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67-665: Operation Musketeer may refer to: US military plans for the Philippines campaign (1944–1945) Operation Musketeer (1956) , the Anglo-French invasion of Egypt to capture the Suez Canal in 1956 Operation Musketeer (nuclear test) , a series of underground nuclear tests conducted by the United States in Nevada in 1985-87 Topics referred to by

134-612: A U.S. Army Corps. No agreement was ever reached between the Australian Cabinet and MacArthur – who might have wanted it that way. However, units from the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Australian Navy , such as the heavy cruiser HMAS  Australia , were involved. In addition to rejecting Australian ground troops MacArthur also rejected the use of Marines for major ground combat operations during

201-564: A large number of light cruisers and destroyers . The IJN was never able to fight a major battle after this. The U.S. Sixth Army continued its advance from the east, as the Japanese rushed reinforcements to the Ormoc Bay area on the western side of the island. While the Sixth Army was continually reinforced, the U.S. Fifth Air Force and the U.S. 3rd Fleet 's Task Force 38 were able to devastate

268-588: A larger and more streamlined form of airship designed by German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin , were outfitted to carry bombs to attack targets at long range. These were the first long range, strategic bombers. Although the German air arm was strong, with a total of 123 airships by the end of the war, they were vulnerable to attack and engine failure, as well as navigational issues. German airships inflicted little damage on all 51 raids, with 557 Britons killed and 1,358 injured. The German Navy lost 53 of its 73 airships, and

335-483: A major limitation, combined with the desire for accuracy and other operational factors, bomber designs tended to be tailored to specific roles. By the start of the war this included: Bombers of this era were not intended to attack other aircraft although most were fitted with defensive weapons. World War II saw the beginning of the widespread use of high speed bombers which began to minimize defensive weaponry in order to attain higher speed. Some smaller designs were used as

402-527: A means of evading detection and attack. Designs such as the English Electric Canberra could fly faster or higher than contemporary fighters. When surface-to-air missiles became capable of hitting high-flying bombers, bombers were flown at low altitudes to evade radar detection and interception. Once "stand off" nuclear weapon designs were developed, bombers did not need to pass over the target to make an attack; they could fire and turn away to escape

469-431: A means of evading detection and attack. With the advent of ICBMs the role of the bomber was brought to a more tactical focus in close air support roles, and a focus on stealth technology for strategic bombers. Strategic bombing is done by heavy bombers primarily designed for long-range bombing missions against strategic targets such as supply bases, bridges, factories, shipyards, and cities themselves, to diminish

536-502: A team of Army troops went ashore and pumped 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the fort, then set off incendiary charges. No Japanese soldiers in Fort Drum survived the blast and fire. As the fighting in Manila was coming to a close, the other challenge faced by newly liberated city was its water supply. The Shimbu Group under Gen. Shizuo Yokoyama fortified their positions east of Manila in

603-674: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Philippines campaign (1944%E2%80%931945) Liberation of the Philippines from Japan [REDACTED]   United States [REDACTED]   Japan [REDACTED] Navy Air Service Personnel: Materiel: 33+ ships sunk 95+ ships damaged 485+ aircraft [REDACTED] Filipino Unknown [REDACTED] Mexican Personnel: Materiel: Second Sino-Japanese War Luzon Mindanao Naval operations The Philippines campaign , Battle of

670-501: Is relatively dry – quite unlike Leyte which receives torrential rains most of the year, not only giving it poor flying weather, but making it very muddy and difficult to construct airfields. Mindoro was also the location of another breakthrough: the first appearance during the War in the Pacific of USAAF squadrons flying the fast, long-range P-51B Mustang fighters. Mindoro was a major victory for

737-488: Is typically assigned to smaller aircraft operating at shorter ranges, typically near the troops on the ground or against enemy shipping. This role is filled by tactical bomber class, which crosses and blurs with various other aircraft categories: light bombers , medium bombers , dive bombers , interdictors , fighter-bombers , attack aircraft , multirole combat aircraft , and others. The first use of an air-dropped bomb (actually four hand grenades specially manufactured by

