Leyte Gulf - Battle of Surigao Strait - Animated
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October 1944 - While the Japanese Centre Force has been temporarily turned away, Southern Force enters the Surigao Strait. Defending the American landings at Leyte, the Battleships of US Navy 7th Fleet stand in their way, in what will be the last Battleship vs Battleship engagement in history.
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Dont. Dont play this game, it does not deserve your time.
@@kingjulian420 That's just like.. your opinion, man..
You like subs and CVs? You a cuck?@@Alex-hv2zu
@@kingjulian420 As an avid warthunder player.... I would much more spend my time on World of warships than warthunder... thats just a fact. Unlike your opinion. Next time list some reasons people shouldnt play it. Like how people should not play wartunder because its filled with bots. Literal and Figuratively. Its blatant pay to win. Poor BR decompression means your pre WW1 ships will fight ships from after WW2. And the game mods regularly abuse their power.
*FUN FACT:* This was the second of three disastrous naval engagements where the Japanese destroyer Shigure would be the _ONLY_ ship in her task force to remain afloat at battle's end. Her next assignment was to escort the fleet carrier Unryu from Kure to Manila. Once again, Shigure would return _alone._
Shigure and Yukikaze, the ships you really, really don’t want to find yourself sortieing with.
That destroyer just has the dog in him I guess
@@dakpickels7412 basic cinema rules, the dog can't die
This is one of the few times where a statement starting with Fun Fact is actually a fun fact!
@@dakpickels7412her.
“If the battle off Samar is the naval equivalent of David and Goliath, the battle of Surigao Strait is the naval equivalent of clubbing a seal”
I was hoping someone would mention Potential History's Slapdown at Surigao Strait here
My father, Kenneth McLaughlin, WT/3 served on the USS Gambier Bay
@@lurkingobserver9065Russian bias? Russian bias, always
@@markmclaughlin2690 Pardon me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that the Aircraft Carrier that got absolutely pummeled by the Japanese?
@@schmeatgaming853 yes it was the only carrier to be sunk by naval shell fire alone
i’m on a scissor lift 35 ft in the air. i have stopped what i’m doing because OP ROOM uploaded. Edit | 1 MILLIONS SUBCRIBERS!!!! let’s goooooo boyssss
That's crazy
I think I see you!
When you fall, don't blame the channel...but your own stupidity.
Nice.
Is this an OSHA reportable?
In a massively ironic twist, cpt.Jesse Grant Coward was awarded the navy cross for heroism.
Name does not fit 🤣
I’ll bet he was picked on a lot as a child. I’m sure this more than made up for it though.
Yeah, I had to look it up to make sure I wasn't mishearing it. And then I immediately looked to see if he was awarded for bravery and that came up. I also looked up where the name comes from. It's just a coincidence of two different languages creating different words that ended up on the same spelling in English. - As a surname, it's from old English "Cowherd" as in one who herds cows. - As an insult, it's from the French word "coue" meaning "tail", implying the part of an animal you see when it runs away. The "-ard" on the end just means it refers to a person associated with the thing (eg. "drunk-ard") and has its roots in the word "hard", so it's not that far off from the modern "-hard" we throw onto verbs as a noun for people who do a thing too much (eg. "try-hard").
The only coward that is courageous…😂😂😂
With a name like that, you have to figure he tried to overcompensate his whole life.
Mogami was truly a cursed ship. What are the odds of colliding with 3 friendly ships, being the nearest ship when battleship Mutsu blew up under mysterious circumstances, and firing the most devastating friendly fire torpedo salvo of WW2?
And now pretty much experiencing what the Canberra suffered during savo island, the us grabbed all the Japanese tactics and night fighting doctrine and perfected it, i can’t think of a worst disrespect.
Not to mention she got beaten up by Enterprise twice.
Someone must have changed her name. That’s a heinous Jonah.
Correction : the mogami class was a truly cursed class, all 4 ships were beaten up in the most brutal way that any cruiser will get what are the odds of the whole class cruisers in different battles gets a beating from US most strongest fleet. And it makes mikuma which got focus bombed by enterprise and hornet dive bombers back in battle of midway, like they bomb the hiyru seems to be taken the smallest beating among the sisters.
@@Zero_2558 Mikuma was focused on because she'd been slowed to a crawl after Mogami collided with her. And that was the day after the carriers were sunk, when the US were sweeping for any IJN stragglers.
