The Battle of Leyte Gulf: The Last Fleet Action (Twentieth-Century Battles)

The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the greatest naval engagement in history. The battle was four separate actions, none of which were fought in the Gulf itself, and the result was the destruction of Japanese naval power in the Pacific. This book is a detailed and comprehensive account of the fighting from both sides. It provides the context of the battle, most obviously in terms of Japanese calculations and the search for "a fitting place to die" and "the chance to bloom as flowers of death." Using Japanese material never previously noted in western accounts, H. P. Willmott provides new perspectives on the unfolding of the battle and very deliberately seeks to give readers a proper understanding of the importance of this battle for American naval operations in the following month. This careful interrogation of the accounts of "the last fleet action" is a significant contribution to military history. The battle of Leyte Gulf was the greatest naval battle in modern history. This book is a detailed and comprehensive account of the fighting from both sides on 24-25 October 1944. It provides the context of the battle, most obviously in terms of Japanese calculations and the search for "a fitting place to die" and "the chance to bloom as flowers of death," as well as a comprehensive discussion of the events leading up to and following the battle.Using Japanese material never previously noted in Western accounts, H. P. Willmott provides new perspectives on the unfolding of the battle and deliberately seeks to give readers a proper understanding of the importance of this battle for American naval operations in the following month. The book also deals with such vexed questions as the conduct and decisions of the two fleet commanders, Halsey and Kurita, during this battle and raises questions that are certain to provoke controversy.By any standard, the battle of Leyte Gulf was an enormous undertaking. The battle was in fact four separate actions, none of which was fought in the Gulf itself. There were more units giving battle than any naval engagement in history with the possible exception of Jutland. The area of deployment was immense, covering an area greater than France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria combined; the area of operations was only slightly smaller than the British Isles. Though the battle was fought after the issue of victory and defeat at sea had been decided, it was nevertheless an overwhelming victory for the American naval forces. So devastating was the Japanese defeat that in the following month the American forces sank more warships and three times the service and merchant shipping than during the battle itself.For naval historians both professional and amateur, The Battle of Leyte Gulf will serve as a careful interrogation of the accounts of "the last fleet action" and a significant contribution to the naval history of the Second World War.

"The Battle of Leyte Gulf was an extremely unusual battle. It was unusual on five separate counts that are so obvious that they are usually missed. It was unusual in that it was a series of actions, not a single battle. It was unusual as a naval battle in that it was fought over five days; historically, naval battles have seldom spread themselves over more than one or two days. It was unusual in terms of its name. This battle involved a series of related actions subsequently grouped together under the name of just one of these engagements, but in fact none of the actions were fought inside Leyte Gulf.... More importantly, it was unusual in that it was a full-scale fleet action fought after the issue of victory and defeat at sea had been decided, and it was unusual in that it resulted in clear, overwhelming victory and defeat." —from Chapter One

The Battle of Leyte Gulf—October 22-28, 1944—was the greatest naval engagement in history. In fact the battle was four separate actions, none of which were fought in the Gulf itself, and the result was the destruction of Japanese naval power in the Pacific. This book is a detailed and comprehensive account of the fighting from both sides. It provides the context of the battle, most obviously in terms of Japanese calculations and the search for "a fitting place to die" and "the chance to bloom as flowers of death." Using Japanese material never previously noted in western accounts, H.P. Willmott provides new perspectives on the unfolding of the battle and very deliberately seeks to give readers a proper understanding of the importance of this battle for American naval operations in the following month. This careful interrogation of the accounts of "the last fleet action" is a significant contribution to military history.

"The Battle of Leyte Gulf was an extremely unusual battle. It was unusual on five separate counts that are so obvious that they are usually missed. It was unusual in that it was a series of actions, not a single battle. It was unusual as a naval battle in that it was fought over five days; historically, naval battles have seldom spread themselves over more than one or two days. It was unusual in terms of its name. This battle involved a series of related actions subsequently grouped together under the name of just one of these engagements, but in fact none of the actions were fought inside Leyte Gulf...More importantly, it was unusual in that it was a full-scale fleet action fought after the issue of victory & defeat at sea had been decided, & it was unusual in that it resulted in clear, overwhelming victory and defeat."--from Chapter I The Battle of Leyte Gulf--10/22-28/44--was the greatest naval engagement in history. In fact the battle was four separate actions, none of which were fought in the Gulf itself. The result was the destruction of Japanese naval power in the Pacific. This book is a comprehensively detailed account of the fighting from both sides. It provides the context of the battle, most obviously in terms of Japanese calculations & the search for "a fitting place to die" & "the chance to bloom as flowers of death." Using Japanese material never previously noted in western accounts, Willmott provides new perspectives on the unfolding of the battle to give readers an understanding of the importance of this battle for American naval operations in the following month. This interrogation of the accounts of "the last fleet action" is a significant contribution to military history. Frontmatter List of Maps (page viii) List of Tables (page ix) List of Diagrams (page x) Acknowledgments (page xi) ONE The Nature of War and of Victory (page 1) TWO The Option of Difficulties: The American Situation in the Aftermath of the Victory in the Philippine Sea (page 12) THREE The Search for Solutions: The Japanese Situation in the Aftermath of Defeat in the Philippine Sea (page 35) FOUR Preliminaries: 6-18 October 1944 (page 58) FIVE Advance and Contact: 18-24 October 1944 (page 79) SIX The Great Day of Wrath: 25 October 1944 (page 136) SEVEN The Naval Battle for the Philippines: The Postscript, 26 October -30 November 1944 (page 217) EIGHT To Pause and Consider: Blame, Responsibility, and the Verdict of History (page 237) Appendixes (page 267) Notes (page 333) Primary Sources (page 373) Secondary Sources (page 377) Index (page 383)