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804-465: The Bataan Peninsula , and another, which included a parachute drop, south of Manila. Pincers closed on the city. On February 3, 1945, elements of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division pushed into the northern outskirts of Manila, and the 8th Cavalry Regiment (organized as infantry) passed through the northern suburbs and into the city itself. As the advance on Manila continued from the north and the south,

871-590: The Battle of Leyte Gulf , fought on October 23 through October 26. This decisive victory by the U.S. Navy, its Fast Carrier Task Force, its surface fleet , and its submarines effectively destroyed the remainder of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), which had already lost all of its effective aircraft carrier forces. The IJN had four of its carriers sunk (ships with depleted air squadrons – which were used only as decoys), numerous battleships and heavy cruisers , and

938-766: The Bristol Aeroplane Company . They were fitted with a prismatic Bombsight in the front cockpit and a cylindrical bomb carrier in the lower forward fuselage capable of carrying twelve 10 lb (4.5 kg) bombs, which could be dropped singly or as a salvo as required. The aircraft was purchased for use both by the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), and three T.B.8s, that were being displayed in Paris during December 1913 fitted with bombing equipment, were sent to France following

1005-585: The Filipino guerrilla resistance by U.S. Navy submarines and a few parachute drops, so that the guerrillas could harass the Japanese Army and take control of the rural jungle and mountainous areas – amounting to about half of the archipelago. While remaining loyal to the United States, many Filipinos hoped and believed that liberation from the Japanese would bring them freedom and their already-promised independence. The Australian government offered General MacArthur

1072-602: The Gilbert Islands , some of the Marshall Islands , and most of the Marianas Islands , bypassing many Japanese Army garrisons and leaving them behind, with no source of supplies and militarily impotent. Aircraft carrier -based warplanes were already conducting air strikes and fighter sweeps against the Japanese in the Philippines, especially their military airfields . U.S. Army and Australian Army troops under

1139-538: The Handley Page Type O ; the majority of bombing was done by single-engined biplanes with one or two crew members flying short distances to attack enemy lines and immediate hinterland. As the effectiveness of a bomber was dependent on the weight and accuracy of its bomb load, ever larger bombers were developed starting in World War I, while considerable money was spent developing suitable bombsights. With engine power as

1206-512: The Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945. However, some units of the Japanese Army were out of radio contact with Tokyo, and it was difficult to convince some of them that Japan had surrendered, becoming Japanese holdouts . As at many Pacific Islands, major Japanese officials, including members of the Imperial Family , visited in person to convince the soldiers that they must surrender by order of

1273-586: The Sierra Madre mountain range - practically controlling Ipo Dam , Wawa Dam , and its surrounding areas. The result was a seesaw battle, and the longest continuous combat engagement in the Southwest Pacific Theater from February 28 to May 30, 1945. Facing the Shimbu Group during the Battle of Wawa Dam and Battle of Ipo Dam was initially the 6th Army's XIV Corps , and this would later be replaced by

1340-542: The Sulu Archipelago . These islands provided bases for the U.S. Fifth and Thirteenth Air Forces to attack targets throughout the Philippines and the South China Sea . Following additional landings on Mindanao, U.S. Eighth Army troops continued their steady advance against stubborn resistance. By the end of June, the enemy pockets were compressed into isolated pockets on Mindanao and Luzon where fighting continued until

1407-620: The Turkish railway station of Karağaç (near the besieged Edirne ) from an Albatros F.2 aircraft piloted by Radul Milkov , during the First Balkan War . This is deemed to be the first use of an aircraft as a bomber. The first heavier-than-air aircraft purposely designed for bombing were the Italian Caproni Ca 30 and British Bristol T.B.8 , both of 1913. The Bristol T.B.8 was an early British single engined biplane built by

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1474-938: The V bomber force was phased out; the last of which left service in 1983. The French Mirage IV bomber version was retired in 1996, although the Mirage 2000N and the Rafale have taken on this role. The only other nation that fields strategic bombing forces is China , which has a number of Xian H-6s . Currently, only the United States Air Force , the Russian Aerospace Forces ' Long-Range Aviation command, and China's People's Liberation Army Air Force operate strategic heavy bombers. Other air forces have transitioned away from dedicated bombers in favor of multirole combat aircraft . At present, these air forces are each developing stealth replacements for their legacy bomber fleets,