The USS West Virginia scoring that first hit with it's history is awesome. The feeling on the bridge must have been immense.
From what I understand. During the Interwar period. WeeVee had been awarded numerous times for excellence in Gunnery. So despite nearly being sunk and a lengthy repair period. It’s good to see she hadn’t lost her aim.
@@ph89787 except for speed and 1 less gun she has nothing to envy her fast battleships contemporaries.
@@d.olivergutierrez8690 the hilarious thing was that she came out of her repairs with the same fire control as the Fast Battleships.
“The devastating accuracy of this gunfire was the most beautiful sight I have ever witnessed.” - Captain Roland N. Smoot
@@ph89787'WeeVee' lmaoooo
I am practically vibrating with anticipation of TOR doing the Battle Off Samar.
Likewise.
Armchair Historian also said they plan to do a video about the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the coming year. Between them and TOR, it's hard to be more excited for historical content on KZhead!
Most likely that he will cover the Battle of Cape Engaño first before the main event.
@@paulsteaven Probably.
Honestly so hyped
it’s insane how much quality content you’ve managed to put out recently, the operations room has really been rolling
it's all paid for by World of Warships
@@nicksmth33 I think loftobot was just making a joke. No need to get so defensive. We're all here for our love of history.
you shamelessly plugging yourself says more than enough. how many times you edit that comment bro? say less @@nicksmth33
True and it is good content
@@nicksmth33 found the guy who cant take a joke
The battleships Tennessee, California, Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania of Battleship Row delivered their revenge on the Japanese for Pearl Harbor.
If anybody is wondering where the other battleship (Nevada) was, she was at D-Day in Normandy and supporting operations in Europe.
West Virginia, Tennessee and California: “we are not the same standard bb that you encountered at pearl anymore”
@@matthewhecht9257 "Best we could do is send you to Iwo Jima"
She was in Europe, but she would return to the Pacific to take part in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.@@matthewhecht9257
No they weren't they modernized and given new weapons.@@d.olivergutierrez8690
Brings so much more when you can actually see the movements of the combat units to go along with the textual description of the battle. Hope you one day do the Battle of Trafalgar.
It really does. I first learned all about the Pacific by reading a collection of large Time-Life WW2 books that my dad gave me. It's amazing to see the detailed little ships and other units.
@@b.p.879I've read those too when I was a teenager. Now I'm collecting them. I love em.
I'm wondering if there was a slight omission regarding IJN Yamashiro? My grandfather was on a destroyer, USS Killen (DD-593), that was part of the battle. According to the battle reports I've seen the torpedo hit from USS Monssen didn't result in a meaningful reduction in speed as ten minutes after the hit the Vice Admiral stated the ship's battle integrity had not been affected. However, one minute after that transmission a torpedo from USS Killen hit the Yamashiro and did significantly reduce her speed. The report from Combined Fleet reads: "Around 0331, YAMASHIRO receives a torpedo hit to port side amidships from Cdr (later Rear Admiral) Howard G. Corey's USS KILLEN (DD-593), set a depth of 22 ft to inflict maximum damage. As a result of flooding, YAMASHIRO's speed falls off to a mere 5 kts and she develops a list." It also goes on to state that around six minutes later her speed was back up to 18 knots. Though some other sources claim that the torpedo hit from Killen was the crippling blow which let other ships maneuver in for the kill. Either way, was really looking forward to seeing your video on this battle. My grandfather passed away in 2012 at the age of 86 after battling Alzheimer's and pulmonary fibrosis. I had moved in with him earlier in the year to help care for him while I was finishing my undergrad degree and, on his good days, he had some pretty wild war stories including occasionally talking about the encounter with the Yamashiro. He also often reverted back to thinking he was in the war again in his final months, thankfully usually good memories.
I remember on Battle360 Enterprise how the interviewees would choke up when recalling those six decade old experiences. Very moving.
Thanks for sharing, your grandfather was a hero. I believe there are organisations that document war stories for historical purposes and I'm sure they'd be interested in your grandfather's story. Good way to keep his memory alive!
salute to your grandfather. we the future generations remember his valor.
