After one hour of dashing madly across the Surigao Strait under ceaseless Japanese warplane fire, the
three brand-new American Sumner-class destroyers finally made it to their target: Ormoc Bay.
The damaged destroyers had burst into one of the most heavily defended ports
in the Pacific Theater to destroy as many ships, military assets, supply depots,
and military men as they could. It was practically a suicide mission.
Once there, the state-of-the-art vessels were met by a blistering
barrage of enemy fire unlike most sailors had witnessed in their lives,
and were completely engulfed in a haze of shore, sea-based, air, and undersea weapons.
Soon, a lucky torpedo found its target on USS Cooper, which plummeted into
the seabed in less than a minute. But her brave sailors continued fighting,
firing at the enemy ships as much as they could before being swallowed by the sea.
The chaos was terrifying and all-encompassing, but the forgotten Battle of Ormoc Bay,
one of the Pacific’s fiercest and most crucial engagements, was just beginning…
Clash of Giants
It had been nearly a month after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history,
and the situation in the contested Philippines island remained critical.
The US had managed to gain a toe-hold on the eastern half of Leyte,
but the Japanese were throwing as many reinforcements and supplies
as possible in a defiant bid to keep control of the island.
The struggle devolved into a clash between two ambitious generals fueled
by their stalwart resolve and sizable egos. On the one hand,
the Japanese high command was pressuring General Tomoyuki Yamashita to defend Leyte
as if it were his own homeland. If it fell, the Japanese hold over the Philippines would follow.
On the other hand, General MacArthur was eager to keep his lofty vow to the Filipinos,
and he was prepared to unleash the entire might of the US military to liberate
the archipelago and send the Japanese reeling back into the Northwest Pacific.
At first, the Americans were led to believe the Japanese forces were about
to withdraw from the island, as the recently broken PURPLE code allowed
them to intercept messages depicting a massive movement of Japanese convoys.
Soon, however, the Americans realized the Japanese were not retreating. In fact,
they were increasing their resupply efforts in a massive operation with Ormoc Bay in its center.
After months of scrambling to halt the seemingly endless supply of fresh troops and resources,
the US finally had something that could severely cripple the Japanese.
Testing the Waters
General Tomoyuki Yamashita thought the United States Navy had undergone severe
casualties and was susceptible to a counterattack,
so he continued to amass his troops. Meanwhile, MacArthur strengthened his forces in the area,
convinced that the enemy supply lines could be severed, leading to the fall of Leyte.
Ormoc Bay was covered by a wide net of military defenses ranging from constant air patrols,
massive coastal batteries, shore troop presence,
and a considerable amount of Japanese destroyers and submarines ready to retaliate.
Moreover, the port had restricted access through two narrow channels,
one in the northwest under enemy control and another in the south, which was heavily mined.
Both were too shallow to allow any vessel larger than a destroyer to pass through,
and MacArthur would not be able to rely on the support of his capital ships.
Vice Admiral James L. Kauffman, who had just taken over as Commander of
the Philippine Sea Frontier, was facing intense pressure from General MacArthur
to take action and stop Japanese reinforcements from reaching the area.
In response, on November 27, 1944, he issued an order to have the Canigao Channel cleared of mines
by the minesweepers USS Pursuit and USS Revenge. It was believed to be the obvious solution.
Incursions
Once the mines were cleared in the following days, the US executed two incursions into the bay,
but the destroyers found no Japanese ships or military activity in the vicinity.
In one of the missions, the destroyer USS Waller, aided by a spotting PBY Catalina,
dashed into the port unopposed and began pummeling the facilities with their main battery.
Incredibly, there was little response. Soon, however,
Catalina spotted a Japanese submarine surfacing nearby, and USS Waller lost no time engaging.
A fierce battle ensued, but the submarine was no
match for the destroyer and was soon blasted into the bottom of the sea.
During two other raids, American PT boats and destroyers managed to pierce the bay and deal
some damage, even sinking a Japanese transport ship approaching the port.
However, they did not find any significant naval movement either.
Everything would change the following day when Kauffman received an
urgent message alerting him of a massive gathering of enemy ships in the port.
The opportunity Kauffman and MacArthur had been waiting for had just presented itself.
From the Factory and Into the Fray
Just in the knick of time, Destroyer Squadron 60 arrived at the anchorage in
Ulithi atoll and joined the Seventh Fleet. The squadron was unique in
that it included seven of the newly designed Sumner-class destroyers.
Unlike other modern US destroyers with only two five-inch mounts forward, the Sumners had four.
Additionally, they were the first destroyers to have twin rudders,
making them capable of faster turns, a crucial feature in close quarters such as Ormoc Bay.
On December 2, Commander John C. Zahm was summoned aboard the flagship USS Portland anchored in San
Pedro Bay. Vice Admiral Kauffman handed him a copy of CTG dispatch 02356, marked “Secret.”
The document ordered him to take his three ships,
USS Allen M. Sumner, USS Cooper, and USS Moale, into Ormoc Bay at midnight.
He was instructed to destroy any enemy ships on his path and
inflict maximum damage to the dock and warehouses.
