World War II needs no introduction. It was the largest war in history. Likewise, the Battle of Leyte Gulf needs no introduction. As the largest naval battle ever to take place, involving 38 aircraft carriers and 21 battleships, the sheer amount of damage done should be enough to
render it impossible to forget. The battle began when General Douglas MacArthur landed on Leyte, an island in the Philippines, and began the reconquest of that island. The Japanese Imperial Navy forces, led by Admiral Kurita, decided to retaliate and try to destroy the American invasion force. This was a pretty poor decision as the US Navy was much stronger.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was actually 4 separate engagements – the battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the battle of Samar, the Battle of Cape Engano, and one of the most famous battles in naval history, the battle of Surigao Strait.
The first engagement of the Battle of Leyte Gulf took place in the Sibuyan Sea. Vice Admiral Kurita led a force of 5 battleships, 10 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 15 destroyers. from Brunei into the Sibuyan Sea. Waiting for them were the American submarines USS Darter and USS Dace. Boldly, the submarines decided to engage the vastly superior 32-vessel combat fleet, because the Japs could easily cause damage to the American fleet.
On his flagship, the battleship Yamato, which some consider one of the largest battleships ever built, Admiral Takao ordered no anti-submarine action, as any American attempt would seem suicidal. When the fleet sailed right into the ambush, Darter quickly torpedoed the heavy cruiser Atago, crippling it almost instantly, then scoring 2 hits on the cruiser Takao. The Japs tried to retaliate with depth charges, but their hydrophone operators could not locate the submarines. Dace then torpedoed the cruiser Maya.
The rest of the fleet decided to move on, while sending back the damaged Takao and an escort. In order to avoid certain destruction, the Darter and Dace wisely chose to follow the Takao. This victory was not only a blow to the Japs – eliminating 3 major ships – but also a huge morale victory. The Japanese sailors were now deathly scared of American submarines. Admiral Kurita continued on towards the Philippines, but soon encountered elements of the U.S. 3rd Fleet, which heavily outnumbered him. Two of its carrier groups had been detached though, and Admiral Halsey was only able to recall one after hearing reports from Darter and Dace.
The Japanese decided to strike first, but met with heavy flak and fighter cover, most were shot down. One armor piercing bomb, however, hit the light cruiser Princeton, which set fire and became a total loss. However, a significant amount of Japanese airpower had been destroyed. The Americans launched a counterstrike, crippling the cruiser Mayoko and outright sinking the battleship Musashi, a sister to Yamato. Meanwhile, off Cape Engano, the remainder of the Japanese carrier fleets moved to engage the Americans. This included 4 aircraft carriers, almost all of the ones the Japanese hadleft, but only 100 aircraft between them. This attack, however, was a feint, intended to drawoff the American forces. Admiral Kurita hoped the Americans would lead a significant amount of their forces away to decimate this fleet, leaving other groups unprotected. This would allow Admiral Kurita to attack the U.S. landing craft in the San Bernandino strait. Admiral Halsey led three carrier groups to go intercept the Japanese carriers, realizing that they could still be a potential threat. They intercepted the carriers, sinking the fleet carrier Zuikaku, the light carriers Chitose and Zuiho, and the destroyer Akizuki, all with heavy loss of life. The light carrier Chiyoda and the cruiser Tama were crippled. This attack neutralized Japanese naval airpower for the rest of the war.
Unfortunately, drawing of forces for this strike left only an escort carrier group to protect the landing forces near the island of Leyte to face Admiral Kurita’s fleet. Escort carriers are small aircraft carriers that were often used to protect merchant shipping or to escort a task force. They carried far fewer aircraft than the fleet carriers and less armament. However, in order to meet up with Admiral Kurita’s fleet, the Japanese 7th fleet had to sail through the Surigao Strait, which would become the scene of the ultimate naval engagement in history.
Led by the battleships Yamashiro and Fuso, Admiral Takagi blindly entered the strait, not realizing that he was sailing into the teeth of 6 American battleships: USS California, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. In the last battleship-to-battleship engagement in naval history (although not the last one to involve a battleship) the heavily armed US battleships inflicted heavy damage on the older, outdated Fuso-class vessels. Fuso sank quickly, and Yamashiro soon followed. USS Mississippi earned the distinction of firing the final salvo.
Without backup from Takagi, Admiral Kurita had no choice but to press the attack. Back at the San Bernandino Strait, every sign indicated a Japanese victory. The Japanese force faced only a small escort carrier group of a few destroyers and light carriers. However, Admiral Kurita did not know that a US Battleship force had followed the carriers north, and assumed they were still around. Thus, he was cautious and did not initially press the attack.
Realizing the dire situation – if the escort carriers could not stop the Japanese, the entire landing force was in grave danger – Commander Ernest E. Evans, aboard the destroyer USS Johnston, realized the only chance the US Navy had was to make an all-out assault and trick
Admiral Kurita into thinking they were stronger than they really were. Johnston led the charge, moving at full speed towards the Japanese, launching torpedoes which crippled the heavy cruiser Kumano. With the order,
“Small boys attack,” the tiny, outgunned U.S. destroyers launched themselves on the Japanese in full force. Admiral Kurita had left his forces in anti-aircraft formation, so it was easy for the destroyers to torpedo and shell the Japanese. Meanwhile, the escort carriers launched every available plane and attacked the Japanese with machine guns, flares, rockets, star shells, bombs, torpedoes, depth charges, and whatever was on hand. Admiral Kurita, who was a very hesitant and cautious commander, was convinced that the attack was only so fierce because the Americans were backed by battleships and cruisers. He ordered a withdrawal. While the US Navy lost several destroyers and aircraft to the heavier Japanese gunfire, the mission was accomplished – the landing forces were safe. Commander Evans, who was killed when Johnston was sunk by the Japanese during the battle, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. With the battle complete, what could have been a Japanese victory was instead a total
defeat.
While parts of Admiral Kurita’s forces were intact, the Japanese aircraft carriers had been eliminated, Admiral Takagi’s battleships were at the bottom of the sea, and the U.S. landings on the Philippines were unstoppable. The Japanese lost 12,000 men, many pilots and experienced sailors, and 26 ships including:
• 1 fleet carrier,
• 3 light carriers,
• 3 battleships,
• 6 heavy cruisers,
• 4 light cruisers,
• 9 destroyers
• Plus around 300 planes.
Because the Japanese now had lost the Philippines, a major source of oil and resources, the war was not going to last much longer. The US Navy had not only effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy, it had robbed the remaining forces and the Japanese homeland of its opportunity to win World War II. By August 1945, Japan had been nuked into a final surrender. Due to the courageous efforts of many US sailors and pilots, the greatest threat to world peace in history had been annihilated.
