Leyte Gulf: The Largest Naval Battle of World War II

On October 23, 1944, the Battle of Leyte Gulf began. From the article:

"The Largest Naval Battle of World War II: Battle of Leyte Gulf

Sibuyan Sea
Beginning on October 23, the Battle of Leyte Gulf consisted of four primary meetings between Allied and Japanese forces. In the first engagement on October 23-24, the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, Kurita's Center Force was attacked by the American submarines USS Darter and USS Dace as well as Halsey's aircraft. Engaging the Japanese around dawn on October 23, Darter scored four hits on Kurita's flagship, the heavy cruiser Atago, and two on the heavy cruiser Takao. A short time later, Dace hit the heavy cruiser Maya with four torpedoes. While Atago and Maya both sank quickly, Takao, badly damaged, withdrew to Brunei with two destroyers as escorts.

Rescued from the water, Kurita transferred his flag to Yamato. The next morning, Center Force was located by American aircraft as it moved through the Sibuyan Sea. Brought under attack by aircraft from 3rd Fleet's carriers, the Japanese quickly took hits to the battleships Nagato, Yamato, and Musashi and saw the heavy cruiser Myōkō badly damaged. Subsequent strikes saw Musashi crippled and drop from Kurita's formation. It later sank around 7:30 PM after being hit with at least 17 bombs and 19 torpedoes.

Under increasingly intense air attacks, Kurita reversed his course and retreated. As the Americans withdrew, Kurita again changed course around 5:15 PM and resumed his advance towards the San Bernardino Strait. Elsewhere that day, the escort carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23) was sunk by land-based bombers as its aircraft attacked Japanese air bases on Luzon.

Surigao Strait
On the night of October 24/25, part of the Southern Force, led by Nishimura entered the Surigao Straight where they were initially attacked by Allied PT boats. Successfully running this gauntlet, Nishimura's ships were then set upon by destroyers which unleashed a barrage of torpedoes. In the course of this assault USS Melvin hit the battleship Fusō causing it to sink. Driving forward, Nishimura's remaining ships soon encountered the six battleships (many of them Pearl Harbor veterans) and eight cruisers of the 7th Fleet Support Force led by Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf.

Battle of Surigao Strait
Crossing the Japanese "T", Oldendorf's ships used radar fire control to engage the Japanese at long range. Pounding the enemy, the Americans sank the battleship Yamashiro and the heavy cruiser Mogami. Unable to continue their advance, the remainder of Nishimura's squadron withdrew south. Entering the strait, Shima encountered the wrecks of Nishimura's ships and elected to retreat. The fighting in the Surigao Strait was the last time two battleship forces would duel.

Cape Engaño
At 4:40 PM on the 24th, Halsey's scouts located Ozawa's Northern Force. Believing that Kurita was retreating, Halsey signaled Admiral Kinkaid that he was moving north to pursue the Japanese carriers. By doing so, Halsey was leaving the landings unprotected. Kinkaid was not aware of this as he believed Halsey had left one carrier group to cover the San Bernardino Straight.

At dawn on October 25, Ozawa launched a 75-plane strike against Halsey and Mitscher's carriers. Easily defeated by the American combat air patrols, no damage was inflicted. Countering, Mitscher's first wave of aircraft began attacking the Japanese around 8:00 AM. Overwhelming the enemy fighter defense, the attacks continued through the day and ultimately sank all four of Ozawa's carriers in what became known as the Battle of Cape Engaño.

Samar
As the battle was concluding, Halsey was informed that the situation off Leyte was critical. Toyoda's plan had worked. By Ozawa drawing away Halsey's carriers, the path through the San Bernardino Straight was left open for Kurita's Center Force to pass through to attack the landings. Breaking off his attacks, Halsey began steaming south at full speed. Off Samar (just north of Leyte), Kurita's force encountered the 7th Fleet's escort carriers and destroyers.

Launching their planes, the escort carriers began to flee, while the destroyers valiantly attacked Kurita's much superior force. As the melee was turning in favor of the Japanese, Kurita broke off after realizing that he was not attacking Halsey's carriers and that the longer he lingered the more likely he was to be attacked by American aircraft. Kurita's retreat effectively ended the battle.

Aftermath
In the fighting at Leyte Gulf, the Japanese lost 4 aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, 8 cruisers, and 12 destroyers, as well as 10,000+ killed. Allied losses were much lighter and included 1,500 killed as well as 1 light aircraft carrier, 2 escort carriers, 2 destroyers, and 1 destroyer escort sunk. Crippled by their losses, the Battle of Leyte Gulf marked the last time the Imperial Japanese Navy would conduct large-scale operations during the war.

The Allied victory secured the beachhead on Leyte and opened the door for the liberation of the Philippines. This in turn cut off the Japanese from their conquered territories in Southeast Asia, greatly reducing the flow of supplies and resources to the home islands. Despite winning the largest naval engagement in history, Halsey was criticized after the battle for racing north to attack Ozawa without leaving cover for the invasion fleet off Leyte."