The ships were so new the paint on their hull was still drying. Moreover, merely
15 percent of the sailors and officers assigned to the mission had previous combat experience.
Just 15 minutes after setting off, a swarm of Japanese fighters descended from the
clouds and began raining fire upon the American destroyers. One of the warplanes was shot down,
but the rest continued to harass Zahm’s forces as they made their way to their target.
At 11:00pm, the ships sounded the alarm when they detected another wave of enemy aircraft.
A bomber made a close pass on Sumner, puncturing her entire starboard side
with 90 holes and starting a fire that made her a much more vulnerable target.
The aircraft continued to attack the three ships. Damaged but undeterred,
they pushed on until they finally reached the port where the real battle would take place.
When the destroyers pierced the bay at 12:00am on December 6,
they were welcomed by an unprecedented outpouring of enemy fire from every direction.
Packs of Japanese fast PT boats descended on the Americans, shore batteries began to target them
from the coastline, and the unrelenting aircraft continued to engage the destroyers continuously.
Hell Over the Waves
Upon encountering the Japanese forces, the American destroyers immediately began to
fire back with lethal efficiency. Then, like a well-oiled machine, the three destroyers fired
synchronized, targeting a transport ship caught in the middle of disembarking enemy troops.
The overwhelming fire proved too much for the enemy transport ship,
which burst into flames and began sinking. Most Japanese servicemen never made it to the shore,
with some desperately jumping into the sea to avoid the growing flames.
After sinking the transport, the three ships concentrated their fire on several
depots and cranes across the docks. But soon, they detected the Japanese destroyer
Kuwa trying to make a surprise attack on them. Again, the American destroyers
channeled their combined firepower and sank Kuwa before she was able to escape.
The Sumner-class destroyers were performing brilliantly, and it all pointed to a decisive
victory. However, the Japanese still had some aces up their sleeves. Many submarines and
destroyers that remained close to shore to avoid radar detection suddenly began
unleashing their guns and torpedoes on the attackers. A submarine torpedo then slammed
into the hull of USS Cooper, carving a massive hole in one of her sides.
Torpedo Officer Douglas Campbell would later describe the experience: (QUOTE) “When the
Cooper was hit with that shuddering thud, I was on the bridge. I was immediately propelled into
the water and felt myself being dragged down. I then realized that I was tied to the ship
by my sound-powered phone line. Fortunately, I had a sharp knife strapped to my belt and
it came in handily freeing me. I shot toward the surface and came up amid burning debris and oil.”
Cooper sank in less than a minute, dragging dozens of American sailors to the bottom of
the sea while the rest struggled to swim amid the oil, fire, and debris.
The other American ships were too heavily engaged to mount a rescue operation but
continued to suppress the numerous Japanese coastal guns and warships trying to sink them.
Rescue
At 12:33am, the two surviving destroyers were ordered to retreat from the bay.
The Japanese claimed the battle as a victory, but the American ships had
managed to sink several enemy ships, destroy countless military assets,
and disrupt a significant supply operation that would weaken the Japanese presence in the region.
Meanwhile, the survivors of USS Cooper desperately attempted to swim to a nearby shore and, in an
incredibly fortunate turn of events, were spotted by two Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats.
The pilots were deeply moved by the sailors' ordeal and refused to leave
a single man behind. Instead, the US airmen threw out everything that was not vital and
instructed the survivors to do the same with their gear, including their shoes.
Significantly surpassing their flight capacity, the Catalinas carried up to 59 sailors each.
Incredibly, they were able to take off and save the stranded sailors.
The fearless pilots were eventually rewarded with a medal for their bravery and determination.
The engagement would become the only battle at sea during the war that saw
the deployment of every type of weapon in the enemy’s arsenal, including naval artillery,
torpedoes, air strikes, submarine assaults, coastal artillery, and mines.
The Invasion Zahm’s suicide mission had been a bittersweet
affair; they had lost hundreds of sailors and a destroyer but caused unmeasurable damage to the
enemy and their capability to reinforce Leyte. Now it was time for MacArthur to make his next move.
The US deployed a massive amphibious and air operation to kick the Japanese while
they were down, and on the evening of December 6, approximately 8,000 soldiers from the 77th
Division boarded several types of small landing vessels. In the cover of darkness,
they navigated around the southern edge of Leyte and reached Ormoc Bay by dawn.
They then landed in Deposito, a small village five miles south of Ormoc City, which placed them
behind enemy lines. Meanwhile, the 7th Infantry Division advanced from the south along the coast,
while the 11th Airborne Division moved down from the north towards Ormoc City.
By then, General Yamashita had hastily reinforced the bay, and close to 40,000 Japanese soldiers
were in the area. Thankfully for the Americans, they were disorganized, depleted, and with a
great deal of demolished infrastructure. As such, they were unable to mount a defensive operation.
The Japanese made several efforts to resupply their positions, but they were defeated every
time, and soon the American forces were able to secure Ormoc Bay and the city.
From there, the fall of Leyte was just a matter of time…
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