Note 65 — Chapter VI · The Japanese Reaction

After the war, General Nishimura, who had been on the staff of the 14th Area Army, made the amazing statement that nearly 80 percent of the vessels sent to Ormoc were sunk en route. Although most of the vessels went down close enough to the Leyte shore for the troops to swim ashore, the equipment lost could not be replaced.65 It is estimated that the Japanese landed more than 45,000 troops and something over 10,000 tons of matériel.66