The Battle of Leyte Gulf: 23-26 October 1944 (Bluejacket Books) [Paperback]

Thomas J. Cutler (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bluejacket Books | Publication Date: November 1, 2001

The last great naval battle of World War II, Leyte Gulf also is remembered as the biggest naval battle ever fought anywhere, and this book has been called the best account of it ever written. First published in hardcover on the battle's fiftieth anniversary in 1994 and drawing on materials not previously available, it blends history with human drama to give a real sense of what happened--despite the mammoth scope of the battle. Every facet of naval warfare was involved in the struggle that engaged some two hundred thousand men and 282 American, Japanese, and Australian ships over more than a hundred thousand square miles of sea. That Tom Cutler succeeded at such a difficult task is no surprise. The award-winning author saw combat service aboard many types of ships during his naval career, and as a historian and professor of strategy and policy at the Naval War College, he has studied the battle for many years.

Cutler captures the milieu, analyzes the strategy and tactics employed, and re-creates the experiences of the participants--from seaman to admiral, both Japanese and American. It is a story replete with awe-inspiring heroism, failed intelligence, flawed strategy, brilliant deception, great controversies, and a cast of characters with names like Halsey, Nimitz, Ozawa, and MacArthur. Such an exciting and revealing account of the battle is unlikely to be equaled by future writers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cutler, professor of strategy at the U.S. Naval War College, relates the epic WW II engagement in the Philippines in which the Japanese Navy nearly prevented Gen. Douglas MacArthur from fulfilling his "I shall return" vow. We're shown the Battle of Leyte Gulf as a series of hard tactical choices by admirals on both sides and their terrifying sea combat. Woven into the suspenseful narrative are survival stories and accounts of extraordinary individual exploits. Cutler describes how a decoy fleet under Adm. Jisaburo Ozawa lured Adm. William Halsey's task force away from the focus of battle, leaving unprotected the troops covering MacArthur's beachhead. The Japanese couldn't capitalize on this opportunity, however, partly because the beachhead ships put up a terrific fight. Cutler also takes a close look at Halsey's questionable tactical moves during the battle and his postwar attempts to deny his poor judgment. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

In this compelling account, retired combat veteran Cutler (Strategy/US Naval Academy; Brown Water, Black Berets, 1988) offers balanced criticism and praise of the American performance in a critical WW II battle. In October 1944, in an attempt to force a battle that would turn the tide of the war, Japanese fleets opposed General MacArthur's amphibious operations on the island of Leyte in the Philippines. Cutler shows how the American Third and Seventh fleets, which were combined to support operations on Leyte, were attacked by Japanese naval forces under Admiral Kurita; with total air superiority and a formidable attacking submarine force for which the Japanese had no counterpart, Cutler argues, the American forces should have had no difficulty achieving victory. Indeed, American air attacks in the Subuyan Sea on October 24, 1944, together with coordinated American submarine attacks, inflicted great damage on Kurita's ships. However, Admiral Ozawa, commanding a separate Japanese fleet from north of Leyte, feinted an all-out attack on American Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet, persuading Halsey that a large Japanese carrier force was attacking and diverting his fleet away from the battle. Cutler argues that if separate Japanese fleets under admirals Shima and Nishimura had been able to merge their fleets with Kurita's and coordinate their attacks, and if Kurita had not broken off the battle when a crucial task force of the Seventh Fleet was nearly exhausted, a major American defeat might have resulted. In the event, uncoordinated Japanese attacks (most notably, the destructive kamikaze attacks that were the first use of suicide fliers against American ships during the war) against an outnumbered American adversary resulted in a battle that was hugely costly on both sides, but that did not stop the American forces from achieving their strategic objectives in the Philippines. A well-researched, carefully reasoned account of the little- studied battle that made ultimate American victory in the Pacific inevitable. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 343 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557502439
• ISBN-13: 978-1557502438
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > History > Asia > Philippines

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Full Story of the Biggest Naval Clash, April 6, 2002

By 

"jcchollywood" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Battle of Leyte Gulf: 23-26 October 1944 (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

