Battle of Surigao Strait

Anthony P. Tully

Description

A radical reassessment of this important World War II naval battle

Read an excerpt from the book

Surigao Strait in the Philippine Islands was the scene of a major battleship duel during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Because the battle was fought at night and had few survivors on the Japanese side, the events of that naval engagement have been passed down in garbled accounts. Anthony P. Tully pulls together all of the existing documentary material, including newly discovered accounts and a careful analysis of U.S. Navy action reports, to create a new and more detailed description of the action. In several respects, Tully's narrative differs radically from the received versions and represents an important historical corrective. Also included in the book are a number of previously unpublished photographs and charts that bring a fresh perspective to the battle.

List of Maps
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Prologue: "Retiring towards the enemy."
1. "I have returned."
2. "Bah. We will do our best."
3. "We are going to participate in a surface special attack."
4. "It is deemed advisable for 2YB to storm into Leyte Gulf."
5. "He gallantly came to a stop and started rescue work."
6. "Everybody aboard thought a BB could force a narrow strait."
7. "Make all ready for night battle."
8. "A most tragic dispatch."
9. "Take out the searchlight."
10. "He wished them to know he was penetrating alone."
11. "Just scored a big flare on 1 of them."
12. "You are to proceed independently and attack all ships!"
13. "At 0345 observed battleship burning."
14. "This has to be quick. Standby your torpedoes."
15. "An awfully gruesome sound, which passed from left to right."
16. "We proceed till totally annihilated."
17. "We have arrived at battle site."
18. "In God's name, where's the doctor?"
19. "The chances of success are nil."
20. "It was the kind of naval battle you dream about."
Epilogue: "A thing repeated will happen a third time."
Appendices
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• HISTORY
• Histoire
• Segunda Guerra Mundial
• General officer
• Military
• World War II
• Naval
• General
• Seconde Guerre mondiale

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 14 avril 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253002822
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Battle of Surigao Strait
TWENTIETH-CENTURY BATTLES
Edited by Spencer C. Tucker
The Battle of An Loc James H. Willbanks
The Battle of Heligoland Bight Eric W. Osborne
The Battle of Leyte Gulf: The Last Fleet Action H. P. Willmott
The Battle of the Otranto Straits: Controlling the Gateway to the Adriatic in World War I Paul G. Halpern
The Brusilov Offensive Timothy C. Dowling
D-Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan Harold J. Goldberg
The Dieppe Raid: The Story of the Disastrous 1942 Expedition Robin Neillands
Midway Inquest: Why the Japanese Lost the Battle of Midway Dallas Woodbury Isom
Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands Michael B. Barrett

