The 12th volume in Samuel Eliot Morison’s classic History of the
United States Naval Operations in World War II returns to the Pacific for a
dramatic retelling of the greatest naval battle of all time.
The determining factors in the Battle
for Leyte Gulf were superb skill, heroism, and
aggressiveness, but confusion, surprise, and faulty assumptions also played
significant roles. The Japanese Centre Force, comprising more than half of
Japan's naval gunfire, steamed
undetected into gun range and caught the Seventh Fleet completely by surprise.
The Japanese made no use of this wonderful opportunity, however, imagining the
enemy to be manifold the strength that it was. The Allied victory at Leyte
enabled the US Navy to transport troops and base long-range bomber planes in
positions so close to Japan that victory was all but
assured.
Morison's account includes the key engagements surrounding the taking
of Leyte: the US Navy's extraordinary display of "gallantry, guts, and gumption"
at the Battle of Samar and the perfect timing and almost faultless execution
achieved in the Battle of Surigao Strait, the last naval battle in which air
power played no part.