The claimed hits by the U.S. battleships are just that- claimed. They are both unconfirmed and highly unlikely. Their basis is "pronounced flare- ups" which were just as likely Yamashiro firing back. Shell dispersion at that range was approximately 400 yards and so many vessels were firing at Yamashiro that the ship was inundated by shell splashes, making tracking by the Mark 8 difficult. Moreover, after all of these supposed hits which supposedly wiped out the bridge and devastated the ship, Yamashiro (a ship inadequately armored against even 14" gunfire) still had four turrets operational and was making approximately 15 knots. Exploration of Yamashiro's wreck has revealed that the ship is essentially intact and that she was sunk primarily due to torpedo damage- from U.S. destroyers.
13:18 Shima: “Alright who’s not dead?”
😆
I'm going to write a lot of letters tonight.
"...yet?"
The Japanese plan worked. All their brave sacrifices allowed Kurita’s powerful surface force to arrive off Samar in perfect position to destroy the fleet supporting the landings. Kurita fumbled and his opportunity was squandered. Love your content. Great job!
Well from a strategic perspective he was fucked regardless even if he sunk all the transports at Leyte they all be empty as in all the supplies in those ships would have been already offloaded plus he would have to face the wrath of admiral lee’s ships plus easily tricked dumb moron halsey’s carriers would realize he had been duped and be steaming back rickety tick. In a nutshell Japan was only merely delaying the inevitable.
They where truly cursed, if the taffy’s delivered that level of punishment, task force 34 would have pretty much end their whole navy right there, hell, the standards would have done the same if they somehow reached the landings, there was really nothing to do anymore, all their victories at Guadalcanal just got nullified via new commissioned us ships, and in contrast their inability to replenish their own losses, like how the hell do you win against that?
The Japanese did not factor one key factor: The USS F*CK Mothering Johnston
It all led up to Taffy 3 having one of the most legendary naval engagements in history.
In fairness, even if Samar had gone as it really should have, I think the size of the sacrifices probably make it not worth it.
Captain Coward (is that really his name letter for letter lol) certainly displayed some bravery steaming straight into Japanese fire
What’s even more ironic is that Cowards’s DesRon 54 wasn’t directly part of Oldendorf’s force (TG 77.2). It just happened to be on anti-submarine picket duty in the Surigao Strait on the night the battle occurred, and Coward volunteered his squadron to take part in it. Given his force’s decisive role, it proved to be a good decision. USS McDermut in particular managed to sink 3 destroyers with one torpedo salvo, probably an unmatched feat in destroyer history.
"Captain J.G. Coward felt compelled to fight in order to counter the stigma of his name..." -from the book "The Battle of Leyte Gulf" by Thomas J. Cutler, p.201
@@reyesmarlon5805 we have a soldier here in the philippines with the name of Bayut(it means gay in our language) and he was surrounded by muslim insurgents in the battle of marawi in 2017 and was cut off and alone, He ordered an artillery strike on himself after fighting for hours against the insurgents. All of his family members are esteemed soldiers because they want to overcome the stigma of their name too.
@@reyesmarlon5805 Earning the rank of Captain, and leader of a destroyer group tends to show that Coward was anything but.
So there's actually a lot that's unclear surrounding Fuso's sinking. So looking at her wreck it's very obvious the ship did not break in half while still afloat with both halves drifting apart and remaining afloat for some time. The ship is mostly in one piece with the exception of her bow being broken off around the A and B turrets, and that section is still right next to the ship so they couldn't have sunk miles apart from each other. The location of the break does seem to suggest a magazine detonation occurred, but the intactness of the wreck indicates that if it did, it wasn't a very large one and may have occurred after she sank (low-order detonations were reported after she had gone under). The wreck is also fairly close to the reported sinking location of the supposed bow section of her. So going off what we can see with the wreck, the popular accounts of her breaking in half in a massive explosion and the two halves remaining afloat for some time are untrue. It seems she merely sunk in one piece without any of those theatrics. But the explanations for what gave that impression, and what happened following her sinking, are still a mystery. For example, in a postwar interrogation the captain of Shigure claimed that "I did not see the hit which registered on YAMASHIRO (he confused Fusō and Yamashiro during the battle so any time he says Yamashiro it's really Fusō) but those who did told me she received a torpedo hit amidships, from which side is not known, evidently hitting the magazine for the ship exploded and broke in half." and before 0255, "While searching for YAMASHIRO, the lookout