Note 31 — Chapter I · The Strategic Plan

Admiral Halsey advised Admiral Nimitz that, as a result of the strikes, few serviceable planes in the Philippines were left to the Japanese, the bulk of the enemy’s oil supplies was destroyed, there was “no shipping left to sink,” the “enemy’s non-aggressive attitude [was] unbelievable and fantastic,” and “the area is wide open.”31 Halsey also told Nimitz that one of his downed carrier pilots had been told by his Filipino rescuers that there were no Japanese on Leyte.32 He therefore felt that it was time to accelerate the operations in the Pacific, and he strongly recommended that the intermediate operations—Yap, Talaud, and the Sarangani Bay area on Mindanao—be canceled. Leyte could be seized immediately and cheaply without any intermediate operations. Halsey’s fleet could cover the initial landing until land-based aircraft could be established. The force intended for the occupation of Yap could be made available to General MacArthur.33