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Battle of Leyte Gulf

This article is about the naval battle. For the invasion of the island, see Battle of Leyte.

Battle of Leyte Gulf
Part of the Philippines campaign (1944–1945) of the Pacific Theater of World War II

The light aircraft carrier Princeton on fire, east of Luzon, on 24 October 1944
Date23–26 October 1944
Location
Leyte Gulf, Philippines
10°22′12″N 125°21′18″E / 10.370°N 125.355°E / 10.370; 125.355
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
  Japan
Commanders and leaders
Units involved

United States 3rd Fleet

United States 7th Fleet

Empire of Japan Combined Fleet

Empire of Japan Navy Air Service

Strength
Casualties and losses
  • ~3,000 killed;
  • 11 ships including:
  • 1 light carrier,
  • 2 escort carriers,
  • 2 destroyers,
  • 1 destroyer escort sunk
  • 1 PT boat damaged
  • 255 planes[3]
  • ~12,000 killed;
  • 26 ships including:
  • 1 fleet carrier,
  • 3 light carriers,
  • 3 battleships,
  • 6 heavy cruisers,
  • 4 light cruisers,
  • 9 destroyers sunk
  • ~300 planes[4]

The Battle of Leyte Gulf[5] (Japanese: レイテ沖海戦, romanized: Reite oki Kaisen, lit. 'Leyte Open Sea Naval Battle') 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved.[6][7][8][9]

By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital ships (aircraft carriers and battleships) than the Allied forces had total aircraft carriers in the Pacific, which underscored the disparity in force strength at that point in the war.[10] After the catastrophic Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, senior Japanese military leaders understood that Japan's remaining naval forces were incapable of achieving a strategic victory against the Allies. However, the Japanese general staff believed that continuing to contest Allied offensives at sea was necessary, in order to both deter a future invasion of mainland Japan and to give the Japanese navy an opportunity to utilize its remaining strength.[11] As a result, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) mobilized nearly all of its remaining major naval vessels in an attempt to repulse the Allied invasion of the Philippines, but it was defeated by the U.S. Navy's Third and Seventh Fleets.

The battle consisted of four main separate engagements (the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle off Cape Engaño, and the Battle off Samar), as well as lesser actions.[12] Allied forces announced the end of organized Japanese resistance on the island of Leyte at the end of December.

It was the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks, and it was the last naval battle between battleships in history.[13][14] The Japanese navy suffered crippling losses and did not sail in comparable force for the remainder of the war, as most of its vessels were stranded in port for lack of fuel.[15][16]

  1. ^ Morison 1958, pp. 415–429.
  2. ^ Thomas 2006, pp. 209–210.
  3. ^ Tillman, Barrett (October 2019). "The Navy's Aerial Arsenal at Leyte Gulf". Naval History Magazine. Vol. 33, no. 5. United States Naval Institute. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  4. ^ Thomas 2006, p. 322.
  5. ^ Filipino: Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit. 'Battle of Leyte gulf'
  6. ^ Cutler 1994a, Introduction: "The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the biggest and most multifaceted naval battle in history. It involved hundreds of ships, nearly 200,000 participants, and spanned more than 100,000 square miles."
  7. ^ Woodward 2007, pp. 1-3.
  8. ^ Roberts, Andrew (2012). The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War. HarperCollins. p. 565. ISBN 978-0-06-122860-5. The counter-attack at Leyte Gulf in late October 1944, with a carrier force from Japan and strike forces from Brunei, turned into the largest naval engagement in world history, with 216 United States Navy (and two Royal Australian Navy) vessels comprising 146,668 men doing battle with sixty-four Japanese vessels totalling 42,800 sailors and airmen.
  9. ^ Hanson, Victor Davis (2020). The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won (Reprint ed.). New York: Basic Books. p. 194. ISBN 978-1541674103. Later at the Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 24–25, 1944), which was likely the largest sea battle in naval history in terms of the combined tonnage of the some 370 ships,
  10. ^ Thomas 2006, p. 123.
  11. ^ Toll, Ian W. (2020). Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 (1st. ed.). New York (N. Y.): W.W. Norton & Company. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-393-08065-0.
  12. ^ "Battle of Leyte Gulf". World War 2 Facts. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  13. ^ Morison 1958, pp. 101, 240–241, 300–303.
  14. ^ Fuller 1956a, p. 234.
  15. ^ Fuller 1956b, p. 600.
  16. ^ Morison 1958, pp. 360, 397.
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