Note 3 — Chapter XVI · The Fall of Ormoc
Reading edition
In the latter part of November, Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, commanding general of the 14th Area Army, sent a liaison officer from his headquarters in Manila with orders to Lt. Gen. Sosaku Suzuki, the 35th Army commander, at Ormoc. General Yamashita is quoted as saying: “If the construction of air bases on Leyte is permitted to continue, the communications between the Southern areas and the homeland will be cut and this would be a serious situation. Therefore, we must occupy Burauen airfield as soon as possible and at the same time neutralize Tacloban and Dulag airfields. Moreover, we must annihilate the enemy’s air power.”3