The Battle of Leyte Gulf was one of the most important naval battles of World War II and is often described as the largest naval battle in history. Fought from October 23rd to October 26th, 1944, in the waters around Leyte, Samar, and Luzon, in the Philippines, the Battle of Leyte Gulf ended in a major Allied victory and shattered Japan’s ability to fight a large offensive naval war. As such, the battle was one of the most significant during the Pacific Theater of World War II.
BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF – BACKGROUND
The Battle of Leyte Gulf took place during the Allied return to the Philippines. By 1944, Japan had already lost many of its key positions in the Pacific, while the United States had grown much stronger at sea and in the air. The invasion of Leyte, Philippines, began on October 20th, 1944, because Allied leaders wanted to cut Japan’s supply lines to Southeast Asia, open the way for further attacks, and fulfill Douglas MacArthur’s promise to return to the Philippines. More than 130,000 men were ashore by the end of the first day.
This made the Battle of Leyte Gulf much larger than a simple sea clash. It was directly connected to the larger campaign to liberate the Philippines. If Japan could smash the invasion fleet and the supply ships supporting the landings, it might still damage the Allied advance in the Pacific. Therefore, the naval battle became a desperate Japanese attempt to stop a major turning point in the war.
BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF – THE JAPANESE PLAN
The Japanese response was a plan called Sho-Go, which means “Victory Operation.” The basic idea was to use a decoy carrier force in the north to lure William Halsey’s powerful Third Fleet away from the Leyte landing area. While that happened, heavier Japanese surface forces would move in from other directions and attack the vulnerable transports and support ships near Leyte Gulf, Philippines.
This plan showed how much Japanese naval strategy had changed by late 1944. Earlier in the war, Japanese carriers had been central to offensive operations. However, after the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June of 1944, Japan’s naval air power had been badly weakened. As a result, the northern carriers at the Battle of Leyte Gulf were used more as bait than as a true striking force.
BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF – THE BATTLE BEGINS
The Battle of Leyte Gulf opened just after midnight on October 23rd, 1944, when the Japanese central force under Takeo Kurita was discovered near Palawan, Philippines, by the submarines Darter and Dace. These submarines attacked and sank the heavy cruisers Atago and Maya and badly damaged Takao. This was important because it weakened Kurita’s force before the main battle had fully developed and also removed much of the surprise from the Japanese attack.
On October 24th, the battle spread into the Sibuyan Sea and Sulu Sea, near the central Philippines. For instance, United States carrier aircraft attacked Kurita’s ships repeatedly and sank the huge battleship Musashi. At the same time, the light carrier Princeton was badly damaged by Japanese attack and later had to be scuttled. Regardless, Kurita did not turn back for long. After briefly seeming to retreat, he pushed onward toward the San Bernardino Strait, hoping still to reach the Allied shipping off Leyte.
BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF – SURIGAO STRAIT
Another major part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf took place in Surigao Strait, Philippines, during the early hours of October 25th. There, a Japanese southern force under Shoji Nishimura tried to break through from the south, but it was met by destroyers, cruisers, and battleships of the United States Seventh Fleet, along with Australian ships. The Japanese force was crushed in a night battle.
The conflict at the Surigao Strait is especially famous because it was one of the last battleship-against-battleship actions in naval history. Jesse Oldendorf arranged his force so that he “crossed the T” of the Japanese line. This meant the American ships could fire full broadsides while the Japanese could mainly use only their forward guns. The result was devastating, and Nishimura’s force was effectively destroyed.
BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF – BATTLE OFF SAMAR
The most dramatic part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf came off Samar, Philippines. While Halsey moved north to attack the Japanese decoy carriers, Kurita’s powerful surface force came through the San Bernardino Strait and suddenly appeared near the lightly protected escort carriers, destroyers, and destroyer escorts of “Taffy 3.” These ships were far weaker than the Japanese battleships and cruisers now threatening the Leyte landings.
What followed became one of the most famous last stands in naval history. The small American force attacked with extraordinary aggression. Destroyers such as Johnston charged much larger enemy ships, while escort carriers launched aircraft again and again even though many had been armed mainly for ground support missions. The Japanese force lost three cruisers, while the Americans lost the escort carrier Gambier Bay, the escort carrier St. Lo, two destroyers, and one destroyer escort. St. Lo became the first United States ship sunk by a kamikaze attack.
Kurita eventually withdrew. He had been hurt by earlier attacks, confused by the violence of the American response, and uncertain about the true strength of the enemy in front of him. Therefore, the Battle off Samar became one of the most remarkable moments of the Battle of Leyte Gulf because a much smaller force helped save the Leyte invasion from disaster.
BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF – CAPE ENGAÑO
While the fighting off Samar was unfolding, Halsey’s Third Fleet attacked the northern Japanese decoy force off Cape Engaño, near Luzon, Philippines. This force included the carrier Zuikaku, the last surviving Japanese carrier that had taken part in the Pearl Harbor attack. Because Japanese carrier air strength had already been badly weakened earlier in 1944, the northern force was no match for Halsey’s carriers and aircraft.
The result was a one-sided victory. All four Japanese carriers in the decoy force were sunk. However, this success also remained controversial because Halsey had taken his main striking force north and left the San Bernardino Strait unguarded. That decision almost allowed Kurita’s force to crash into the Leyte invasion area. As such, the Battle of Leyte Gulf included both a major American victory and one of the most debated command decisions of the Pacific War.
BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF – SIGNIFICANCE
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was significant because it destroyed Japan’s ability to conduct major offensive fleet operations. Japanese losses included battleships, carriers, cruisers, and destroyers on a scale the Imperial Japanese Navy could not replace. After the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Japan still had ships afloat, but it had largely ceased to exist as an effective offensive naval force.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was also important because it secured the Allied return to the Philippines. The Japanese plan failed to break up the Leyte landings, and the Allies kept the initiative in the Pacific. In that sense, the Battle of Leyte Gulf helped clear the way for later campaigns that brought the war closer to Japan itself.
Finally, the Battle of Leyte Gulf is remembered because it showed the full complexity of modern naval war. It involved submarines, carrier aircraft, destroyers, escort carriers, cruisers, and battleships, all fighting across a huge area in several connected actions. It also marked the growing importance of kamikaze attacks in the final stage of the Pacific War. For all of these reasons, the Battle of Leyte Gulf stands as one of the decisive battles of World War II.