Cutler's account of the Battle of Leyte Gulf is a remarkable and detailed account of the greatest naval battle in history. What makes the book great is the details that Cutler provided for the reader to learn about what happened. The reader is given the background first of what led to the battle: the initial air strikes by Halsey, MacArthur's arguement to invade the Phillipines over Formosa, and the initial invasion. But he covers both sides as to why the Japanese committed the rest of their fleet and how the arrived at their plan.
The account of the battle is fully covered as well. From the Dace and Darter commencing the attack, to the smashing victory in Surigao Strait, Halsey's initial attacks and blunderous move north, and the herioc and desperate fight of Taffy 3 to protect themselves and the landing forces. Cutler doesn't just say wahy Halsey blundered, but he gives every reason why and what the consequences after the battle were.
Now I would be lying if I said I was totally satisfied though. I was a little disappointed in the pictures included, I have seen more in other books, but Cutler managed to get ones I have never seen before. That is minor though when compared to the satisfaction of getting the facts about the victory that guaranteed the US could win the war. The maps are helpful in seeing the Japanese plan of attack and the US plan of defense. I would recommend this to any historian or lover of war novels.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History's Biggest Naval Battle...., July 21, 2002

By 

Grant Waara (Lusk, Wyoming, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Battle of Leyte Gulf: 23-26 October 1944 (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

This is a superb book. I've not read (yet) "Afternoon of the Rising Sun" but I think this is the best primer on the subject ever written. It's clear, precise and you don't have to know a whole lot on the subject to read it. The chapter on the Battle Samar, "Charge of the Light Brigade," is a terrificly exciting account of Sprague's pitifully small group's collision with Kurita's Main Battle Line. Military history doesn't get any better than this. I extend my thanks to the Naval Institute Press for bringing this classic back in print.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars US Navy's culminating victory in the Pacific, August 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Battle of Leyte Gulf 23-26 October 1944 (Hardcover)

As the author points out, the series of naval battles fought in late October, 1945, collectively termed the Battle of Leyte Gulf, was the largest naval battle ever fought - in terms of men and ships involved. Although by that point in the war, the question was not if Japan was to be defeated but when and at what cost (the cost was high and would have been staggering if the atomic bomb attacks had not finally convinced Hirohito to accept the terms of the Potsdam ultimatum). From before Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Combined Fleet had been seeking the "decisive battle" at sea, where they would once and for all achieve naval superiority over the Allies (the U.S., actually, since Britain's naval efforts were quickly rendered inconsequential in the Pacific days into the war). At Leyte Gulf, the Japanese sallied forth - in their typically overly complex, arrogant, disconnected fashion - to destroy the American landing forces off Leyte - and turn back the flooding tide of the American advance. What actually happened, in a complex series of maneuvers and actions - involving tactical and strategic mistakes on both sides - resulted in a resounding American victory and the final destruction of the Japanese Combined Fleet. The Japanese would never again venture forth to meet American ships at sea - save the Yamato's desperate suicide run during the first week of the Battle of Okinawa. Cutler's account is well researched and is commendable in explaining complex events and evaluating tactical and strategic decisions - even if his writing style is not quite up to the dramatic content. Cutler rightly emphasizes the heroic actions of the Destroyers and Destroyer Escorts off Samar in attempting to fend off the vastly superior Japanese force under Kurita - which, through tactical and communications errors by "Bull" Halsey - had achieved position to destroy covering escort carrier task forces and the American landing fleet off Leyte (fortunately for the U.S., Kurita made the mistake of breaking off his attack on the verge of success). The Battle of Leyte Gulf is little known among the American public and the action by these "small Navy" sailors of "Taffy 3" should be memorialzed as a profile of courage. They exhibited the type of courage Japan - in their arrogance - was convinced the U. S. did not possess when they made their decision to precipitate a war with the "sleeping giant". What sweet revenge it must have been for USS West Virginia, survivor of the cowardly attack on Pearl Harbor, when her radar directed big guns rained destruction on the Japanese force under Kirishima at Surigao Strait. This is the definitive account of a decisive engagement of the war in the Pacific.and perhaps last great naval battle the world will ever see.