Note 2 — Chapter II · The Nature of the Target
Reading edition
The northeastern Visayan group, which consists mainly of Leyte and Samar, was selected as the point of entrance into the Philippines. Leyte had the higher potential military value. The air distance from the capital city of Tacloban to Manila is 295 miles. Leyte is a natural gateway to the rest of the Philippines, and its possession would greatly facilitate and support further operations to the north as well as expedite control over the remaining islands in the Visayan group.2