[10][11][pageneeded] The Japanese Navy suffered heavy losses and never sailed in comparable force thereafter since it was stranded for lack of fuel in its bases for the rest of the war.[12][13]. Lo was struck by a kamikaze and sank shortly after the main engagement had ended. [101], The Imperial Japanese Navy had suffered its greatest loss of ships and crew ever. One account of the losses, by Samuel E. Morison, lists the following vessels: The United States lost at least 12 warships during the Battle of Leyte Gulf: More than 1,600 sailors and aircrewmen of the Allied escort carrier units were killed. The escort carrier USS Gambier Bay was sunk, becoming the only U.S. aircraft carrier of the war to be lost to naval gunfire, and the escort carrier USS St. In reality, Leyte Gulf was a series of naval . [40] It would be the desperate action and great sacrifice of the much weaker force of six slow escort carriers, three destroyers, four destroyer escorts, and 400 aircraft at the Battle off Samar, utterly lacking in credible weapons to sink armored ships, to stop Kurita. His flagship Nachi collided with Mogami, flooding Mogami's steering room and causing her to fall behind in the retreat; she was further damaged by American carrier aircraft the next morning, abandoned and scuttled by a torpedo from Akebono. The ferocity of the American defense seemingly confirmed the Japanese assumption that they were engaging major fleet units rather than merely escort carriers and destroyers. How the Loss at Leyte Gulf Shook Japan to Its Core The Allied offensive in the Pacific in 1944 was to climax with the Allied invasion of the Philippines. As the Japanese Southern Force approached the Surigao Strait, it ran into a deadly trap set by Seventh Fleet. USSTang(SS-306) sank numerous ships in a large Japanese convoy that was on the way to reinforce Japanese troops in Leyte and Leyte Gulf. On 24 October, as the submarines continued to shadow the damaged cruiser, Darter ran aground on the Bombay Shoal. At the mismatched Battle off Samar alone 5 of the 7 ships of the combined actions were lost along with 23 aircraft lost and 1,161 killed and missing and 913 wounded, comparable to the combined losses at the Battle of Midway and Battle of Coral Sea. Halsey and his staff officers ignored information from a night reconnaissance aircraft operating from the light carrier Independence that Kurita's powerful surface force had turned back towards the San Bernardino Strait and that, after a long blackout, the navigation lights in the strait had been turned on. The Japanese command, therefore, put Sh-G 2 into action, launching waves of air attacks against Third Fleet's carriers. Preferring to expend his fleet against capital ships rather than transports, Kurita set out in pursuit and thereby lost his opportunity to destroy the shipping fleet in Leyte Gulf, and disrupt the vital landings at Leyte. [51][pageneeded] Shima's ships did survive the Battle of Surigao Strait, but they were sunk in further engagements around Leyte. [99], The Japanese lost 28 warships during the Battle of Leyte Gulf:[100]. This second kamikaze strike caused a large fire that was not extinguished until nine hours later. As the desperate surface action was coming to an end, Vice Admiral Takijir nishi put his Japanese Special Attack Units into operation from bases on Luzon, launching kamikaze attacks against the Allied ships in Leyte Gulf and the escort carrier units off Samar. Three of his heavy cruisers had been sunk, and the determined resistance had convinced him that persisting with his attack would only cause further Japanese losses. On 12 October 1944, Halsey began a series of carrier raids against Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands with a view to ensuring that the aircraft based there could not intervene in the Leyte landings. [41], After the Japanese Southern and Center forces had been detected, but before it had been engaged or Ozawa's carriers had been located, Halsey and the staff of Third Fleet, aboard the battleship New Jersey, prepared a contingency plan to deal with the threat from Kurita's Center Force. The battle cost the Japanese 26 vessels and most of its warships. Due to the long duration and size of the battle, accounts vary as to the losses that occurred as a part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf and losses that occurred shortly before and shortly after. The major IJN surface ships returned to their bases to languish, entirely or almost entirely inactive, for the remainder of the war. Yamashiro was able to steam on, but Fus was torpedoed by USSMelvin and fell out of formation, sinking forty minutes later. The Battle of Leyte Gulf (Filipino: Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit. Displaying an aggression that sharply belied their underdog status, the three U.S. destroyers, led by the USS Johnston, launched an audacious torpedo attack that damaged the heavy cruiser Kumano and caused the Yamato to take evasive maneuvers that carried Kurita away from the battle. The next logical step was to cut Japan's supply lines to Southeast Asia, depriving them of fuel and other necessities of war, but there were two different plans for doing so. It was fought during the Pacific War of World War II, in the seas surrounding the Philippine island of Leyte from 23 October to 26 October 1944 between the Allies and the Empire of Japan. It was the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks, and it was the last naval battle between battleships in history. Adm. William (Bull) Halseys Third Fleet covered the landings with carrier-based aircraft and guarded against attacks by the Japanese fleet. the probability is that total enemy losses were somewhere between 550 and 600. 