Note 70 — Chapter XVI · The Fall of Ormoc

Ormoc, the largest and most important commercial center in western Leyte, possessed a concrete and pile pier at which a vessel with a sixteen-foot draft, and two smaller vessels, could anchor at the same time.70 On the route to Ormoc and in the town itself, the Japanese dug strong defensive positions. The favored sites were in bamboo thickets, on reverse slopes, along creek beds, and under buildings. Individual spider holes about six feet deep were covered with logs and earth and “beautifully camouflaged.” Against such positions, artillery and mortar fire did little more than daze the defenders. Each position had to be searched out and destroyed.71