the main effort of the Japanese defense, and on 21 October, ordered the [[Thirty-Fifth Army (Japan)|35th Army]] to coordinate a decisive battle with the Imperial Japanese Navy.{{sfn|Prefer|2012|pp=64, 73}}  The [[16th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|16th Division]] was to be reinforced by the 30th Infantry Division from Mindanao, landing on Ormoc Bay.{{sfn|Prefer|2012|p=64}}  The 102nd Infantry Division would occupy Jaro, where the 1st and [[26th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|26th Infantry Division]]s were concentrating.{{sfn|Prefer|2012|p=64}}  Battalions from the 55th and 57th Independent Mixed Brigades were on Leyte by 25 Oct.{{sfn|Prefer|2012|p=73}}

As the Sixth Army pushed deeper into Leyte, the Japanese struck back in the air and at sea. On 24&nbsp;October, some 200 enemy aircraft approached American beachheads and shipping from the north.{{sfn|Prefer|2012|p=70}} Fifty American land-based aircraft rose to intercept them, and claimed to have shot down between 66{{sfn|Prefer|2012|p=70}} and 84 of the attackers. Day and night air raids continued over the next four days,{{sfn|Prefer|2012|p=71}} damaging supply dumps ashore and threatening American shipping. But by 28&nbsp;October, counterattacks by US aircraft on Japanese airfields and shipping on other islands so reduced enemy air strength that conventional air raids ceased to be a major threat. As their air strength diminished, the Japanese resorted to the deadly ''[[kamikaze]]s'',{{sfn|Prefer|2012|p=71}} a corps of suicide pilots who crashed their bomb-laden planes directly into US&nbsp;ships. They chose the large American transport and escort fleet that had gathered in Leyte&nbsp;Gulf on A-day as their first target and sank one [[escort carrier]], the [[USS St. Lo|USS ''St. Lo'']], on 25 October 1944 and badly damaged many other vessels. This was the first instance of a major warship to be sunk by kamikaze attack.

[[File:Leyeteislandjapanese.jpg|thumb|upright|Four Japanese snipers shot and killed in the muddy water of a bomb crater]]
A more serious danger to the US forces developed at sea. The Imperial Japanese Navy's high command decided to destroy US Navy forces supporting the Sixth Army by committing its entire remaining surface fleet to a decisive battle with the Americans. The Imperial Navy's plan was to attack in three major task groups. One, which included four [[aircraft carrier]]s with few aircraft aboard, was to act as a decoy, luring the US 3rd&nbsp;Fleet north away from Leyte Gulf. 
[[File:U.S. AA at Tacloban in action.jpg|thumb|left|A US anti-aircraft gun at Tacloban airfield in action]]

On 23 October, the approach of the enemy surface vessels was detected. US naval units moved out to intercept, and the air and naval [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]]—the largest naval battle in the Pacific{{sfn|Prefer|2012|p=70}} and also one of the [[largest naval battle in history|largest naval battles in history]]<ref name="Woodward1947">{{cite book |title=The Battle for Leyte Gulf |last=Woodward |first=C. Vann |year=1947 |publisher=Macmillan |location=New York }}</ref>—was fought from 23 to 26&nbsp;October—the Japanese suffered a decisive defeat. Nonetheless, by 11&nbsp;December, the Japanese had succeeded in moving more than 34,000&nbsp;troops to Leyte and over {{convert|10000|ST|t|lk=on|abbr=on}} of material, most through the port of Ormoc on the west coast, despite heavy losses to reinforcement convoys, including engagements at [[Battle of Ormoc Bay|Ormoc Bay]], because of relentless air interdiction missions by US aircraft.