It's October 25th, 1944, and off the coast of the Philippine island of Leyte, American
battleships are trading blows with the remnants of the Japanese fleet.
Cruisers and destroyers cut through the waters at high speed, laying withering barrages against
each side's most vulnerable ships.
In the air, fighters screen the skies from opposing dive bombers and torpedo planes.
Japanese naval aviation has been decimated by a year and a half of fierce combat across
the Pacific, and now its surviving pilots are inexperienced raw recruits, thrown into
the teeth of American aces.
For Japan, the battle is dire- if it loses the Americans and their Australian allies
will sever Japan's supply lines and cut off its access to the oil it so desperately needs
to keep its ships at sea.
For the US and Australia, a defeat of the Japanese here means the protracted war will
be cut dramatically short, potentially leading to victory in just a few months.
Both sides know that the outcome of the war hangs on a knife's edge, and are throwing
everything they have at each other in what will become the greatest naval battle in history.
Between august 1942 and 1944 the americans have pushed the Japanese steadily back across
the Pacific.
Their losses in Pearl Harbor have been quickly replaced, the full might of the American economy
turning to a wartime footing.
In June 1944 the Americans launched an invasion of the Mariana Islands, with the Japanese
counterattacking in the battle of the Philippine Sea, resulting in a disastrous defeat of the
Japanese Imperial Navy which cost it 600 aircraft and the loss of three of their remaining aircraft
carriers.
This defeat has left Japan with virtually no naval airpower and struggling to replace
its losses with inexperienced pilots fresh from a training program which has been slashed
in half.
America on the other hand has started rotating its combat pilots back to the states where
they do short tours as combat instructors, giving new American airmen an unparalleled
training advantage compared with their Japanese counterparts.
The seizing of the Mariana Islands has penetrated Japan's inner defense ring and made the mainland
vulnerable to long range attack by B-29 Superfortress bombers.
America's next move is now carefully being calculated, with Admiral Ernest J. King, supported
by members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advocating for a blockade of Japanese forces in the Philippines
and focusing on an attack on Taiwan in order to give the US and Australia control of the
sea trade routes between Japan and southern Asia.
The plan is solid, and with Japanese forces blockaded in the Philippines they will be
unable to resupply and eventually, perhaps in a few months, forced to surrender.
Any attempts by the Japanese to break out their besieged forces will end in disaster,
as they will be sailing straight into the teeth of a combined US/Australian naval task
force supported by air power from surrounding islands.
The seizing of Taiwan will also give the US a second launching-off point for air attacks
against the Japanese mainland, and allow medium range bombers to join in the strikes.
Yet General McArthur disagrees with this plan, partly because he sees leaving the Philippines
in japanese hands as a blow to American prestige and because it would be a personal affront
to the man who had claimed in 1942, “I shall return” after his forced retreat.
The General also highlights the considerable land-based air power that Japan has amassed
in the Philippines, a threat significant enough that it is considered too dangerous to ignore
by many high-ranking officers outside of the Joint Chiefs, to include Admiral Chester Nimitz.
Eventually President Roosevelt lends his support to taking back the Philippines, and thus the
greatest naval battle in history is set into motion.
General McArthur and his forces would invade the island of Leyte in the central Philippines,
with close naval support provided by the Seventh Fleet which was at the time made up of both
American and Australian units.
The US 3rdFleet, commanded by Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. would provide long-range cover
for the invasion.
From the onset, the plan held a critical flaw: no single American officer would be in command
of the overall attack, a flaw which combined with failures in communication would result
in a crisis and nearly a complete strategic disaster for the US.
The Japanese, who by pure coincidence also lacked an overall commander, drew up four
“victory” plans in response to the obvious pending invasion.
The plans however all called for Japan to commit almost all of its forces in response
to any single attack, falling within the lines of Japanese wartime strategy of seeking the
decisive battle- a strategy which had failed them repeatedly throughout the war in the
Pacific.
Most of the times the Japanese had overcommitted their forces and attempted to force a decisive
battle against the US fleets, the Americans had simply withdrawn- the US could afford
to replace its loses and oil supplies, while Japan could not.
Hence the Japanese desperate attempts to force one single decisive battle that would cripple
the Americans for good.
It's early in the morning on October 12th, and Admiral Halsey has ordered the launching
of massive air strikes against the Formosa and Ryukyu islands.
American dive bombers climb through a sky filled with enemy fighters and anti-aircraft
fire, struggling to deliver their payloads against Japanese air fields.
All around them American Wildcat fighters scream through the sky, goading what's left
of Japans air power into a fight and protecting their bomber escorts.
Japan's naval airpower may have been severely diminished, but its land-based forces have
long been itching for a fight versus the American aviators that have scored such catastrophic
losses against their fleets.
From sunup to sundown waves of fighters and bombers swarm the skies above Japanese airfields.