1541-668: The XI Corps . While the fighting took 3 months, the American forces supported by Filipino guerilla forces led by Marcos "Marking" Agustin decimated the Shimbu Group, forcing Gen. Yokoyama to retreat his forces further east. In all, ten U.S. divisions and five independent regiments battled on Luzon, making it the largest American campaign of the Pacific war, involving more troops than the United States had used in North Africa, Italy, or southern France. Palawan Island , between Borneo and Mindoro,

1608-503: The 1950s-designed B-52s are projected to remain in use until the 2040s. Similarly, the Soviet Union used the intermediate-range Tu-22M 'Backfire' in the 1970s, but their Mach 3 bomber project stalled. The Mach 2 Tu-160 'Blackjack' was built only in tiny numbers, leaving the 1950s Tupolev Tu-16 and Tu-95 'Bear' heavy bombers to continue being used into the 21st century. The British strategic bombing force largely came to an end when

1675-477: The 6th Army and the USAAF, and it also provided the major base for the next move of MacArthur's 6th Army: the invasion of Luzon, especially at Lingayen Gulf on its western coast. On December 15, 1944, landings against minimal resistance were made on the southern beaches of the island of Mindoro, a key location in the planned Lingayen Gulf operations, in support of major landings scheduled on Luzon. On January 9, 1945, on

1742-615: The Allied Armies." When the war started, bombing was very crude (hand-held bombs were thrown over the side) yet by the end of the war long-range bombers equipped with complex mechanical bombing computers were being built, designed to carry large loads to destroy enemy industrial targets. The most important bombers used in World War I were the French Breguet 14 , British de Havilland DH-4 , German Albatros C.III and Russian Sikorsky Ilya Muromets . The Russian Sikorsky Ilya Muromets ,

1809-742: The American General Douglas MacArthur , the Supreme Commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations , had either overrun, or else isolated and bypassed, all of the Japanese Army on New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands . Before the invasion of the Philippines, MacArthur's northernmost conquest had been at Morotai in the Dutch East Indies on September 15–16, 1944. This was MacArthur's one base that

1876-402: The American invasion of Mindoro. Mindoro was only lightly occupied by the Japanese Army, and much of it was held by Filipino guerrillas, so Mindoro was quickly overrun. U.S. Army engineers set about rapidly constructing a major air base at San Jose . Besides being close to Luzon, Mindoro has another advantage: good flying weather nearly all the time, because this is a part of the Philippines that

1943-523: The Bataan Peninsula was rapidly secured. On February 16, paratroopers and amphibious units simultaneously assaulted the islet of Corregidor . Taking this stronghold was necessary because troops there could block the entrance of Manila Bay. The Americans needed to establish a major harbor base at Manila Bay to support the expected invasion of Japan, planned to begin on November 1, 1945. Resistance on Corregidor ended on February 27, and then all resistance by

2010-611: The Emperor. Upon the surrender of Japan, some 45,000 Japanese prisoners of war were in the custody of American authorities in the Philippines. These POWs were held in a number of camps around the country, and were used as labor for war reparation. Gen. MacArthur formed the Philippine War Crimes Commission , while Pres. Sergio Osmeña formed the National War Crimes Office. Both offices supported each other in

2077-589: The German Army lost 26 of its 50 ships. The Caproni Ca 30 was built by Gianni Caproni in Italy . It was a twin-boom biplane with three 67 kW (80 hp) Gnome rotary engines and first flew in October 1914 . Test flights revealed power to be insufficient and the engine layout unworkable, and Caproni soon adopted a more conventional approach installing three 81 kW (110 hp) Fiat A.10s . The improved design

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2144-637: The Italian naval arsenal) was carried out by Italian Second Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti on 1 November 1911 during the Italo-Turkish war in Libya – although his plane was not designed for the task of bombing, and his improvised attacks on Ottoman positions had little impact. These picric acid -filled steel spheres were nicknamed "ballerinas" from the fluttering fabric ribbons attached. On 16 October 1912, Bulgarian observer Prodan Tarakchiev dropped two of those bombs on

