The Battle for Leyte Gulf
23-26 October 1944

 Four major actions which together make up the greatest naval battle of World War Two:

The Battle of the Sibuyan Sea

On the morning of October 24, 1944, flight crews from the Intrepid (part of The US Third Fleet) spotted Vice Admiral Kurita’s Centre Force.  Admiral Hasley had wanted to take the US Third Fleet through the archipelagos, but was told to remain by Admiral Nimitz.  However, the IJN Centre force was coming to him.  Hasley did not delay, he immediately ordered the attack:  “Strike, Repeat, Strike.  Good Luck” A few USN ships ran into a little problem.  Vice Admiral Takijiro decided not to cover Kurita, but to organize the remaining air fleet and attack a group of four US ships:  the carriers Essex, Lexington, Princeton, and Langley.  The air fleet consisted of about 80 aircraft.  This was not a very large attack force.  The planes did no major damage, except for one dive-bomber.  This bomber managed to escape detection amid the returning US ships and plant an armor piercing bomb right onto the flattop of the Princeton.  The explosion started many fires, which caused more explosions, and the ship eventually was scuttled.  Meanwhile the US aircrews were discovering that what they originally thought was three large battleships, was actually five new massive ships.  One of the massive Japanese ships was the Musashi.  The US fleet had singled her out to destroy.  And while they did major damage, it differed the attention away from other targets the fleet should have been hitting.  The Musashi did finally succumb to her wounds while making the trip to friendly waters.  Over 1,000 men died on the ship. The battle was over and nothing was gained for the IJN and the defense of the Philippine archipelago. 

The Battle of Surigao Strait

While Kurita was in Brunei, he added plans to the original SHO plans.  His new plan would be two Vice Admirals, Shoji and Kiyohide, would join forces through the south entrance to Leyte Gulf.  There they would meet up with Kurita, and together they would launch a massive attack.  This plan failed from the beginning when the two admirals, oblivious to what was going on around them, decided not to join forces.  Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf, with 6 old slow battleships (five of which had been sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor), 4 heavy and 4 light cruisers, and 26 destroyers, was charged with the task of stopping the Japanese Southern Force in Surigao Strait. The American destroyers were so successful in damaging or stopping the incoming fleet, that when the fleet arrived through the straight, all that was left was one battleship, one heavy cruiser, and one destroyer.  The continued firepower of the US ships sank two of those remaining ships, one ‘miraculously” survived.  The second wave of Japanese ships came through the strait, and encountered PT boats.  One of the torpedoes from a PT boat hit and sank one of the Japanese ships.  The following IJN ships to come up next believed that the ship burning, which was split in two, was actually two major ships sinking.  The IJN forces then turned away believing they were being crushed.  These ships would then be sunk by aircrafts from The US Seventh Fleet. 

The Battle off Cape Engano

During the night of October 24/25 Admiral Halsey made a decision that could have and should have cost the US much more than it did.  Halsey’s forces had spotted some Japanese carriers.   Anxious to sink them, he sent mush of his force to chase and destroy them.  Here is where the mistake is made:  during the battle, Halsey had received information that the seventh fleet was under attack, and needed help. Halsey decided not to send some of his ships, but to continue to go after the carriers.  After three hours passed Halsey received this transmission from Admiral Nimitz:  “Where Is Repeat Where Is Task Force Thirty-Four…The World Wonders.” This message finally made Halsey turn his ships around and travel south to help.  At the last point, before they turned around, the US ships were almost in gun range of the IJN North Fleet.  Unfortunately, Halsey waited too long.  The newly dispatched ships could not stop Kurita’s fleet from withdrawing.  All they could do was sink one battleship that was already limping, and pick up survivors out of the water.  Other than a few more chases and the sinking of two more Japanese ships, that was the last action in the battle of Leyte Gulf.

The Battle off Samar

While Halsey and his ships pursued the IJN carriers, fleeing north, the San Bernardino Strait was left completely free for anyone and his fleet to pass through.  Kurita was traveling down through the straight.  But he was expecting to see some opposition.  So Kurita found himself in a very good attack position against the US forces of “taffy three.”  Taffy Three was no match for Kurita’s fleet.  Rear Admiral Sprague launched all his aircraft to offer some sort of defense, even though his squadrons were not equipped to deal with warships.  Sprague turned his ships due east, told them to blow smoke and move at top speed, 17.5 knots.  Even though Kurita’s force was stronger and faster, they were not organized.  Kurita had given the general order of  “charge” meaning that the ships were free to fire freely on the ship of their discretion.  This created much confusion among the Japanese fleet.  Rain covered the ships for about fifteen minutes, which allowed them to turn and head toward the rest of the seventh fleet.  A few escort destroyers and small destroyers attacked the vastly superior Japanese ships at close range.  Their heroism saved many lives.  Along with the heroism of the aircrafts and their crews, who fought against ships they were not equipped to fight against.  Finally, at 0925 Kurita ordered his ships to retreat.  Admiral Sprague had these comments:

“At 0925 my mind was occupied with dodging torpedoes when I heard one of the signalmen yell 'Goddamit, boys, they're getting away!'  I could not believe my eyes, but it looked as if the whole Japanese fleet was indeed retiring. However, it took a whole series of reports from circling planes to convince me.  And still I could not get the fact to soak into my battle-numbed brain.  At best, I had expected to be swimming by this time."

At this time, Taffy one was being attacked.  Included in Taffy One was the escort carrier USS St. Lo.  The St. Lo was the first ship to be sunk by a kamikaze.