The Pittsburgh Press (October 20, 1944)
Japs call invasion election move
By the United Press
Jap propaganda on the invasion of the Philippines took the line today that the operation was ordered by President Roosevelt so the “defeat” of the U.S. Fleet off Formosa would not embarrass his reelection campaign.
Admitting that U.S. forces had succeeded in landing on Leyte, Radio Tokyo said the invasion “obviously” was an attempt on the President’s part to “hide the Formosa defeat.”
Radio Tokyo said:
According to a report from the front, it appears that enemy forces which penetrated into the Bay of Leyte in the Central Philippines Oct. 19 landed on the southern part as well as the eastern part of the island.
In their intention to land on the Philippines and subsequently reach the Chinese continent, the enemy brought into action naval units east of Formosa. With heavy counterattacks of Japanese forces, the American attack on Formosa resulted as known in total defeat. Despite all that, the enemy, basing himself on his material superiority, by no means gave up his intention to reconquer the Philippines and on Oct. 17 in the area of the Bay of Leyte, with all the small parts remaining of his Pacific Fleet, initiated new operations.
The Japs, in a communiqué yesterday, said “more than half of the enemy forces” attacking Formosa were destroyed, including 11 aircraft carriers, two battleships and three cruisers, but acknowledged that 312 Jap planes and 30 to 40 small craft had been destroyed.
Actually, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz reported that an overall total of 205 Jap vessels were wrecked during the three days that the Third Fleet knocked out Formosa. U.S. losses were 21 planes, 31 pilots, and 21 air crewmen with two “medium ships” suffering “superficial damage.”
A Dōmei transmission said the Jap forces “are at present engaged in strong counterattacks against the enemy invader” at Tacloban on the northeastern part of the island and in the Cabalian area on the southern tip of Leyte.
In a Tokyo radio overseas broadcast, the Imperial Jap Navy announced that a U.S. battleship “in its desperate attempt to attack the Philippines” Tuesday night, had run aground.
Tokyo newspapers called for increased production of aircraft and other war materials and warned that “decisive battles” were developing in the Philippines.