2211-516: The Japanese Army fighter planes. Upon Admiral Halsey's recommendation, the Combined Chiefs of Staff , meeting in Canada, approved a decision not only to move up the date for the first landing in the Philippines, but also to move it north from the southernmost island of Mindanao to the central island of Leyte , Philippines. The new date set for the landing on Leyte, October 20, 1944, was two months before

2278-689: The Japanese Empire ceased on August 15, 1945, obviating the need for an invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. Despite initial optimism, fighting in Manila was harsh. It took until March 3 to clear the city of all Japanese troops, and the Japanese Marines, who fought on stubbornly and refused to either surrender or to evacuate as the Japanese Army had done. Fort Drum , a fortified island in Manila Bay near Corregidor, held out until April 13, when

2345-470: The Japanese attempts at air attacks and at landing new reinforcements and supplies, and also provide much support to the Army's ground troops during what is known as the Battle of Ormoc Bay from November 11 to December 21, 1944. The Filipino guerrillas also performed valuable service in maintaining public order and in keeping the roads and highways free of congestion. After the American beachheads were established,

2412-633: The Japanese forces at Rabaul into military impotence. With victories in the Marianas campaign (on Saipan , on Guam , and on Tinian , during June and July 1944), American forces were getting close to Japan itself. From the Marianas, the very long-range B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers of the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) could bomb the Japanese home islands from well-supplied air bases – ones with direct access to supplies via cargo ships and tankers. (The earlier B-29 bombing campaign against Japan had been from

2479-600: The Leyte guerrilla groups were attached directly to the Sixth Army corps and divisions to assist in scouting, intelligence, and combat operations. With the initial U.S. Sixth Army landings on the beaches at Tacloban and Dulag, Colonel Ruperto Kangleon 's units went into action. They dynamited key bridges to block Japanese displacement toward the target area; they harassed enemy patrols; and they sabotaged supply and ammunition depots. Information on enemy troop movements and dispositions sent from guerrilla outposts to Kangleon's Headquarters

2546-521: The Philippines , Second Philippines campaign , or the Liberation of the Philippines , codenamed Operation Musketeer I, II, and III , was the American, Filipino, Australian, and Mexican campaign to defeat and expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines during World War II . The Imperial Japanese Army overran all of the Philippines during the first half of 1942. The liberation of

2613-464: The Philippines during the Battle of Leyte from October 21 to December 13. This small artillery corps was the only USMC ground combat unit that served in the Philippines in 1944-45. During the American re-conquest of the Philippines, the guerrillas began to strike openly against Japanese forces, carried out reconnaissance activities ahead of the advancing regular troops, and took their places in battle beside

2680-485: The Philippines from Japan commenced with amphibious landings on the eastern Philippine island of Leyte on October 20, 1944. The United States and Philippine Commonwealth military forces, with naval and air support from Australia and the Mexican 201st Fighter Squadron , were progressing in liberating territory and islands when the Japanese forces in the Philippines were ordered to surrender by Tokyo on August 15, 1945, after

2747-506: The Philippines, U.S. forces were aided by Filipino guerrillas to find and dispatch the holdouts , the last of whom, Hiroo Onoda , did not surrender until 1974, in the mountains of Lubang Island in Mindoro. The U.S. Eighth Army then moved on to its first landing on Mindanao (April 17), the last of the major islands of the Philippines to be taken. Mindanao was followed by invasion and occupation of Panay , Cebu , Negros and several islands in

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2814-523: The U.S. Army was always in control. The U.S. 6th Army's second major target to attack was Mindoro . This large island is directly south of Luzon and Manila Bay , and MacArthur's main goal in taking it was to be able to construct airfields on it for fighter planes that could dominate the sky over the most-important island of Luzon, with its major seaport and capital city of Manila . The Seventh Fleet's large invasion convoy from Leyte to Mindoro came under strong attack by kamikazes, but they could not delay

2881-788: The USAF with the Northrop Grumman B-21 , the Russian Aerospace Forces with the PAK DA , and the PLAAF with the Xian H-20 . As of 2021 , the B-21 is expected to enter service by 2026–2027. The B-21 would be capable of loitering near target areas for extended periods of time. Occasionally, military aircraft have been used to bomb ice jams with limited success as part of an effort to clear them. In 2018,