informed me he had sighted what he thought was the YAMASHIRO sinking" but also later states "later on (sometime after 0315) I saw two burning hulks but, although I approached quite closely, I still am not sure whether it was the two halves of the YAMASHIRO or the two destroyers. I am inclined to the view that it was the destroyers. These two destroyers were the MICHISHIO and ASAGUMO." However, American forces give the following account of her sinking at around 0344 (which matches up with the time Combined Fleet has her sunk): "The Hutchins, eight miles away, reported "two faint explosions and a loud snap." The Fuso's immolation could be seen as far away as Olendorf's battle line some twenty-five nautical miles to the north. Lookouts aboard the Mississippi reported "flames reaching above the mastheads." It must have been a magazine explosion, for nothing else could explain its terrifying power--or its lurid result. American radar operators watched their scopes in wonderment as the Fuso's single large radar signature split apart. Her keel and armored hull shattered by the force of the blast, the great 39,154-ton ship broke in two." And then the description of the two halves floating independently. From The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. The two "floating halves" of the ship just make things worse, though. I feel like it has to be the two destroyers like Shigure's captain thinks, Michishio and Asagumo (or maybe Yamagumo), but the times of their sinkings don't line up with the Americans supposedly discovering Fuso's two halves. I do think that he saw those two destroyers at that time, but it's impossible for the American cruisers to have done so. Michishio sunk by torpedoes around 0335 after being hit at around 0320 and Asagumo by cruiser fire at 0721, while the supposed bow section was sunk at 0536 by cruiser fire and the stern was apparently still afloat at 0630 when Asagumo supposedly rescued survivors from it. And while the supposed bow and stern sections were reported about a mile away from one another, Michishio and Yamagumo (who sunk at 0319-0321, almost immediately after being torpedoed) were also found by RV Petrel about a mile from one another, despite both of them being sunk well before the above times so it can't be them. The American ships had to have been shooting at something, there are descriptions of the "bow section" sinking from cruiser fire and that at dawn there were seven heavy smoke pillars despite only five ships being sunk (even if we assume the heavily damaged Mogami is one of those then that still leaves one unaccounted) but there's no match for what that something is, assuming all these times are correct. I say all that to say this, this whole thing is an absolute mess of conflicting testimony and information that just doesn't add up, and I have no freakin' idea how to explain any of it.
That was a fascinating read! Thank you
Aliens, obviously.
@@CaptainFritz28 Nah, must've been the illuminati and the billionaires 🤓
@@youtubesresidentfbiagent8735 But they are all just aliens too, right?
@@CaptainFritz28 lizard people
The quality of The Operation Room's videos have increased substantially over the years I've watched the channel. Cheers to the 1M subs!
Also known as the Slapdown in the Surigao Strait. "Oh its just six battleships." Yeah. Just six. That was all that was needed.
At that point, "Six battleships" is basically the entire Japanese Navy
“only six battleships is like saying you are only fighting 3 superpowers”
The heavy cruiser Mogami had a pretty infamous career, including torpedoing friendly transports during the invasion of the Dutch East Indies and getting rammed by her sister ship Mikuma at Midway (which later sank, the first Japanese heavy cruiser lost in the war), but here she still showed that she wouldn’t go down easily.
She still had so much more damage she could accomplish. Probably a testament to her construction and crew that it could survive such a beating.
@@KevinSmith-qi5yn weren't she and her sisters constantly struggling with storms and hull cracks?
@@bradenhagen7977 Yes. A British official said about their construction "The Japanese were either building their ships out of cardboard or lying."
My Grandfather was a Torpedo Bomber with task force Taffy 3 during the battle of Samar in Leyte. He was on the first ship to ever sink as a result of Kamikaze attack; the USS St.Lo. He survived the explosion on the deck and helped injured sailors in the water when the shockwave flung them off the ship. Can't Imagine what that must have been like to witness.
RIP Lieutenant Yukio Seki
My great uncle fought on the USS Johnston during the battle of Samar. Sense you mentioned Taffy 3 at the end of the video, I would really appreciate if you would cover those events. The format that you present these battles in is better than any other channel I’ve seen.
I'm sure he will, it was probably the most consequential part of the battle
Almost a certainty he'll get to it. The story of Taffy 3 is among the greatest in US Navy history.
It's the craziest "modern" sea battle in history, more comparable to a crazy game of world of warships than a real thing by how crazy it was, I'm sure he will spare no details.
