Oct 23–26, 1944. Battle of Leyte Gulf. In response to the Allied invasion of the Philippines at Leyte, the Japanese initiated Sho-Go (“Operation Victory”), an attempt to counter the Allies’ next invasion by heavy air attacks. Four carriers were sent south from Japanese waters to lure the US aircraft carriers away from Leyte Gulf. At the same time, Japanese naval forces from Singapore were sent to Brunei Bay, split up into two groups and converged on Leyte Gulf from the north and southwest. The group in the north, under Vice Admiral Kurita Takeo, was to enter the Pacific through the San Bernardino Strait between the Philippine islands of Samar and Luzon. On Oct 23 Kurita lost two of his heavy cruisers to US submarine attack, and one of Japan’s greatest battleships, the Musashi, was sunk in an aerial attack the next day, but Kurita made his way unopposed through the San Bernardino Strait on Oct 25. The southern group commanded by Vice Admiral Nishimura Teiji was detected on its way to the Surigao Strait and was practically annihilated by the US 7th Fleet as it entered the Leyte Gulf on Oct 25. Kurita, as a result, was forced to turn back from his planned rendezvous with Nishimura. Japan’s Sho-Go, rather than inflicting damage on the Americans, resulted in serious losses for the Japanese.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 13:00:00 +0000
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