2948-549: The War as the German air arm was forced to concentrate its resources on a defensive strategy. Notably, bombing campaigns formed a part of the British offensive at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in 1915, with Royal Flying Corps squadrons attacking German railway stations in an attempt to hinder the logistical supply of the German army . The early, improvised attempts at bombing that characterized

3015-472: The advancing American divisions. On October 20, 1944, the U.S. Sixth Army , supported by naval and air bombardment, landed on the favorable eastern shore of Leyte , one of the islands of the Visayas island group, northeast of Mindanao. The Japanese miscalculated the relative strength of the naval and air forces, and they attempted to destroy the landing. This brought about the massive sequence of battles called

3082-620: The basis for night fighters . A number of fighters, such as the Hawker Hurricane were used as ground attack aircraft, replacing earlier conventional light bombers that proved unable to defend themselves while carrying a useful bomb load. At the start of the Cold War, bombers were the only means of carrying nuclear weapons to enemy targets, and had the role of deterrence . With the advent of guided air-to-air missiles, bombers needed to avoid interception. High-speed and high-altitude flying became

3149-489: The blast. Nuclear strike aircraft were generally finished in bare metal or anti-flash white to minimize absorption of thermal radiation from the flash of a nuclear explosion . The need to drop conventional bombs remained in conflicts with non-nuclear powers, such as the Vietnam War or Malayan Emergency . The development of large strategic bombers stagnated in the later part of the Cold War because of spiraling costs and

3216-565: The development of the Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) – which was felt to have similar deterrent value while being impossible to intercept. Because of this, the United States Air Force XB-70 Valkyrie program was cancelled in the early 1960s; the later B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit aircraft entered service only after protracted political and development problems. Their high cost meant that few were built and

3283-539: The dropping of the atomic bombs on mainland Japan and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria . By mid-1944, American forces were only 300 nautical miles (560 km) southeast of Mindanao , the largest island in the southern Philippines – and able to bomb Japanese positions there using long-range bombers . American forces under Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz had advanced across the Central Pacific Ocean , capturing

3350-420: The early part of the war slowly gave way to a more organized and systematic approach to strategic and tactical bombing, pioneered by various air power strategists of the Entente , especially Major Hugh Trenchard ; he was the first to advocate that there should be "... sustained [strategic bombing] attacks with a view to interrupting the enemy's railway communications ... in conjunction with the main operations of

3417-422: The end of a very long and tortuous supply line via British India and British Burma – one that proved to be woefully inadequate. All B-29s were transferred to the Marianas during the fall of 1944.) Although Japan was obviously losing the war, the Japanese Government , and the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, showed no sign of capitulation, collapse, or surrender. There had been a close relationship between

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3484-647: The enemy's ability to wage war by limiting access to resources through crippling infrastructure or reducing industrial output. Current examples include the strategic nuclear-armed bombers: B-2 Spirit , B-52 Stratofortress , Tupolev Tu-95 'Bear' , Tupolev Tu-22M 'Backfire' and Tupolev Tu-160 "Blackjack" ; historically notable examples are the: Gotha G.IV , Avro Lancaster , Heinkel He 111 , Junkers Ju 88 , Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress , Consolidated B-24 Liberator , Boeing B-29 Superfortress , and Tupolev Tu-16 'Badger'. Tactical bombing , aimed at countering enemy military activity and in supporting offensive operations,

3551-401: The enemy's ability to wage war by limiting access to resources through crippling infrastructure, reducing industrial output, or inflicting massive civilian casualties to an extent deemed to force surrender. Tactical bombing is aimed at countering enemy military activity and in supporting offensive operations, and is typically assigned to smaller aircraft operating at shorter ranges, typically near

3618-415: The fifth largest and westernmost island of the Philippines, was invaded on February 28 , with landings of the Eighth United States Army at Puerto Princesa . The Japanese put up little direct defense of Palawan, but cleaning up pockets of Japanese resistance lasted until late April, with the Japanese using their common tactic of withdrawing into the mountains and jungles, dispersed as small units. Throughout