12:17. What poetic justice that these ships that were sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor, are going into action against Japanese Battleships.
As a Filipino, it's great that you finally covered the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the naval battle that set the stage for our liberation in WW2. There have been a lot of documentaries about it, both Philippine- and foreign-made, but none had a good enough diagram to fully explain strategy. My nitpick for this one is the pronunciation of the Filipino island names. Filipino pronunciation defaults to having the stress on the second to the last syllable, so they should have been said as pa-LA-wan, SA-mar, di-NA-gat, pa-NA-on. Leyte and Mindoro were pronounced correctly though.
Just imagine the sense of vindication and elation those Pearl Harbor veteran ship crews must have felt on this night. To be able to unleash so much firepower against an enemy that they had fought so hard for so long, in such a decisive battle must have felt incredible.
My grandfather was on the USS Denver. He told me about this battle decades ago, said it was intense. I see why. Thanks for the great video!
I cannot express enough how excited I am about your next video about the Battle off Samar. Thank you all for making such high quality vids.
I don’t think I’ve seen too many major engagements that were so heavily one-sided nor resulted in such absolute devastation.
Me versus a hamburger.
I don't know about major, but the Yom Kippur missile boats fights between the Syria and Israel was a massacre, even though the Syrians had far longer range missiles.
Also, it's oddly fitting that the last battleship-on-battleship fight in history was between the old dreadnoughts, and not the apexes of battleship design like the Iowas and Yamatos.
That probably has to be the biggest US Navy fleet I’ve ever seen, imagine seeing that in person😳
Imagine the total US and British fleets around Okinawa. The most naval power assembled for one operation in world history.
@@wolftamer5463 610 Allied ships and 3,251 air craft ( 3,000 American, 251 British) the most powerful naval force ever.
@@wolftamer5463 16 fleet carriers, 6 light carriers, 22 escort carriers, 10 fast battleships, 10 slow battleships, 38 cruisers, 191 destroyers. Plus 317 transports and auxiliaries. Sure they weren’t in one place, but if you’re talking biggest fleets ever assembled, this is probably it. Would have loved to fly over it, just ship after ship.
The power of the late war US Navy was simply staggering. In 1944 Japan built 6 aircraft carriers - the US built 84 😮
18:56 onwards, imagine surviving the naval massacre at Surigao Strait and you managed to swim away to nearby island only to be massacred by local guerrila
17:38 Mogami was scuttled by the destroyer Akebono, not by her own crew. Also, the fleet was neither in a single line as stated, nor double line as shown. They were in the so called "alert" formation that was mostly a single line but with a destroyer on either wing, just behind the 2 leading destroyers.
So they were in a cross- like formation?
@@thedyingmeme6 Kind of, but the ships on the wings were offset between the 2nd and 3rd ship in the line, so it looks like a diamond in front-middle of the formation. * * * * * * *
I've been waiting for this! Operations room, are you going to cover the rather minor yet brave Ernest Evans and the USS Johnston? I find that particular story to be an insane tale of courage and one man, or rather one ship making the difference needed for an entire course of a war. I'd love to see your breakdown of it!
Brave for sure, but course of the war? Are you sure about that one?
Me too, its like the movie that follows "Twilight of the Gods" (Toll, Ian). BTW you can be sure Battle of Samar will have a lengthy discussion of Johnston. The wreck was only recently discovered.
It's debatable. He doesn't mean like, changing the outcome of the war. Just adding a couple months. If they could have broken through during that battle and actually destroyed the Guadalcanal (think that was Guadacanal?) landing and supply force, that would have set back American plans for a while. That fleet and those Marines were the majority of our available strike force in the Pacific at the time. It would have delayed things for a while. But, Americans could have still won the battle even without Johnston's charge. Then again, it changed the course of that battle pretty solidly.@@aidenhall8593
Its almost certainly gonna be the next video
I don't think it was minor. IIRC, while the troops may have been unloaded a large amount of their supplies and equipment were still on board. Had those transports been lost the Philippines would have taken longer to conquer, setting back the tempo and advance of the Allies. Even absent that the loss of two more heavy cruisers and the crippling of another had a major impact on the IJN.
