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About The Battle For Leyte Gulf
The Battle for Leyte Gulf was the greatest naval battle of the Second World War. It the largest engagement ever fought on the high seas. From Singapore, Formosa, and Japan the Imperial Japanese Navy set forth: 9 battleships, 4 carriers, 14 heavy cruisers, 6 light cruisers, 33 destroyers — all bound for victory or death in the waters of Leyte Gulf. They were met by the combined forces of the American and Australian navies with 12 battleships, 8 fleet carriers, 8 light carriers, 18 escort carriers, 24 cruisers, 166 destroyers and destroyer escorts, along with numerous other vessels. For the Japanese the battle represented the supreme naval effort of the war. At Leyte Gulf they aimed to smash the Allied navies and prevent the American attempt to recapture the Philippines. The Japanese were willing to gamble everything on this battle and one of their Admirals, Takeo Kurita, admitted after the war that they “expected that more than half our ships would be lost.” Yet, the Japanese were not able to smash the Allied navies and never again demonstrated the same strength on the highs seas that they had prior to 23rd October 1944. C. Vann Woodward, the Pulitzer-prize winning historian, provides a fascinating overview of the engagement that lasted for four days. He breaks down the conflict into four separate major battles, including the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle off Cape Engaño, and the Battle off Samar, to demonstrate to the reader the sheer scale and ferocity of the Battle for Leyte Gulf. “This is the first full account of what will undoubtedly be a considerable library on the Battle for Leyte Gulf and it is well that it is the first. The general picture is so soundly documented that it is hard to see how anyone, ever, will be able to improve on Mr. Woodward’s presentation of the facts in the case.” — The New York Times C. Vann Woodward was Professor of History at John Hopkins University and subsequently at Yale. During the war he served as as an Intelligence Officer in the Office of Chief of Naval Operations. He wrote numerous books on the American south and race relations. His book The Battle for Leyte Gulf was first published in 1947 and he passed away in 1999.
