In the fall of 1944, MacArthur’s return to The Philippines after his daring escape from Corregidor there (on the orders of Pres. Roosevelt) in 1942, was all but assured. Two massive U.S. battle fleets, the Third Fleet under the command of Adm. William “Bull” Halsey, reporting to Nimitz in Hawaii, and the Seventh Fleet led by Adm. Thomas Kincaid, reporting to MacArthur in Australia, would spearhead the invasion. Opposing them was the last gasp of the once mighty Japanese Imperial Navy, determined against all odds to stop MacArthur’s return in the naval equivalent of a kamikaze attack.
The Japanese battle plan for the Battle of Leyte Gulf, fought from October 23 to 26, 1944, involved the typical Japanese Navy’s multi-pronged approach to counter the Allied invasion. The plan included:
The divided command and reporting structure of the two American fleets, and Halsey’s impetuousness, very nearly allowed this Japanese “Hail Mary” plan to succeed. Ultimately, after the Japanese forces were spotted by our submarines as they headed toward The Philippines, the “Battle of Leyte Gulf” actually devolved into four separate naval battles fought throughout the archipelago over four days:
1. Battle of the Sibuyan Sea -- in the middle of the Philippine archipelago, American carrier-based aircraft from Halsey’s Third Fleet inflicted heavy damage on Kurita’s Central Force, sinking the formidable Musashi and forcing Kurita to turn his force around – but unfortunately for the Americans, only temporarily.
2. Battle of Surigao Strait -- This was the last battleship-to-battleship action in history, where in a dramatic night battle, Kincaid’s warships, including PT boats and destroyers in addition to the battlewagons, essentially destroyed Nishimura’s Southern Force.
3. Battle off Cape Engaño -- Halsey fell hook, line, and sinker for the Japanese Northern Force’s diversionary attack. Although his carrier planes attacked and sank several Japanese ships including carriers, in doing so Halsey drew his protecting forces away from the San Bernandino Strait guarding the exit from the Sibuyan Sea. Kurita then reversed course, sailed right through the strait, turned right, and descended on the small fleet of destroyers and light escort carriers defending the American landing forces at Leyte.
4. Battle off Samar -- Despite a desperate and heroic defense by the “Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors,” vividly documented in the late Austin author James Hornfischer’s great book by the same name, Kurita was positioned to destroy the forces at Leyte, but that small but valiant group of sailors in the destroyers and small carriers with severe losses nevertheless fended off the attack long enough to convince Kurita he had to withdraw to save what remained of the Japanese fleet.
The cost: over 3,000 American sailors killed and 11 ships sunk including a light carrier, two escort carriers, two destroyers, and one destroyer escort – mostly in the Battle off Samar, as well as over 250 planes. These also included the first substantial American casualties inflicted by Japanese kamikaze pilots intentionally crashing their planes into American ships.
The Japanese suffered far more catastrophic losses: over 12,000 sailors killed and 26 ships destroyed, including one fleet carrier, three light carriers, three battleships, six heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, and nine destroyers sunk and over 300 planes lost. The American victory assured MacArthur’s long-promised return to The Philippines, and effectively ended the offensive fighting capability of the Japanese fleet.
The Japanese battle plan for the Battle of Leyte Gulf, fought from October 23 to 26, 1944, involved the typical Japanese Navy’s multi-pronged approach to counter the Allied invasion. The plan included:
- A “Central Force” led by Adm. Takeo Kurita and the mighty battleships Yamato and Musashi – the largest such ships ever built -- intended to sail through the Sibuyan Sea in the middle Philippines, pass through the San Bernadino Strait, and directly engage and destroy the American landing forces in Leyte Gulf. Kurita’s force would confront Kincaid’s Seventh Fleet head-on.
- A “Southern Force” under Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura, seeking to attack Kinkaid’s Seventh Fleet from the south, and aiming to disrupt the American supply lines and distract Kincaid.
- A “Northern Force,” intended as a diversionary tactic involving a small carrier force under Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa, which was intended capitalize on Halsey’s well-known aggressiveness to draw him and his fleet away from the main Japanese Central Force attack.
The divided command and reporting structure of the two American fleets, and Halsey’s impetuousness, very nearly allowed this Japanese “Hail Mary” plan to succeed. Ultimately, after the Japanese forces were spotted by our submarines as they headed toward The Philippines, the “Battle of Leyte Gulf” actually devolved into four separate naval battles fought throughout the archipelago over four days:
1. Battle of the Sibuyan Sea -- in the middle of the Philippine archipelago, American carrier-based aircraft from Halsey’s Third Fleet inflicted heavy damage on Kurita’s Central Force, sinking the formidable Musashi and forcing Kurita to turn his force around – but unfortunately for the Americans, only temporarily.
2. Battle of Surigao Strait -- This was the last battleship-to-battleship action in history, where in a dramatic night battle, Kincaid’s warships, including PT boats and destroyers in addition to the battlewagons, essentially destroyed Nishimura’s Southern Force.
3. Battle off Cape Engaño -- Halsey fell hook, line, and sinker for the Japanese Northern Force’s diversionary attack. Although his carrier planes attacked and sank several Japanese ships including carriers, in doing so Halsey drew his protecting forces away from the San Bernandino Strait guarding the exit from the Sibuyan Sea. Kurita then reversed course, sailed right through the strait, turned right, and descended on the small fleet of destroyers and light escort carriers defending the American landing forces at Leyte.
4. Battle off Samar -- Despite a desperate and heroic defense by the “Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors,” vividly documented in the late Austin author James Hornfischer’s great book by the same name, Kurita was positioned to destroy the forces at Leyte, but that small but valiant group of sailors in the destroyers and small carriers with severe losses nevertheless fended off the attack long enough to convince Kurita he had to withdraw to save what remained of the Japanese fleet.
The cost: over 3,000 American sailors killed and 11 ships sunk including a light carrier, two escort carriers, two destroyers, and one destroyer escort – mostly in the Battle off Samar, as well as over 250 planes. These also included the first substantial American casualties inflicted by Japanese kamikaze pilots intentionally crashing their planes into American ships.
The Japanese suffered far more catastrophic losses: over 12,000 sailors killed and 26 ships destroyed, including one fleet carrier, three light carriers, three battleships, six heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, and nine destroyers sunk and over 300 planes lost. The American victory assured MacArthur’s long-promised return to The Philippines, and effectively ended the offensive fighting capability of the Japanese fleet.
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