Speaking of Leyte, Philippines my Grandmother was in between ages 1-3 during the war, I would always thank General MacArthur for saving her and the people, she could’ve been just another civilian casualty to the brutal nature of the Imperial Japanese army
McArthur has a better reputation here in the Philippines compared back in the US. You cant believe how many "McArthur highways" there are here
@@Ramboost007 Yes because the US war planners could have just bypassed the Philippines onto other islands towards Japan but Doug insisted on keeping his promise to return and liberate the Philippines.
He didn’t save anybody, don’t credit him for other men’s deeds.
@@cjclark1208 Well somebody had to do something to liberate the Philippines, that’s the nature of war you can’t save everybody
@@Ramboost007 Bro as a kid, every time me and my family would go to the province, I would read the name, "MACARTHUR HIGHWAY" with disgust just because it was so long! I would sleep for one hour and wake up to read the same highway name until we got to Maharlika Highway. This was me not knowing the context of the highway name before I learned about Pearl Harbor, General Douglas MacArthur, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, etcetera. Now, it does not really bother me!
I talked to a vet that was on the USS Pennsylvania, he said that the ship didn't ever get to fire or didn't fire a lot, which is why only 16in shell hits are recorded. Only the Pearl Harbor survivors did. The ships that actually sunk at Pearl were upgraded with radar at the time. The Pennsylvania, which was at Pearl Harbor, but not sunk, did not have the same fire control radar installed, so they had to stand by.
The Pennsylvania was in dry dock on December 7th, 1941, so it would have been really bad if it had sunk. I think that would mean that the dry dock was destroyed.
I think Potential History has described this the best about the Battle of Surigao Strait, it is basically the US clubbing a Japanese Seal, it is just so one-sided that it is not even funny.
"Alright, who's not dead? Sound off!"
Wow what an imaginative description...
When I heard that the Japanese Sailors refusing to be rescued by their enemies. I thought Wow. Now that is fanaticism at it's worst.
Even Japanese civilians at the time regularly refused to be rescued from their sinking merchantmen by US submarines.
@@Ozraptor4---Yep fanaticism at it's worst.
My ex girlfriend from my student days invited me to a family BBQ and her Grandfather was a former sailor on HMAS Shropshire which was at Surigao. He was a hell of a laugh and quite the character but he told me his fondest memories were about the crew swapping beer for ice cream with the yanks. Apparently they were pretty well stocked from both ends of the agreement.
My uncle was a gunners mate on one of the 5" guns on the USS Maryland. I've read about this action years ago and it was good to see it presented in this way. I look forward to your presentation on the battle off Samar.
5th fleet when they saw Southern Force: “All right, who’s not dead?”
I love the detail and info in all these battles, highlighting either lesser known, or more minor conflicts of WWII. Showing history in a unique way and making it accessbile to a wide audience. Keep it up!!!
18:55, This is a horrific vengeance actually, according to many folklores, they were not strip with the bolo's alone, they were skinned and rolled to the sand back to the sea.
5:21 “As it stands, Aldendorf’s warships are ready to grant this wish.” 🔥🔥🔥
The Naval Battles of Leyte Gulf were what got me really interested in Naval battles! So glad you guys covered it! Keep up the outstanding work!
Buddy, you’re amazing. I’ve been waiting for this series of videos from you for YEARS and I’m still so impressed. Don’t stop.
Samar and Cape Engauo next
My grandfather was the ship's doctor on USS Melvin. He was the ship's historian until he died and this is 100% consistent with his account. He maintained the Melvin was the only destroyer to singlehandedly sink a battleship in history.
Oh damn, right on the heels of finishing kancolle s2
Mogami is da best
This channel is doing such a great a service to humanity. Thank you so much for keeping such important history alive. Let us hope future generations learn and never repeat what our ancestors had to suffer through.
Thank you for this presentation of the Battle of Surigao Strait - a battle which is often overlooked. My uncle proudly served on the USS Melvin (DD-680 “Blue Devil”) and he told me many of his experiences including that night when they sailed into the face of superior battleship firepower.
Halsey was a hit or miss admiral, for a good many reasons Sending American carriers north to pursue the empty Japanse carriers, while not detaching at least one carrier task group to guard the San Bernadino straight, nor leaving a group of fast battleships behind. I do realize that the US fast battleships were very effetive in their role as "flak traps" for the US carrier groups. Basically Halsey took his carriers north beause he had never had sunk any IJN carriers and with his ego, that was pretty much all he thought when he ordered his fleet north. Also Halsey didn't show much skill in how he handled his ships through Typhoons. And by being that stubborine or ineptept, or just being so egocentrically stupid. the US lost 3 destroyers needlessly, not in combat, but to weather. My mom told me years ago that a reason Halsey never got shit canned was the fact that the US government had made such a hero out of him, that it might hurt US war morale at home if they did what they should have done. Same thing goes double for MacArthur.
