The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the biggest naval battle fought in the Pacific Theatre during WW-II. Four different actions took place in this battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and US 3rd and 7th fleets off the Leyte Island in the Philippines archipelago between October 23 and 26, 1944. These were the first battle of Leyte (October 22-25), the battle of Surigao Strait (October 24), the battle of Samar (October 25) and the battle of Cape Engano (October 25 and 26).
Leyte is situated in the south of the Philippines’ main island of Luzan, and north of the Mindano Island with easterly approaches from the Surigao Strait, from the Sibuyan Sea in the north and through San Bernardino Strait situated between Samar Island and Luzan.
In the summer of 1944, the American military was striving to retake the Philippines. MacArthur’s forces had moved from New Guinea to Dutch East Indies and the Pacific fleet had moved to the Mariana Islands in support of MacArthur’s army, which had landed on the south-west coast of Leyte in October 1944. The US Seventh Fleet, commanded by Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, was in the Surigao Strait off Leyte. It had scores of warships and hundreds of amphibious crafts to support MacArthur’s landings. This fleet carried 800 aircrafts on its carriers. The US Third Fleet, under Vice Admiral Halsey, had 16 carriers, six battleships and a flotilla of cruisers and destroyers. It had been divided into four task groups, each under Vice Admiral McCaine, Rear Admirals Sherman, Bogan and Davison. These task groups were stationed to operate off Luzon — Sherman’s group in the north, Davison’s group in the south and Bogan’s in the middle. McCain’s group, which had five carriers, was on its way to Ulithi for embarking provisions.
The Japanese strategy in the defence of Leyte was to entrap the USN 7th Fleet by its naval forces from the north in the Sibuyan Sea, and with assault from the south from Surigao Strait. The USN 3rd Fleet, under Admiral Halsey, was to be lured northwards, away from the Leyte Strait by a decoy carrier force. To execute this strategy, the Imperial Japanese Navy formed four task forces under the overall command of Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa, who himself was to lead the decoy carrier force (116 planes on them) with two battleships, three light cruisers and nine destroyers. A task force of five battleships, 10 heavy cruisers and four destroyers under Vice Admiral Takio Kurita was to block the Sibyan sea passage and to assault from the north through San Bernardino Strait.
Two carrier forces under Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimara and Vice Admiral Kiyoyama were to sail through the Sulu Sea from the south to Leyte Gulf to entrap the 7th Fleet. Sixty-four major assault ships had been assembled by the IJN for this operation with air support from Japanese airbases. The USN had mustered 24 carriers, nine battleships and 20 cruisers for this action, apart from destroyer escorts and torpedo boats.
Before the start of the Leyte campaign, the Americans took an atoll named Pelali where the fleets were to be parked. Halsey sailed the 3rd Fleet from Pelali in early October. The warplanes from this fleet struck Okinawa, destroying 350 Japanese planes on ground. The Japanese response to this initial American action was massive.
Ozawa’s decoy fleet left the Japanese home islands on October 20 for north east of the Philippines. Kurita’s central force left Borneo Bay on October 22 for the Sibuyan Sea for assault on the 7th Fleet from the north. On the same day, Shoji Nishimura’s fleet sailed through Surigao Strait, the southern entrance of Leyte Gulf. The striking force of Schima had also been sailed from the Ryuckus Islands towards Surigao Strait to enter Leyte Gulf on the south of Kinkaid’s position. An action took place on October 23, west of Palwan Island when Kurita, on passage to the Sibuyan Sea, was attacked and lost his flagship, Atago and cruiser, Maya. This loss, however, did not stop Kurita. In the meantime, Halsey took the Japanese bait and moved north to take on Ozawa’s Decoy Force, leaving the San Bernardino passage wide open for Kurita to pass through on October 24 to round the island of Samar to attack Kinkaid’s fleet unaware. But his forces were spotted on October 25 and came under heavy attacks from the spotter carrier group.
Kurita, unaware of Halsey’s move northwards, thought he was facing the 3rd Fleet. Kinkaid, alerted, threw all his sources at Kurita who was stopped in his foray and chose to retreat to San Bernardino Strait after suffering the loss of a battleship, Mushai, and damage to cruiser, Myoko. In the meantime, Halsey, on chase of Ozawa, ordered his three task groups to move north, leaving San Bernardio Strait unguarded. This gave respite to Kurita and facing no more assaults from the planes of the three task forces of the 3rd Fleet, he turned back eastwards and passed through the Strait again at midnight without facing any resistance from the Americans.
On the night of October 24 and 25, a battle of torpedo boats developed against Nishimura’s force in Surigao Strait in which the battleship, Yamashiro, was sunk with the loss of its Admiral on board. The battleship, Fuso, was also sunk, 60 miles astern. Admiral Shima also encountered a torpedo boat attack in which the cruiser, Abukuma, was lost. On October 25, a group of six US escort carriers under Rear Admiral Sprague in carrier, Fanshow Bay, cruising east of Samar Island in support of amphibious landings, was confronted by Kurita’s forces dead ahead. Kurita ordered general attack from his battleship, Yama, forcing Sprague to retreat south to launch his planes.
Such was the ferocity of Kurita’s attack that Americans had to throw in everything to defend themselves — bombs, rockets, torpedoes and machine guns. When their weapons were spent, the American pilots made mock runs to keep Kurita’s forces engaged in undiverted attention on fresh targets. Admiral Sprague called for help from Halsey who had engaged his forces away in the north in battle with Ozawa’s decoy forces. Soon, help came to Sprague from the warplanes of other escort carriers. The Japanese navy lost its heavy cruiser, Chokai. Cruisers Chikuma and Kamanu were also badly damaged. After three hours of action, Kurita turned for San Bernardino Strait again; but the battle of both sides’ aeroplanes continued till the Japanese brought in Kamakaze suicide attacks which sank the carrier Saintlo and damaged other two (Kalinin Bay and Kikua Bay).
In Halsey’s battle with Ozawa’s Forces in the north off Cape Engano and away from the scene of ferocious battle off the Samar Island with Kuritas forces, four Japanese carriers were sunk. But Halsey continued chasing Ozawa in spite of calls for help from Sprague and Kinkaid. At Nimitz’s interruption, Halsey did send six fast battleships back to San Bernardino Strait. But it was too late. Kurita had by then again passed through this narrow passage. Ozawa’s forces also reached the safety of the home bases. On October 26, Kurita was back in the Sibuyan Sea. McCain’s planes hit his forces and sank light cruiser, Noshiro. The Kamikazes were again in action, but did not inflict much damage. The battle of Leyte was over with the IJN retreating and USN in a predominant position.