The Japanese try to retaliate by targeting the American carriers but are intercepted
by American fighters.
After four days of non-stop air battle, the Japanese have lost hundreds of fighters and
bombers and their airfields and support facilities have been taken out of commission.
The Americans meanwhile have lost only 89 aircraft and suffered 1 light cruiser damaged
with 1 heavy cruiser seriously damaged and in need of repairs.
The battle over Formosa has been a stunning American success, and has taken Japanese air
power out of the equation for the invasion of Leyte.
In response to the pending American invasion, Japan orders a force of five battleships,
ten heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and fifteen destroyers to set sail from Brunei
to the Philippines.
Squarely in their path though are the American submarines Darter and Dace, which at 0016
hours on October 23rd, make radar contact with the incoming Japanese while they wait
on the surface.
Facing off against a force of 32 combat ships, the two submarines decide to engage anyways,
knowing that this fleet could inflict serious damage to the rest of the American forces.
The Darter shoots off three contact reports to the rest of the US Navy, one of which is
intercepted by a radio operator on Yamato, but Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita orders no anti-submarine
action, believing an attack on his superior forces to be too suicidal for the Americans
to consider.
Unbeknownst to the Admiral, that's exactly what the Americans are considering though,
and the two submarines steam at full speed for several hours to get ahead of the Japanese
ships.
Submerged and lying in wait, the Japanese sail straight into the planned ambush, still
taking no anti-submarine actions to protect themselves.
At 0524 hours Darter fires a rapid-fire salvo of six torpedoes, and hydrophone operators
aboard the heavy cruiser Atago raise the alarm- but too late.
Explosions rack the heavy cruiser as four torpedoes score a direct hit.
The fleet now scrambles, Admiral Kurita incredulous that a single American submarine would dare
to threaten his fleet.
Ten minutes later, the Darter lines up for a firing solution on the heavy cruiser Takao,
scoring two more hits.
The Japanese fleet begins dropping depth charges at random, hydrophone operators unable to
pinpoint the American submarine and at times getting what they believe to be false positives
from locations the attacking submarine could not possibly be at.
At 0556 hours, Dace breaks its cover and fires a spread of torpedoes that scores four hits
on the heavy cruiser Maya, and the japanese realize that they're not dealing with one
sub, but two.
The Atago and Maya have taken catastrophic damage and quickly sink, and the Takao is
so damaged that her seaworthiness is in question.
After being rescued from the water, Admiral Kurita orders the Takao to retreat back to
Brunei, escorted by two destroyers.
The rest of the fleet is on high alert, and the American subs are in serious danger of
being blown out of the water if they remain, so instead they break off their attack and
follow the Takao, hoping for a chance to finish her off.
Three of Japan's most formidable ships have been knocked out of the fight, and her sailors
rattled by the seeming impunity in which American submariners attack them from out of the deep.
On the 24thof October Admiral Kurita's force continues towards the Philippines, where it
makes contact with the US 3rdFleet.
Despite being superior in firepower, the 3rdfleet is missing two of its carrier groups which
had been detached and sent to provision and rearm.
As the Darter's contact report comes in, Admiral Halsey recalls one of the groups, but lets
the other continue on its resupply mission- this leaves the Americans with only 60% of
their air power.
To support the incoming Japanese fleet, aircraft based out of Luzon are dispatched against
the American carriers.
Three waves of 50 to 60 aircraft scream towards the American carriers, but long range radar
has warned them of the threat.
Combat air patrols made up of Hellcats rise up to meet the incoming attack, and the majority
are shot down or driven off in fierce fighting.
Only a single Japanese aircraft carrying an armor piercing bomb penetrates the heavy air
cover, and at 0938 hours the light carrier USS Princeton is struck.
The resulting explosion knocks out her emergency sprinklers and fire spreads throughout the
ship.
The light cruiser Birmingham pulls up alongside her to assist in the fire fighting when suddenly
a massive explosion rocks the Princeton, killing 233 sailors.
Alongside her, the Birmingham is so badly damaged that the ship is forced to retire,
her crew transferred to another vessel.
The Princeton is a total loss, but the Americans have decimated the Japanese aircraft further
clearing the skies of hostile fighters and bombers.
An hour and a half after the Japanese launch their attack, the Americans launch their own
against the Japanese fleet.
The battleships Nagato, Yamato, and Musashi are struck, along with the heavy cruiser Myoko
which is forced to retreat.
The Musashi is hit another 10 times in a subsequent wave and Admiral Kurita orders his fleet to
retreat in order to get out of range of the aircraft.
Later that night and under cover of darkness, he orders the fleet to turn back around.
The Musashi has been sunk and the Myoko crippled, but the rest of the fleet is still battleworthy.
Meanwhile the Japanese Northern Force, made up of a large formation of Japan's remaining
carriers, steams south towards the Americans.
