Leyte Gulf 1944 (Campaign) [Paperback]

Bernard Ireland (Author), Howard Gerrard (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Campaign | Publication Date: March 28, 2006

Leyte Gulf was a key victory for the United States during World War II (1939-1945): its scale dwarfed previous sea conflicts and its result created an opportunity for the US forces to invade the Philippines. Four different battles - Leyte, Samar, Cape Engaño and the Surigao Strait - occurred almost simultaneously as part of a Japanese plan to claim a Trafalgar-style victory over US forces. Yet they were defeated in the battles on the surface, under the sea and in the air. This highly-accessible book describes the conflict's interweaving battles and the personalities of the commanders involved in what has been called 'the greatest sea battle of all'.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Leyte Gulf 1944 is a summary of this campaign, and includes aids such as a chronology, organizational charts, color maps, and diagrams of various engagements." Doug Bister, Military Trader Magazine

"I would recommend this book as a reference for anyone interested in warships and naval warfare and of course World War II." -Rui Matos, Model Shipwrights

From the Publisher

Highly visual guides to history's greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, tactics, and experiences of the opposing forces throughout each campaign, and concluding with a guide to the battlefields today.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (March 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841769789
• ISBN-13: 978-1841769783
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.3 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,045,025 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Decent Primer, June 13, 2006

By 

R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leyte Gulf 1944 (Campaign) (Paperback)

Bernard Ireland's Leyte Gulf 1944 is a solid addition to Osprey's campaign series. In this volume, Ireland summarizes the greatest naval battle in history, based primarily upon traditional sources such as Samuel Eliot Morison's History of US Naval Operations. Overall, the volume is well-written but the author does not offer particularly fresh information or insights. Most of the Japanese material also comes from material in other standard secondary sources, such as Paul S Dull's volume on the Imperial Japanese Navy. Overall, this volume is written as a primer for those readers who desire a basic run-down of the campaign, rather than as an incisive work for those readers who are already familiar with this subject.

The volume begins with a short introduction outlining the background to the campaign and sections on opposing commanders and opposing forces. These sections are adequate, but rather basic. The next section on opposing plans is a bit better, outlining the arguments about strategy among US commanders and the Japanese development of the Sho Plans. The bulk of the volume comprises the main campaign narrative, beginning with the US landings on Leyte (there is essentially no mention of the ground fighting after the initial landings) and the Japanese naval moves that opened the battle. The author does a good job describing the American C2 problems that resulted in the fog of war having such a profound effect upon the outcome. He also mentions the poor coordination that dogged Japanese naval operations in what was an overly complex plan. The author then uses the traditional approach of covering each of the sub-battles in turn: Cape Egnano, Sibuyuan Sea, Samar and Surigao Strait. The volume includes six 2-D maps (the Philippines as an objective; approach of Japanese attack and decoy forces; Leyte assault organization; Japanese plan of attack; the Battle off Samar; the Battle of Surigao Strait), two 3-D maps (Northern landing, 20 October 1944; the Battle off Samar, 25 October 1944) and three battle scenes (Orange Two Beach, 20 October 1944; the sinking of the Musashi, 24 October 1944; Kamikaze Attack on CVE Kitkun Bay, 25 October 1944). I was a bit disappointed that the order of battle did not even list the capital ships for each side, only task groups.

The author discuses Halsey's mistakes at some length and it is clear that he nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The Battle of Leyte Gulf - and the German Ardennes offensive two months later - are classic examples that even nearly-defeated enemies are capable of achieving operational-level surprises and inflicting serious short-term damage. In both cases, American hubris about the inevitability of victory contributed to underestimating enemy intentions. The author's descriptions of the primary air and sea engagements are rather succinct, with no primary accounts used to bolster the narrative. The dramatic action off Samar - which is described so well in Morison and Roscoe's US Destroyer Actions - is rather tepid here. The author does make some good points about the developments in US tactical air power, but his description of the "kamikazes" (i.e. Shinpu Tokkobetsu - Special Attack units) does not incorporate the better research available from Japanese sources.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Summary of a Complicated Naval Battle, July 19, 2009

By 

Dave Schranck "Dave" (Anaheim Ca) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Leyte Gulf 1944 (Campaign) (Paperback)

I rated this book 5 stars because the author did as good of a job as possible with a 96 page limit but it doesn't mean it's the best book available. Full length books by Samuel Morison and Thomas Cutter will give you greater details and better presentation. If more info is needed on submarines then Clay Blair's "Silent Victory" will help.
The introduction is short but gives you a history of both countries relations with the Philippines since the turn of the century. I particularly like Plan Orange, the American plan for a counteroffensive after Japan captures the islands. The US knew for decades that Japan might turn rogue.

The Chronology is good, covering from Sept 20th to Oct 26th. I especially like the hourly breakdown on the key days of Oct 23- Oct 26th.
In the Opposing Commanders chapter, the author does a good job covering the US commanders but short changes the Japanese commanders. It doesn't make sense when the author leaves a half page empty. At the very least, he could have added three photos of the Vice Admirals mentioned.
The author devotes 8 pages to Opposing Forces, describing Third and Seventh Fleet and their accompanying Task Forces well. He briefly describes the 4 Japanese Fleets involved in this campaign. He also describes the advantage of having land base airfield that the Japanese will take advantage of.
In Opposing Strategies Mr Ireland does a good job of describing the amphibious landing as well the naval protection. For the Japanese side, the author describes "Operation Sho-1", a complicated deployment of naval forces in an attempt for a decisive victory over the US navy. The author breaks down the Japanese dispositions into Northern, Center and Southern forces. Ozawa's carriers would be in the north and be the decoy for Halsey. Kurita with the main force in the center and Nishimura and Shima in the south.

In Battle Actions, the author does a good job of describing the multiple, daily actions in a concise, logical manner. The sequence is:
Kurita's Center Group - Ambushed in Palawan Passage by US subs
Kurita's Center Group - Battle of the Sibuyan Sea
Ozawa's Northern Force moves into "Attack Zone"
Halsey's Third Fleet - heads north
Kurita's Center Group - Battle of Samar
Ozawa's Northern Force - The Battle off Cape Engai
Halsey's Third Fleet - turns south
Kurita's Center Group Retires
The Southern Force approaches "Attack Zone"
Kinkaid's Seventh Fleet prepares for the battle with Southern Force
The Southern Force - Battles of Surigao Strait
The retiring of Japanese vessels

During the narrative of battle action, the author spends much time discussing Halsey, his motivations and actions. It was very iinteresting.
Conclusions: The author discusses problems and mistakes made in the campaign on both sides.
In the Appendix, a list of all ships destroyed is displayed showing what ship, the type of ship and date sunk. Further Reading and an Index concludes the book. If your looking for a concise summary of the campaign, this book is worth your consideration.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Take a pass on this one, February 21, 2011

By 

Charles Stuckey "stuck-fla" (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leyte Gulf 1944 (Campaign) (Paperback)

Unlike most of Osprey's recent publications, this one is little more than a brief version of the old 50's and 60's post-war British propaganda based history books so prolific at the time. It takes in to account little or nothing of recent forensic reconstructions, new translations or new theories. It is too brief to even begin to deal with the complexities of a battle that was four separate actions. There are no Order Of Battles, no new maps, no descriptions of the attacks beyond general surface combat and some aircraft actions (with minimal information on even this). It does not even mention subs unless they hit something, nor tell what air forces made attacks. This book would even be somewhat lacking for a primer on the Battle(s).
Very disappointing after the Midway and Coral Sea books in this series.