SPOT ON COMMENT- on both Halsey and MacArthur.
your series on the Battles of the Leyte Gulf has to be one of my favourites, keep it up y' all, you're doing a mighty job!
My grandfather was on Remey. He claimed that one of their torpedoes hit Fuso, with Melvin being the other hit - but acknowledged that the official record disagrees.
Really impressive stuff, your visualisation, narration, and clear chronology really bring these actions to life. Even when I'm familiar with the subject matter, it always gives a new perspective.
Good to see Torpedo boats represented here. This level of detail allows it. Well done chaps!
It was a suicide run if there ever was one. Back in the day of CCAW, or Complete Carriers At War, even with near cheat mode on, there was no way to stop the American fleet or the invasion. "Tabula Rasa" had a short noveletta section of the Leyte Gulf called "Knight's Gambit" which was extremely well written, where the American forces were bloodied, but not stopped.
A reference to my favorite game, right on! If only today's naval sims had strategy at employing fleets like CCAW did. BTW, the DOS Box emulator allows CCAW to still be played on today's operating systems.
Your production quality has gotten so good! Thank you so much for these amazingly detailed naval battle animations.
I always find it rather interesting that battleships, for years, were considered the queens of the sea, incredibly dangerous behemoths that were the backbone of any fleet. Yet aside from Jutland there were very few actual battleship vs. battleship engagements between WW1 and WW2. What engagements there were were either small, like Hood vs. Bismarck, or entirely lopsided like Surigao Strait's 6 v 1.
Battleships are as powerful as they are irreplaceable, makes sense that admirals and captains aren't gonna just throw them around willy-nilly unless the results seem to be worth it. Its a whole different story with destroyers and cruisers which, it would seem, are involved in the great majority of ww2 naval battles.
@@901ShermanThey became military white elephants. The more it became too valueable to loose, the more it was too valueable to use.
This is by far the best account of the Battle of the Surigao Straits I have ever seen related. Thank you for sharing your research and this video.
The next episode of the Leyte Gulf series I got a new appreciation for it from this channel. Obviously the Battle of Midway is well known but Leyte Gulf was equally compelling.
US forces in 7th Fleet with 6 battle ships and 28 cruisers can "pack a punch" but you always want air power to go with it.
Battle off Samar & Battle of Cape Engano videos coming up are gonna hit like crack. Know Kings & Generals would get there eventually with their series but still
yes David vs Goliath on the High Seas and Zuikaku's final stand
Great video! I just realised you're the only channel that makes me drop everything to watch new content. Can't wait for the next part of the series!
Ah, Taffy 3. Turns out that is the only part of the Leyte Gulf battle I knew about, so thank you for filling out the rest. I can't wait for the next episode to see how it goes down in your usual detail. Thank you again so much for making these videos.
Thanks you for bringing this decisive action to life. It helped me to understand how and when that one PT boat was able to score a hit, and how the second Japanese force chose to retreat. Even though the US victory was so lopsided, it was still a tremendous victory over what under other circumstances could have been seen as a powerful and dangerous Japanese surface fleet.
I am so happy you answered my request and i love the presentation of this mini documentary. Keep up the good work👌
Another top notch video! I really enjoy this way of storytelling and it's very inspiring!! These many WW2 videos are well received!
Congrats on 1 million ! Absolutely love this channel and you're content, keep going
Looking forward to the video about Taffy 3 and the Battle off Samar. The rest of Leyte Gulf is videos are coming out so that must be soon as well.
The amount of quality stuff uploaded here is just crazy! Keep this up Ops Room
Amazing how you put up this videos at the same time that is being covered in WW2 in Real Time by Indy Neidell and his crew, cheers to both. Helps so much at understanding this battle.
My grandfather was a radioman on the California during this battle. He was also on the Helena when it was torpedoed at Pearl Harbor.
The running commentary of the battle is so detailed, right down which warship’s torpedoes or cannons scored hits on which enemy warship. Thanks for the efforts in making quality content. Looking forward to next episode of battle when the most power Japanese fleet caught the US Navy by surprise.
