When Japanese intelligence deduced that Leyte was where the next enemy blow would fall, the destination was a bit of a surprise to the high command. At first it was assumed, as MacArthur himself had pointed out to Roosevelt, that the initial target would be the large southern island of Mindanao. But during a series of carrier-launched air raids and fighter sweeps by Halsey’s marauding fleet earlier in the summer, a U.S. flier was shot down over Leyte Island. He was rescued by friendly locals and eventually returned to his ship. He reported to Halsey that Leyte appeared to be much less defended than believed.
This confirmed the admiral’s own suspicions. He’d noticed that few fighters were rising up to challenge his on-going raids on the island. Perhaps the timetable could be accelerated and Leyte, not Mindanao, should be where the first landings were made.
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