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A review by mburnamfink
Battle of Surigao Strait by Anthony P. Tully
4.0
Tully is one of the coauthors of the fantastic Shattered Sword on the Battle of Midway, so you know his account of the Battle of Surigao Strait is going to be solid. Surigao Strait was the final battleship versus battleship fight, a key component of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history, and one of the most one-sided stomps since the Battle of Tsushima, with heroism, tragedy, and farce in equal measure.
In response to the American invasion of the Philippines, Japan activated Sho-Go-1, a final throw of this dice to achieve a Mahanian decisive battle. The plan was complex and required precise timing. IJN carriers, bereft of striking power since the Marianas Turkey shoot, would serve to lure away the American fleet. Surface battle groups would approach the landing at Leyte through the northern San Bernadino Strait and the southern Surigao Strait, find the transports, and destroy them. It almost worked, and likely would have succeeded without the desperate heroism of the escort group Taffy 3, as documented in the incredible Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors.
That's the context. Tully focuses on the two southern groups, a pair of obsolete battleships and escorts under Vice Admiral Nishimura, and a more modern cruiser force under Vice Admiral Shima. For all that the Japanese knew that the invasion was coming, if not the precise details, the initial plan was chaotic. Shima's cruisers were not properly integrated with Nishimura's battleships. Land base airpower was squandered against preliminary attacks from Halsey's carriers.
Around midnight on October 25, Nishimura's battleships entered the strait, with Shima's cruisers an hour behind. American Admiral Oldendorf knew that the Japanese were coming, and had lined the strait with PT boats, and then an escalating series of destroyer attacks, cruiser groups, and finally his six battleships. The PT boat attacks were ineffective, but the following destroyer attack scored multiple torpedo hits. Fuso caught fire and sank (Tully makes a convincing argument the ship did not break into two sections as commonly reported), and as the scattered Japanese ships entered into gunfire range of the American heavies, they were subject to a devastating bombardment that sunk Yamashiro Nishimure's force was annihilated, Shima's cruisers launched an ineffective torpedo strike before withdrawing, and were whittled down on return to base.
While the operation had succeeded in drawing off and engaging Oldendorf's fleet, and the northern deception had pulled away Halsey, the main striking force centered around the battleship Yamato failed to capitalize on the sacrifice of the deception forces and the main American fleet and transports survived.
Tully makes an argument that but Nishimure and Shima were competent professionals, and that in particular Nishimure was fully away that his obsolete 1911 vintage battleships had no combat value, but that a chance at victory required their sacrifice. Given the confused nature of a night engagement, the few survivors, and losses of sunken ship logs, Tully ably reconstructs what happened, though many of the conclusions must remain speculative. He has a palpable excitement for the topic, writing with adjectives and exclamation marks, though this enthusiasm leads him into some minor unprofessionalism.
In response to the American invasion of the Philippines, Japan activated Sho-Go-1, a final throw of this dice to achieve a Mahanian decisive battle. The plan was complex and required precise timing. IJN carriers, bereft of striking power since the Marianas Turkey shoot, would serve to lure away the American fleet. Surface battle groups would approach the landing at Leyte through the northern San Bernadino Strait and the southern Surigao Strait, find the transports, and destroy them. It almost worked, and likely would have succeeded without the desperate heroism of the escort group Taffy 3, as documented in the incredible Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors.
That's the context. Tully focuses on the two southern groups, a pair of obsolete battleships and escorts under Vice Admiral Nishimura, and a more modern cruiser force under Vice Admiral Shima. For all that the Japanese knew that the invasion was coming, if not the precise details, the initial plan was chaotic. Shima's cruisers were not properly integrated with Nishimura's battleships. Land base airpower was squandered against preliminary attacks from Halsey's carriers.
Around midnight on October 25, Nishimura's battleships entered the strait, with Shima's cruisers an hour behind. American Admiral Oldendorf knew that the Japanese were coming, and had lined the strait with PT boats, and then an escalating series of destroyer attacks, cruiser groups, and finally his six battleships. The PT boat attacks were ineffective, but the following destroyer attack scored multiple torpedo hits. Fuso caught fire and sank (Tully makes a convincing argument the ship did not break into two sections as commonly reported), and as the scattered Japanese ships entered into gunfire range of the American heavies, they were subject to a devastating bombardment that sunk Yamashiro Nishimure's force was annihilated, Shima's cruisers launched an ineffective torpedo strike before withdrawing, and were whittled down on return to base.
While the operation had succeeded in drawing off and engaging Oldendorf's fleet, and the northern deception had pulled away Halsey, the main striking force centered around the battleship Yamato failed to capitalize on the sacrifice of the deception forces and the main American fleet and transports survived.
Tully makes an argument that but Nishimure and Shima were competent professionals, and that in particular Nishimure was fully away that his obsolete 1911 vintage battleships had no combat value, but that a chance at victory required their sacrifice. Given the confused nature of a night engagement, the few survivors, and losses of sunken ship logs, Tully ably reconstructs what happened, though many of the conclusions must remain speculative. He has a palpable excitement for the topic, writing with adjectives and exclamation marks, though this enthusiasm leads him into some minor unprofessionalism.