Entering Surigao Strait at 04:55 on the 20th, "Wasatch" proceeded up Leyte Gulf. Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers commenced bombarding the Leyte beachhead at 09:20 that morning and, some 40 minutes later, the first landing craft were churning towards the beach. Throughout the day, "Wasatch" stood offshore in a position from which the landings could be observed and served as the nerve center for the operation. From the 20th through the 23rd, the ship retired to sea nightly, in company with , , and .