The move is a feint however, the carriers are only lightly armed and only have about
100 aircraft between them- they are bait for the Americans to engage and thus pull their
battleships and other defensive vessels from the San Bernardino Strait, which will leave
the amphibious landing force vulnerable to Admiral Kurita's forces.
The Americans suspect that the Northern force is a feint, but a series of bad radio communications
and poorly worded orders have sown confusion amongst the American commanders.
Without a single unifying leader to command the entire operation, Admiral Halsey takes
three of his carrier groups north to chase down the Japanese carriers.
This leaves the American landing vessels completely unprotected from Admiral Kurita's battleships
except for a single escort carrier group.
With the landing forces vulnerable, Japan's Southern Force attempts to link up with Admiral
Kurita's ships, but to do that it must sail through the narrow Surigao Strait.
Yet as the fleet enters the strait at 0300 hours on the 25th, it runs directly into an
American trap set by the US's 7thFleet Support Force.
Scores of PT boats swarm the Japanese ships, loosing torpedoes at close range- though miraculously
not a single one manages to land a hit.
Yet as the fleet pushes through the strait, it runs straight into the main American battle
line and its two battleships are struck by torpedoes from American destroyers.
The Yamashiro is able to power through the ambush, but the Fuso is badly hit and sinks
forty minutes later.
Two of the Japanese destroyers are also immediately sunk, and a third forced to retreat only to
sink later.
The rest of the fleet tries to escape the deadly ambush, but waiting past the destroyers
are six American battleships.
The Japanese are decimated, and with a single salvo of twelve 14 inch shells, the Mississippi
fires off the last battleship-to-battleship attack in history, closing a chapter in naval
warfare forever.
At the same time, Admiral Kurita's force has sailed through the San Bernardino Strait completely
unopposed- the American carriers and battleships meant to defend the landing craft off on a
wild goose chase for the Japanese Northern Force.
Now a force of four battleships, six heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and eleven destroyers
steam down on a small force of American escort carriers protected by destroyer escorts and
light destroyers, catching them completely by surprise.
Yet Admiral Kurita is unaware that the Northern Force has successfully lured away the bulk
of the US fleet, strict radio silence does not allow the three fleets to coordinate with
each other.
Thus he orders his ships into an anti-aircraft formation in order to defend against an overwhelming
air attack he believes is coming.
It's only a half hour later that he realizes that the force he is facing is not the feared
3rdFleet, and immediately orders a General Attack.
This sows confusion amongst the Japanese ships, who must now break their formation and link
up for independent division attack.
Closest to the enemy, the destroyer USS Johnston, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Ernest E.
Evans, is first to respond.
He sees the situation before him and knows that the landing vessels are doomed if the
Japanese break through.
On his own initiative, he steers his ship directly into the Japanese formation at top
speed, firing her torpedoes and scoring direct hits on the heavy cruiser Kumano, which is
forced to drop out of the fight.
Upon seeing the reckless charge by the Johnston, the order is given for the rest of the American
destroyers and destroyer escorts to attack.
Hopelessly outgunned and dwarfed by the mighty battleships and heavy cruisers, the smaller
American ships nonetheless take the Johnston's lead and sail straight into the teeth of the
Japanese fleet.
The Americans swarm the Japanese, who were not expecting this suicidal rush and are forced
to drop out of their formations in order to avoid the spreads of torpedoes coming their
way.
Getting into knife-fight range, the small American vessels are savaged by Japanese fire,
but the determined ships manage to sow major confusion and seriously damage several of
the larger Japanese ships.
The escort carriers meanwhile launch every available plane, armed with anything that
they can carry.
The carriers know they are in a fight for their lives, and planes are launched with
nothing more than depth charges and machine guns if need be.
As escort carriers they are primarily armed for long range recon and anti-submarine warfare,
and are lacking the anti-shipping munitions carried by the larger main carriers.
Yet because the Japanese have no air cover, 450 American planes swarm the Japanese ships.
Even inadequately armed as they are they manage to cause serious damage to several vessels.
Believing that he is facing the main American fleet due to the ferocity of the attack instead
of just a lightly armed escort group, Admiral Kurita orders a general retreat for his forces.
Incredibly the Japanese thus pass up their opportunity to seize victory and score catastrophic
losses on the poorly defended troop transports.
Kurita would go on to regroup his forces, but ultimately the Battle of Leyte Gulf is
won here, and the Japanese defeat is ensured.
Had Kurita correctly ascertained that he was facing no more than a light escort group the
US and Australian invasion force would have been decimated with severe loss of life, and
Japan's sea trade routes would have remained open.
With his withdrawal however, Kurita has ensured that Japan's critical link to its oil supplies
is forever severed, and a total defeat is inevitable.
Since you got all the way to the end of the video, may I suggest watching Battle of Thermopylae
- Spartans vs Persians.
Click that thumbnail in the next 5 seconds or it’s too late.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Bye