The Capture of Morotai
The operation on Morotai was the last preliminary before the recapture of the Philippines.The Allies needed a naval anchorage near Leyte and because the Japanese had built a large base on Halmahera Island in the Moluccas.General MacArthur sent the 11th Corps to Morotai on September 15, 1944, the same day as the Peleliu landings.The troops met little opposition and quickly took the island.The casualities were light, considering the heavy ones taken at Peleliu; 45 dead and 95 wounded.The Japanese lost 325 men.
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