19 Today in History 1813 - During the War of 1812, the frigate Congress, commanded by John Smith, captures and burns the British merchant brig, Jean, in the Atlantic. The "Center Force" under Vice Admiral Takeo Kuritaby far the most powerful of the attacking forceswould pass through the San Bernardino Strait into the Philippine Sea, turn southwards, and then also attack the landing area.[23][24]. October, 1944, marked the return of General MacArthur to the Philippines. Battle of Leyte Gulf: World War II and Naval Military History | Time Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall had proposed skipping both the Philippines and Formosa and proceeding directly to an assault on southern Honshu. TIME. Nishimura then proceeded northeastward with Mindanao Island to starboard and into the south entrance to the Surigao Strait, intending to exit the north entrance of the Strait into Leyte Gulf, where he would add his firepower to that of Kurita's force. He believed strongly in the current naval doctrine of concentration, as indicated by his writings both before World War II and in his subsequent articles and interviews defending his actions. Battle of Leyte Gulf - Wikipedia WASHINGTON, D.C. - Escort carrier USS St. The combined battles of Leyte Gulf destroyed the Imperial Japanese Navy as an offensive force and decisively led to the defeat of Japan in 1945. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. A second wave from Intrepid, Essex and Lexington later attacked, with VB-15 Helldivers and VF-15 Hellcats from Essex, scoring another 10 hits on Musashi. Efforts to scuttle Darter failed over the course of the next week, including torpedoes from Dace and Rock that hit the reef (and not Darter) and deck-gun shelling from Dace and later, Nautilus. [54], Nishimura's ships passed unscathed through the gauntlet of PT boats. [39] After being struck by at least 17 bombs and 19 torpedoes, Musashi finally capsized and sank at about 19:35.[40]. The entire available strength of Third Fleet continued to steam northwards towards Ozawa's decoy force, leaving the San Bernardino Strait completely unguarded. Vol. The American Joint Chiefs of Staff, acting with necessary haste, moved to capitalize on the situation. The Battle of Leyte Gulf: Interview with Jack Yusen One of the torpedo bombers was directly hit by this bomb as it pierced the ship and exploded, triggering the other five torpedo bombers to also explode. Rescue and repair efforts continued throughout the day. The battle marked the end of centuries of naval warfare tradition in that it was the last sea battle between forces employing battleships. Responding, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched plan Sho-Go 1. Leyte had a free undefended approach from the east and adequate anchorages, as well as good access to the other islands in the archipelago. While Formosa could also serve as a base for an invasion of mainland China, which MacArthur felt was unnecessary, it was also estimated that it would require about 12 divisions from the Army and Marines. By the time of the battle, Japan had fewer capital ships (aircraft carriers and battleships) left than the Allied forces had total aircraft carriers in the Pacific, which underscored the disparity in force strength at that point in the war. Although the Darter ran aground and was eventually destroyed by Japanese aircraft after its crew had safely transferred to the Dace, the two submarines had inflicted serious damage on the Japanese fleet as well as robbing it of the element of surprise. In the light of the intercepted 15:12 24 October "will be formed as Task Force 34" message from Halsey, Admiral Kinkaid and his staff assumed, as did Admiral Nimitz at Pacific Fleet headquarters, that TF34commanded by Vice Admiral Leehad now been formed as a separate entity. [6][pageneeded][7] It was fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar, and Luzon from 23 to 26 October 1944 between combined American and Australian forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), as part of the invasion of Leyte, which aimed to isolate Japan from the colonies that it had occupied in Southeast Asia, a vital source of industrial and oil supplies. CTG 38.4 CONDUCT CARRIERS OF TG 38.2 AND TG 38.4 CLEAR OF SURFACE FIGHTING. When dawn broke, the submarines made visual contact with the lead elements of the Japanese force and launched torpedoes. The only Japanese carriers involved in the battle were in the northern decoy force. Updates? Stay up to date on all of your favorite History shows at http://history.com/schedule.The Battle of Leyte was an amphibious invasion that lau. This divided command was more important in determining the course of the battle than the tactical decision made by Halsey and led to an American disunity of effort that nearly allowed Kurita's mission to succeed."