Leyte Gulf, Battle of

Leyte Gulf, Battle of (23–25 October 1994).The largest and one of the most complex naval engagements in history, this World War II battle represented an all‐or‐nothing gamble by the Imperial Japanese Navy to maintain control of the Philippines in the face of American landings. The Japanese, gravely outnumbered in ships and planes, executed a complex, three‐pronged plan to use their carriers—ships lacking effective striking power because of earlier losses—as decoys to draw off the American battle fleet under Admiral William Halsey, and then to strike with their battleships and cruisers the American transports in Leyte Gulf, located between the eastern Philippine islands of Samar and Leyte.

From the start, the Japanese offensive went awry. American submarines sounded the alarm and inflicted dispiriting losses on the vessels the Japanese had designated as their Center Force as it got to sea. Pummeled by Halsey's carriers, these gunships suffered severely, while those of the Southern Force were virtually annihilated by the aging U.S. battleships guarding Suriago Strait. Fortunes briefly turned when the impotent Japanese carriers to the north managed to lure Halsey away from his blocking position. Grasping this opportunity, the Center Force descended upon the American amphibious ships, protected to the east by a weak detachment of escort carriers and destroyers. Surprised and outgunned, these U.S. warships nevertheless put up such a resolute and skillful fight that the Japanese retreated. Halsey, chasing the carriers, doubled back too late, and some Japanese ships escaped.

Still, Leyte Gulf was a crushing American victory and Japan's fleet never recovered. The worst American casualties, inflicted by Japanese Kamikaze attacks (organized suicide missions) came late in the battle; overall U.S. losses totaled six warships sunk; for the Japanese, twenty‐six.
See also Nimitz, Chester.

Bibliography

Samuel E. Morison , Leyte: June 1944–January 1945, vol. 12 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, 1963.
Thomas J. Cutler , The Battle of Leyte Gulf, 23–26 October 1944, 1994.

Malcolm Muir Jr.