Battle of Leyte Gulf in World War II

The Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought October 23-26, 1944, during World War II (1939-1945) and is considered the conflicts largest naval engagement. Returning to the Philippines, Allied forces began landing on Leyte on October 20. Responding, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched plan Sho-Go 1. A complex operation, it called for multiple forces to strike the Allies from several directions. Central to the plan was luring away the American carrier groups that would be protecting the landings. Moving forward, the two sides clashed in four distinct engagements as part of the larger battle: Sibuyan Sea, Surigao Strait, Cape Engaà ±o, and Samar. In the first three, Allied forces won clear victories. Off Samar, the Japanese, having been successful in luring away the carriers, failed to press their advantage and withdrew. In the course of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Japanese suffered heavy losses in terms of ships and were unable to mount large-scale operations for the rest of the war. Background In late 1944, after extensive debate, Allied leaders elected to begin operations to liberate the Philippines. The initial landings were to take place on the island of Leyte, with ground forces commanded by General Douglas MacArthur. To assist this amphibious operation, the US 7th Fleet, under Vice Admiral Thomas Kinkaid, would provide close support, while Admiral William Bull Halseys 3rd Fleet, containing Vice Admiral Marc Mitschers Fast Carrier Task Force (TF38), stood further out to sea to provide cover. Moving forward, the landings on Leyte commenced October 20, 1944. Admiral William Bull Halsey. US Naval History and Heritage Command The Japanese Plan Aware of American intentions in the Philippines, Admiral Soemu Toyoda, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, initiated plan Sho-Go 1 to block the invasion. This plan called for the bulk of Japans remaining naval strength to put to sea in four separate forces. The first of these, Northern Force, was commanded by Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa, and was centered on the carrier Zuikaku and the light carriers Zuiho, Chitose, and Chiyoda. Lacking sufficient pilots and aircraft for battle, Toyoda intended for Ozawas ships to serve as bait to lure Halsey away from Leyte. With Halsey removed, three separate forces would approach from the west to attack and destroy the US landings at Leyte. The largest of these was Vice Admiral Takeo Kuritas Center Force, which contained five battleships (including the super battleships Yamato and Musashi) and ten heavy cruisers. Kurita was to move through the Sibuyan Sea and the San Bernardino Strait, before launching his attack. To support Kurita, two smaller fleets, under Vice Admirals Shoji Nishimura and Kiyohide Shima, together forming Southern Force, would move up from the south through the Surigao Strait. Japanese battleships at Brunei, Borneo, in October 1944, photographed just prior to the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The ships are, from left to right: Musashi, Yamato, a cruiser and Nagato. US Naval History and Heritage Command Fleets Commanders Allies Admiral William HalseyVice Admiral Thomas Kinkaid8 fleet carriers8 light carriers18 escort carriers12 battleships24 cruisers141 destroyers and destroyer escorts Japanese Admiral Soemu ToyodaVice Admiral Takeo KuritaVice Admiral Shoji NishimuraVice Admiral Kiyohide ShimaAdmiral Jisaburo Ozawa1 fleet carrier3 light carriers9 battleships14 heavy cruisers6 light cruisers35 destroyers Losses Allies - 1 light carrier, 2 escort carriers, 2 destroyers, 1 destroyer escort, approx. 200 aircraftJapanese - 1 fleet carrier, 3 light carriers, 3 battleships, 10 cruisers, 11 destroyers, approx. 300 aircraft Sibuyan Sea Beginning on October 23, the Battle of Leyte Gulf consisted of four primary meetings between Allied and Japanese forces. In the first engagement on October 23-24, the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, Kuritas Center Force was attacked by the American submarines USS Darter and USS Dace as well as Halseys aircraft.  Engaging the Japanese around dawn on October 23, Darter scored four hits on Kuritas flagship, the heavy cruiser Atago, and two on the heavy cruiser Takao. A short time later, Dace hit the heavy cruiser Maya with four torpedoes.  While Atago and Maya both sank quickly, Takao, badly damaged, withdrew to Brunei with two destroyers as escorts. Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944 Japanese battleship Yamato is hit by a bomb near her forward 460mm gun turret, during attacks by U.S. carrier planes as she transited the Sibuyan Sea. US Naval History and Heritage Command Rescued from the water, Kurita transferred his flag to Yamato. The next morning, Center Force was located by American aircraft as it moved through the Sibuyan Sea. Brought under attack by aircraft from 3rd Fleets carriers, the Japanese quickly took hits to the battleships Nagato, Yamato, and Musashi and saw the heavy cruiser MyÃ… kÃ…  badly damaged. Subsequent strikes saw Musashi crippled and drop from Kuritas formation. It later sank around 7:30 PM after being hit with at least 17 bombs and 19 torpedoes. Under increasingly intense air attacks, Kurita reversed his course and retreated. As the Americans withdrew, Kurita again changed course around 5:15 PM and resumed his advance towards the San Bernardino Strait. Elsewhere that day, the escort carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23) was sunk by land-based bombers as its aircraft attacked Japanese air bases on Luzon. Surigao Strait On the night of October 24/25, part of the Southern Force, led by Nishimura entered the Surigao Straight where they were initially attacked by Allied PT boats. Successfully running this gauntlet, Nishimuras ships were then set upon by destroyers which unleashed a barrage of torpedoes. In the course of this assault USS Melvin hit the battleship  FusÃ…  causing it to sink. Driving forward, Nishimuras remaining ships soon encountered the six battleships (many of them Pearl Harbor veterans) and eight cruisers of the 7th Fleet Support Force led by Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf. USS West Virginia (BB-48) firing during the Battle of Surigao Strait, 24-25 October 1944. US Naval History and Heritage Command Crossing the Japanese T, Oldendorfs ships used radar fire control to engage the Japanese at long range. Pounding the enemy, the Americans sank the battleship Yamashiro and the heavy cruiser Mogami. Unable to continue their advance, the remainder of Nishimuras squadron withdrew south.  Entering the strait, Shima encountered the wrecks of Nishimuras ships and elected to retreat. The fighting in the Surigao Strait was the last time two battleship forces would duel. Cape Engaà ±o At 4:40 PM on the 24th, Halseys scouts located Ozawas Northern Force. Believing that Kurita was retreating, Halsey signaled Admiral Kinkaid that he was moving north to pursue the Japanese carriers. By doing so, Halsey was leaving the landings unprotected. Kinkaid was not aware of this as he believed Halsey had left one carrier group to cover the San Bernardino Straight. At dawn on October 25, Ozawa launched a 75-plane strike against Halsey and Mitschers carriers. Easily defeated by the American combat air patrols, no damage was inflicted. Countering, Mitschers first wave of aircraft began attacking the Japanese around 8:00 AM.  Overwhelming the enemy fighter defense, the attacks continued through the day and ultimately sank all four of Ozawas carriers in what became known as the Battle of Cape Engaà ±o. Samar As the battle was concluding, Halsey was informed that the situation off Leyte was critical. Toyodas plan had worked. By Ozawa drawing away Halseys carriers, the path through the San Bernardino Straight was left open for Kuritas Center Force to pass through to attack the landings. Breaking off his attacks, Halsey began steaming south at full speed. Off Samar (just north of Leyte), Kuritas force encountered the 7th Fleets escort carriers and destroyers.   Launching their planes, the escort carriers began to flee, while the destroyers valiantly attacked Kuritas much superior force. As the melee was turning in favor of the Japanese, Kurita broke off after realizing that he was not attacking Halseys carriers and that the longer he lingered the more likely he was to be attacked by American aircraft. Kuritas retreat effectively ended the battle. Aftermath In the fighting at Leyte Gulf, the Japanese lost 4 aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, 8 cruisers, and 12 destroyers, as well as 10,000 killed. Allied losses were much lighter and included 1,500 killed as well as 1 light aircraft carrier, 2 escort carriers, 2 destroyers, and 1 destroyer escort sunk. Crippled by their losses, the Battle of Leyte Gulf marked the last time the Imperial Japanese Navy would conduct large-scale operations during the war. The Allied victory secured the beachhead on Leyte and opened the door for the liberation of the Philippines. This in turn cut off the Japanese from their conquered territories in Southeast Asia, greatly reducing the flow of supplies and resources to the home islands. Despite winning the largest naval engagement in history, Halsey was criticized after the battle for racing north to attack Ozawa without leaving cover for the invasion fleet off Leyte.