I love night battles. They are so interesting to learn about
Wow, this really was an exercise in seal clubbing. The Japanese didn’t have a ghost of a chance.
Aaaah... Cannot wait for Battle Off Samar... Great video, most comprehensive overview of whole Leyte Gulf operations on KZhead or anywhere else!
Excellent work as always. Thanks and can't wait to see your presentation on Taffy 3
Both sides made a lot of mistakes. The biggest one common to both sides was the lack of communication between the different fleets. In Japanese’s case Kurita/Nishimura/Shima/Ozawa’s lack of on the spot coordination killed them. In the US’s case Kinkaid and Halsey also did not communicate effectively and made all sorts of false assumptions. Lady Luck was with the US though, like Midway.
Skill issue
Ozawa did his job perfectly, but the while plan was flawed from the get go.
The Japanese did that to maintain mission security/ secrecy, yes it did hamstring them But they did have a reason for it
The Americans had already broken the Japanese codes, if they started coordinating, they’d just give the Americans an even bigger advantage.
I don't think so, @@ExHyperion the codebreaking was not real-time. Force co-ordination would surely have helped.
Amazing narration and map-based illustration of such an important historical battle!
Love the way naval history is shown. Can't wait for the rest
Awesome content as usual, thanks for posting and looking forward to the Leyte Gulf battle. I'm a little surprised you haven't teamed up with the World of Warships players and shown these battles with their superb graphics and realism...? They have all the ships and planes to make it Hollywood :)
Congrats on 1 million subs, well deserved 🎉
Amazing video.... looking forward to seeing your presentation on Taffy 3.
exceptionaly good as always, the most clear and interesting war series I've ever seen.
Well done, Mooch and Hozer. Very enjoyable and informative, and, as usual with the presentations on the channel, the viewer comes away with a renewed appreciation of this country and its many heroes.
You commented on the wrong Leyte Gulf video 😅 This is The Ops Room, not Ward Carroll 😂😂
Genuinely my favourite KZhead channel. You're awesome dude, keep doing what you're doing
Very informative AND entertaining. Thank you!
I cannot thank you enough for making this video. It seems like EVERY SINGLE video on KZhead about Leyte Gulf is almost maliciously nondescript about the battleship on battleship part of the battle. I never understood why, as this is the part that even the most novice student of naval history knows the battle for.
I consider myself an amateur historian of the Second World War, this KZhead channel is probably my favourite. I wait patiently every week for your uploads. PLEASE do the Eastern Front. You could do a Stalingrad series over many weeks. An episode for the fight over the Barikady factory would be unreal. As well, the first world would translate so well with your animations. Whether you read this comment or listen to my pleas, I LOVE your channel. HUGE FAN.
7:07 Can we please focus on the presence of one CAPTAIN COWARD in this battle?! A man who received not one but two Navy Stars for extraordinary heroism during WWII. Adm Jesse Grant “Jess” Coward (1900-1963).
I've been hoping you'd cover this one. Hard to get a good idea of what happened. Thanks guys.
Well narrated interesting topics with the music in the background as opposed to competing with your voice… FANTASTIC! I wish other knowledge based channels would understand, this is how it should be done. Subbed with thanks.
Imagine your last name is Coward, and you're leading the destroyer attack against 2 battleships what irony also how did the lookouts on the US battleships see the Fuso's massive explosion but Nishimura didn't even though he's in much closer proximity?
USS West Virginia: Hey fellas, remember me?
Congrats one one mil! I think I’ve been subbed since 2022 (albeit, watching since 2020) and I’ve loved every second of it. On an unrelated note, you’ve had quite a few WW3 videos recently, are there plans for new videos in a more modern setting soon?
Ever since I watched Drac’s video on the Battle off Samar I’ve been eagerly waiting for you to make one
I’d always hoped you guys would cover this battle one day. It was worth the wait.
Good presentation! I asked Drach if he had this one in the works earlier this year, he replied he has plans, but nothing was imminent from him soon, so I will also wait for his content.
Love the battle of Leyte Gulf. Bring on Taffy 3!
Battle off Samar draws near!
really nice animations, especially the ships listing and sinking
I've been dying for you to do Taffy 3! So stoked
New operations room! It's a good start to the weekend