Invasion of the Philippines, 1944
The invasion of the Philippines, giving MacArthur an opportunity to announce the he had returned, was conducted for reasons which were primarily political, and lengthened the war in the Pacific rather than shortening it. The US Navy wanted the resources which were of necessity diverted to the Philippines to be used in its island hopping campaign, seizing the critical islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, with their bases which could be used to support the bombing of Japan’s cities and bases. Isolating the Philippines archipelago would disable the Japanese troops stationed there, and force the remains of the Japanese fleet to try to relieve or evacuate them.
Not even MacArthur argued over the strategic necessity of retaking the islands he had lost in 1942. He based his arguments on what he called national honor, and warned Franklin Roosevelt that a failure to support the invasion would have a negative impact on American morale which could lead to his defeat in the election of 1944, which may have been a thinly veiled threat. MacArthur tried similar tactics with President Truman during the Korean War regarding the Chinese threat. In the end MacArthur got what he wanted, and the battle for the Philippines led to the greatest naval battle in history at Leyte Gulf, and delayed the thrust towards Japan by at least six months, at the cost of over 79,000 American casualties. Fighting continued in the Philippines until the Japanese surrender in 1945.