[19]. Birmingham was so badly damaged, she was forced to retire. Most of the attacking Japanese planes were intercepted and shot down or driven off by Hellcats of Sherman's combat air patrol, most notably by two fighter sections from USSEssex led by Commander David McCampbell (who shot down a record nine of the attacking planes in this one action, after which he managed to return and land in extremis on USSLangley because the Essex's deck was too busy to accommodate him although he had run short of fuel). Their intention was to cover San Bernardino Strait with a powerful task force of fast battleships supported by two of Third Fleet's equally swift carrier groups. The effect was devastating. As Morison observes, if Badger's group had succeeded in intercepting the Japanese Center Force it may have been outgunned by Kurita's battleships.[80]. The invasion timetable was revised, and preparations were made for an amphibious assault on Leyte Island in the central Philippines on October 20. Shimas Second Attack Force had entered the strait some distance behind C Force, and the Mogami collided with Shimas flagship, the cruiser Nachi, in its attempt to escape. Seventh Fleet's calls for help, According to Army historian Robert Ross Smith, "Meeting with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a conference at Pearl Harbor in late July 1944, MacArthur then argued persuasively that it was both necessary and proper to take Luzon before going on to Formosa, while Nimitz expounded a plan for striking straight across the western Pacific to Formosa bypassing Luzon. [57] Maryland eventually succeeded in visually ranging on the splashes of the other battleships' shells, and then fired a total of forty-eight 16in (406mm) projectiles. After failing to intercept the non-existent carriers, which were much farther north, Kurita finally retreated towards San Bernardino Strait. Fast battleships and support by air strikes may be able to keep enemy from destroying CVEs and entering Leyte." [97] At the Battle of Surigao Strait 39 U.S. troops were killed, 114 were wounded and one PT boat (USS PT-493) was sunk. The action at Surigao Strait was one of the few naval battles of the Pacific War in which aircraft did not play a significant role. As the Japanese ships sailed north through the narrow strait, they were subjected to torpedo attacks from U.S. PT boats and destroyers. The two submarines quickly moved off in pursuit of the ships, while Darter made the first of three contact reports. At this point, Lee's battleships were almost within gun range of Ozawa's force. MacArthur was given overall command of the Leyte operation, and Nimitz provided strong naval support from the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Radar fire control allowed these American battleships to hit targets from a distance at which the Japanese battleships, with their inferior fire control systems, could not return fire. Commodore Arleigh Burke and Commander James H. Flatley of Mitscher's staff had come to the same conclusion. Within 45 minutes the three Australian ships had disembarked over 2800 troops of the US 21st Regimental Combat Team on the undefended island. October 24, 2014 7:00 AM EDT. The Battle of Leyte Gulf secured the beachheads of the U.S. Sixth Army on Leyte against attack from the sea. Japanese kamikazes sunk 30 U.S. ships and damaged 300 The United States won the battle of Leyte Gulf, and the Japanese lost. Following the American invasion of the Philippines, the Japanese Navy made the transition to Sh-G 1. The United States capitalized on the success of its island hopping campaign by pouring men and matriel into its newly won bases. At 15:12 on 24 October, Halsey sent an ambiguously worded telegraphic radio message to his subordinate task group commanders giving details of this contingency plan: BATDIV 7 BILOXI, VINCENNES, MIAMI, DESRON 52 LESS STEVEN POTTER, FROM TG 38.2 AND WASHINGTON, ALABAMA, WICHITA, NEW ORLEANS, DESDIV 100, PATTERSON, BAGLEY FROM TG 38.4 WILL BE FORMED AS TASK FORCE 34 UNDER VICE ADMIRAL LEE, COMMANDER BATTLE LINE. Men of the central Philippines attack force, under Vice Adm. Thomas Kinkaid (commander of the Seventh Fleet and MacArthurs principal naval subordinate), went ashore on the east coast of Leyte. Three Japanese cruisers, Chikuma, Chkai, and Suzuya, were sunk; a fourth, Kumano, was heavily damaged. The main landings at Tacloban and Dulag . Although in a letter to Nimitz just three days before the Battle off Samar, Halsey wrote that Mitscher believed "Jap naval air was wiped out",[90] which Spruance and Mitscher concluded from shooting down over 433 carrier based planes at the Marianas Turkey Shoot,[90] Halsey ignored Mitscher's insights, and later stated that he did not want to be "shuttle bombed" by Ozawa's force (a technique whereby planes can land and rearm at bases on either side of a foe, allowing them to attack on both the outbound flight and the return), or to give them a "free shot" at the U.S. forces in Leyte Gulf. [74][75][6][pageneeded] In fact, Seventh Fleet's battleships were not as short of ammunition as Kinkaid's signal implied,[76] but Halsey did not know that. After this battle, Japan never sailed again in comparable force. Pennsylvania was unable to find a target and her guns remained silent. The Battle of Leyte Gulf the largest naval battle in recent history.