Word: sibuyan
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Against U.S. landings on Leyte, the Japanese had prepared a plan known as SHO-1, aimed at bringing "general decisive battle." SHO1 called for a pincers movement against the U.S. landing forces in Leyte Gulf. The strongest Japanese force, under Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita, was to steam through the Sibuyan Sea, debouch through San Bernardino Strait (see maps) and head south to Leyte Gulf. Two smaller forces, operating independently under Vice Admirals Shoï Nishimura and Kiyohide Shima, were to come through Surigao Strait, move north and close the pincers with Kurita. Meanwhile, a fleet under canny old Vice Admiral...
Battle of the Sibuyan...
...Kurita's powerful fleet steamed through Palawan Passage toward the Sibuyan Sea early on the morning of Oct. 23, it was flushed by patrolling U.S. submarines Darter and Dace. The subs attacked. Before they were through, they had crippled heavy cruiser Takao, sunk heavy cruiser Maya and Kurita's flagship, heavy cruiser Atago. Kurita himself had to swim to save his skin. A Japanese destroyer picked him up, and he sailed on, still in command of five battleships, seven heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and eleven destroyers...
Alerted by the submarines' contact reports, Bull Halsey ordered his carriers to launch air strikes against Kurita'and opened the Battle of Sibuyan Sea on Oct. 24. In all, Halsey's planes made 259 sorties, sinking battleship Musashi, putting heavy cruiser Myoko out of action and damaging several others. (Halsey's carrier Princeton was fatally wounded by a land-based Japanese Judy, the only one of scores of Philippine-based planes to score.) As the battle went against him, Kurita reversed course, as if retiring, then turned back toward San Bernardino Strait...
...there was a real Japanese plus in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea: Halsey mistook Kurita's original reversal of course for genuine retirement, believed the overenthusiastic damage reports of his carrier pilots, and decided Kurita was out of the fighting. Meanwhile, Halsey had discovered the approach from the north of Admiral Ozawa-thanks to Decoy Ozawa's zealous efforts to get himself found. Jap carriers? They were Halsey's meat. With a blurry and misunderstood message to Seventh Fleet, he ordered his entire Third Fleet to head north after Ozawa-leaving San Bernardino Strait wide open...