3685-421: The outbreak of war. Under the command of Charles Rumney Samson , a bombing attack on German gun batteries at Middelkerke , Belgium was executed on 25 November 1914. The dirigible, or airship, was developed in the early 20th century. Early airships were prone to disaster, but slowly the airship became more dependable, with a more rigid structure and stronger skin. Prior to the outbreak of war, Zeppelins ,

3752-432: The people of the Philippines and the United States since 1898, with the Philippines becoming the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935, and promised their independence in mid-1946. Furthermore, an extensive series of air attacks by the American Fast Carrier Task Force under Admiral William F. Halsey against Japanese airfields and other bases on the Philippines had drawn little Japanese opposition, such as interceptions by

3819-432: The previous target date to land on Mindanao. The Filipino people were ready and waiting for the invasion. After General MacArthur had been evacuated from the Philippines in March 1942, all of its islands fell to the Japanese. The Japanese occupation was harsh, accompanied by atrocities and with large numbers of Filipinos pressed into slave labor . From mid-1942 through mid-1944, MacArthur and Nimitz supplied and encouraged

3886-425: The pursuit of war crimes trial in Tokyo , and later on the Philippine War Crimes Trial . In addition it is estimated that a million Filipino civilians were killed in the Philippines campaign. Bomber There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strategic bombing is done by heavy bombers primarily designed for long-range bombing missions against strategic targets to diminish

3953-434: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Operation Musketeer . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operation_Musketeer&oldid=995019934 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

4020-406: The south shore of Lingayen Gulf on the western coast of Luzon, General Krueger's Sixth Army landed his first units. Almost 175,000 men followed across the twenty-mile (32 km) beachhead within a few days. With heavy air support, Army units pushed inland, taking Clark Field , 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Manila, in the last week of January. Two more major landings followed, one to cut off

4087-505: The troops on the ground or against enemy shipping. During WWII with engine power as a major limitation, combined with the desire for accuracy and other operational factors, bomber designs tended to be tailored to specific roles. Early in the Cold War however, bombers were the only means of carrying nuclear weapons to enemy targets, and held the role of deterrence . With the advent of guided air-to-air missiles, bombers needed to avoid interception. High-speed and high-altitude flying became

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4154-410: The use of the First Corps of the Australian Army for the Liberation of the Philippines. MacArthur suggested that two Australian infantry divisions be employed, each of them attached to a different U.S. Army Corps , but this idea was not acceptable to the Australian Cabinet , which wanted to have significant operational control within a certain area of the Philippines, rather than simply being part of

4221-426: The whole 10 months of the Philippines campaign. The only contributions by the U.S. Marine Corps in this campaign were USMC aircraft and aviators, who greatly helped to provide air cover for the U.S. Army soldiers and assisted U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft, and one small USMC artillery unit, V Amphibious Corps (VAC) Artillery , commanded by Brigadier General Thomas E. Bourke . These 1,500 USMC artillerymen only fought in

4288-407: Was bought by the Italian Army and it was delivered in quantity from August 1915 . While mainly used as a trainer , Avro 504s were also briefly used as bombers at the start of the First World War by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) when they were used for raids on the German airship sheds. Bombing raids and interdiction operations were mainly carried out by French and British forces during

4355-473: Was dispatched immediately to Sixth Army. During many torrential rains and over difficult terrain, the advance continued across Leyte and onto the major island of Samar , just north of Leyte. On December 7, 1944, the U.S. Army units made another amphibious landing at Ormoc Bay and, after a major land and air battle, the landing force cut off all Japanese ability to reinforce and resupply their troops on Leyte. Although fierce fighting continued on Leyte for months,

4422-410: Was the first four-engine bomber to equip a dedicated strategic bombing unit during World War I . This heavy bomber was unrivaled in the early stages of the war, as the Central Powers had no comparable aircraft until much later. Long range bombing raids were carried out at night by multi-engine biplanes such as the Gotha G.IV (whose name was synonymous with all multi-engine German bombers) and later

4489-436: Was within bomber range of the southern Philippines. U.S. Navy , Marine Corps , and Army as well as Australian and New Zealand forces under the commands of General MacArthur and Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. in Operation Cartwheel had isolated the large Japanese South Pacific base at Rabaul , New Britain , by capturing a ring of islands around Rabaul, and then building air bases on them from which to bomb and blockade

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