This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail [e-mail]
2009 by Anthony P. Tully All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tully, Anthony P., date-
Battle of Surigao Strait / Anthony P. Tully.
p. cm. - (Twentieth-century battles)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-253-35242-2 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Leyte Gulf, Battle of, Philippines, 1944. 2. Surigao Strait (Philippines)-History, Military-20th century. I. Title.
D774.P5T75 2009
940.54 25997-dc22
2008031394
1 2 3 4 5 14 13 12 11 10 09
Dedicated to all the men who died in battle at sea with their stories untold or unknown
Shows the Philippine Islands setting and San Bernardino and Surigao Straits. Map prepared by Jon Parshall .
Contents
List of Maps
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
PROLOGUE
Retiring towards the enemy.
1
I have returned.
2
Bah. We will do our best.
3
We are going to participate in a surface special attack.
4
It is deemed advisable for 2YB to storm into Leyte Gulf.
5
He gallantly came to a stop and started rescue work.
6
Everybody aboard thought a BB could force a narrow strait.
7
Make all ready for night battle.
8
A most tragic dispatch.
9
Take out the searchlight!
10
He wished them to know he was penetrating alone.
11
Just scored a big flare on 1 of them!
12
You are to proceed independently and attack all ships!
13
At 0345 observed battleship burning.
14
This has to be quick. Standby your torpedoes.
15
An awfully gruesome sound, which passed from left to right.
16
We proceed till totally annihilated.
17
We have arrived at battle site.
18
In God s name, where s the doctor?
19
The chances to succeed are nil.
20
It was the kind of naval battle you dream about.
EPILOGUE
A thing repeated will happen a third time.
Appendices
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Maps
1. The Philippines Area
2. Approach of the Nishimura and Shima forces
3. Battle of Surigao Strait, general main action
Preface
The battle of Surigao Strait was one of four major actions that compose the larger grand naval battle known collectively as the battle of Leyte Gulf. 1 The four battles grouped under that name are the battles of the Sibuyan Sea, Cape Engano, Samar, and Surigao Strait. The last battle and its associated operations are the subject of this volume. The battle of Surigao Strait is significant as the last surface battle between capital ships in WWII, and indeed, to date. 2 As such, Surigao Strait seems an appropriate volume for the Twentieth Century Battles series.
Although we are now more than sixty years removed from events, there has been no comprehensive treatment of the Surigao action since the Naval War College Analysis of 1958 of R. W. Bates and the closely intertwined volume 12, Leyte , of S. E. Morison s History of U.S. Naval Operations in WW II . There is a group of excellent accounts of the battle of Leyte Gulf itself, particularly the battle of Samar, but Surigao is not among them. Such a treatment is both warranted and necessary, particularly at the operational level. The received record is in need of fundamental revision. In key places, it simply is not factually correct or sound in ways that extend beyond simple minutiae.
The present book had its beginnings when online articles I wrote in 1997 and 1999 to address recurring errors in the record spurred interest in the persisting mysteries, contradictions, and unanswered questions of the accepted account. 3 These articles documented in detail how the conventional record has come down to us, and noted its weaknesses as well as its contradictions. In the interval, inspired by these articles, the diving community, and particularly John Bennett Deep Ocean Research International and the Discovery Channel, began in late 2000 to investigate some of these mysteries with a plan to locate and film the wrecks of the underwater battlefield of Surigao. I served as a historical consultant and fact-checker. 4
Like many such long-term endeavors, the diving project has stopped and restarted and stopped again several times over the years since 2000. 5 In the meantime I expanded my research, having discovered further aspects of the received account that do not stand up to scrutiny. Even if no wreck details were learned, there was ample new ground to break by more conventional means: a reexamination of all known available primary sources; attention to the neglected testimony of Japanese captured at Surigao; and most importantly, translation of modern Japanese sources to be found and arranged from contacts in Japan. In several places, this account differs radically from the received record and represents a major revision.
With the caveat that in the historian s work certainties are few, it can reasonably be asserted that the book resolves some significant riddles of the battle of Surigao Strait and misinterpretation in the record regarding the purposes of Vice Admiral Nishimura s mission. Among these is the enigma of the sinking of battleship Fuso , and the perplexing claim in prior accounts that she exploded and remained afloat in two burning sections. What really happened proves as interesting as the solution of a crime. Another is the actual intent of the orders issued by vice admirals Nishimura and Shima. Some other key questions about Surigao events raised by H. P. Willmott in his recent study of Leyte Gulf also find answer here.
Due to the wholesale loss and destruction of most of the Japanese ships and personnel of the Third Section, and later similar loss to those of Second Striking Force, it has been necessary to tell the Japanese side of the story through the perspective of eyewitnesses. Wherever possible these accounts have been checked against the known chronology and surviving records to constrain any inaccuracies. In some places, the laws of physics and basic logistical considerations drive the conclusions. In the final accounting, any responsibility for misinterpretation or overlooked errors rests is mine alone.
Acknowledgments
A work such as this one, involving what amounts to historical forensic reconstruction requiring assembly of scattered pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, simply would not have been possible without the unstinting support of a great number of people. This group comprises a myriad of colleagues and contacts whom I have had the pleasure of encountering and with whom I have shared a rich correspondence. These individuals, including members of an active and enthusiastic online community, not only generously contributed and shared what information they had at their disposal, but also kept a sharp eye out for clues and scraps of relevant detail. I know I cannot do sufficient justice to their contributions over nearly a decade. This notice should be taken as a tip of an iceberg of gratitude.
A necessarily partial mention-in-dispatches roll call includes: Bill Somerville, who shared long-accumulated information and photographs; Jean-Francois Masson, who readily referenced and provided personnel and duty assignment details; Ed Low, moderator of J-aircraft for important insights and analysis on various technical and operational minutiae; Lars Ahlberg, who contributed significant technical details of the Japanese ships; Matthew Jones, who has helped before in orders of battle and biographies, and did so here; Anitra Guillory, who looked up relevant New York Times references in the library; Jim Hornfischer, who kindly provided copies of the actions reports of the Daly, Boise , and A. W. Grant; and Leonard Garrend, a veteran of Grant , who provided interesting recollections of that night and a unique contemporary article on Grant s famous fight: Dying Crew, Sinking Ship, Refused to Die.
Thanks go to many of the usual suspects who also assisted me and Jon Parshall in the research for Shattered Sword . Long-time stalwarts Sander Kingsepp, who generously made and passed on translations from unusual