Takeo Kurita
Encyclopedia
Vice Admiral
was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy
during World War II
.
, Ibaraki Prefecture
in 1889. He was sent off to Etajima
in 1905 and graduated from the 38th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy
in 1910, ranked 28th out of a class of 149 cadets. As a midshipman
, he served on the cruiser
s and . On being commissioned as ensign
in 1911, he was assigned to .
After his promotion to sub-lieutenant
in 1913, Kurita served on the battleship
, destroyer
and cruiser . Kurita became a lieutenant
on 1 December 1916, and served on a number of ships: cruiser , destroyers and . He also served as either the chief torpedo
officer or executive officer
on Minekaze, , and . In 1920, he was given his first command: the destroyer . In 1921, he assumed command of .
Promoted to lieutenant commander
in 1922, Kurita captained the destroyers , , and . As commander
from 1927, he commanded the destroyer , 25th Destroyer Group and 10th Destroyer Group.
As captain from 1932, he commanded the 12th Destroyer Group, the cruiser , and from 1937 the battleship .
Kurita became a rear admiral
on November 15, 1938 commanding the 1st Destroyer Flotilla then the 4th Destroyer Flotilla. He was in command of 7th Cruiser Division at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor
.
in December 1941, and in the Indian Ocean Raid
where he led a fleet of six heavy cruisers and the light carrier that sank 135,000 tons of shipping in the Bay of Bengal
. During the Battle of Midway
(serving under Nobutake Kondō), he lost the cruiser . Kurita was promoted to vice admiral
on 1 May 1942, and was reassigned to the 3rd Battleship Division in July.
In the Guadalcanal Campaign
Kurita led his battleships in an intense bombardment of Henderson Field on the night of 13 October, firing 918 heavy high explosive shells at the American airfield. This was the single most successful Japanese attempt to incapacitate Henderson Field by naval bombardment. Kurita later commanded major naval forces during the Central Solomon Islands campaign
and during the Battle of Philippine Sea. In 1943, Kurita replaced Admiral Kondō as the commander of IJN 2nd Fleet
.
of the IJN 2nd Fleet dubbed "Central Force" during the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea and the Battle off Samar
(Both part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf
) for which Kurita is best known. The IJN 2nd Fleet included the largest battleships in the world, and . Additionally, the IJN 2nd Fleet included the battleships , , and , 10 cruisers and 13 destroyers. Critically, however, the IJN Second Fleet did not include any aircraft carrier
s.
Kurita was a dedicated officer, willing to die if necessary, but not wishing to die in vain. Like Yamamoto, Kurita believed that for a captain to "go down with his ship" was a wasteful loss of valuable naval experience and leadership. When ordered by Admiral Soemu Toyoda to take his fleet through the San Bernardino Strait
in the central Philippines
and attack the American landings at Leyte
, Kurita thought the effort a waste of ships and lives, especially since he could not get his fleet to Leyte Gulf
until after the landings, leaving little more than empty transports for his huge battleships to attack.
His first flagship just six days before the Battle of Leyte Gulf
was actually the which was sunk by an American submarine in Palawan Passage forcing him to swim for his life and transfer his flag to the Yamato. He bitterly resented his superiors, who, while safe in bunkers in Tokyo, ordered Kurita to fight to the death against hopeless odds and without air cover.
While his fleet was en route from Brunei, Kurita's ships were attacked by two American submarines, which sank two cruisers ( and ) in the Palawan Passage. Kurita in the flagship Atago was forced to transfer to Yamato. While in the confines of the Sibuyan Sea
and approaching the San Bernardino Strait, he was again attacked by U.S. carrier planes which damaged several other ships, including Yamato. Constant air attacks from Admiral William "Bull" Halsey's 3rd Fleet scored a number of torpedo and dive bomber hits on Yamato and Mushashi, mortally wounding the latter, and scored a number of hits on other vessels.
These attacks caused Kurita to call off his attack and turn his fleet west away from Leyte Gulf. Thus began a chain of events that continues to engage historians and biographers to this day. Halsey, believing that he had mauled Kurita's fleet and that the Japanese "Central Forces" were retreating, and believing that he had the orders and authorization to do so, abandoned his station guarding General MacArthur
's landing at Leyte Gulf and the San Bernardino Strait, in order to pursue Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa
's Northern Fleet of Japanese carriers that were sent as a decoy to lure the Americans away from Leyte. But before doing so, in fact before Ozawa's force had been sighted, Halsey had sent a message announcing a "battle plan" to detach his battleships to cover the exit of the strait. With the decision to attack Ozawa, this battle plan was never executed and the heavy ships went north with the carriers.
Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid
, Commander 7th Fleet
and responsible for protecting the landing forces, assumed that Halsey's "Battle Plan" was a deployment order and that Task Force 34 (TF 34) was actually guarding San Bernardino. Kinkaid thus concentrated his battleships to the south in order to face the Japanese "Southern Force". During the night of 24–25 October, Kurita changed his mind again, and turned his ships east toward Leyte Gulf. On the morning of 25 October, Kurita's fleet, led by Yamato, exited San Bernardino Strait and sailed south along the coast of Samar
. 30 minutes after dawn, the battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy sighted "Taffy 3" — a task unit of Kinkaid's covering forces that consisted of six escort carriers, three destroyers and four small destroyer escort
s, commanded by Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague
. Taffy 3 was designed to provide shore support and anti-submarine patrols; not to engage in fleet action against battleships.
Admiral Kurita thought he had chanced upon the carriers of the American 3rd Fleet and ordered his battleships to open fire, including Yamato with her 18.1 in (459.7 mm) guns. However, the moment Taffy 3 was sighted, the "Central Force" had just been ordered to change from nighttime to air defense steaming formation, but had not yet completed the maneuver. Rather than properly form his ships for action with the enemy, Kurita at this point gave the order for "General Attack". His ships thus charged uncoordinated into action and Kurita quickly lost tactical control of the battle.
Kurita's forces mauled the American ships, sinking one of the small carriers, two destroyers, including the , commanded by Commander Ernest E. Evans
. But the planes from Taffy 3 and Taffy 2, stationed farther south, fought back, and although the American destroyers had only 5 in (127 mm) guns, they too attacked, launched torpedoes and laid smoke. These determined attacks by the escorts and continual air attacks served to further confuse and separate Kurita's forces. Kurita, whose flagship fell far behind early in the battle while avoiding an aerial torpedo
attack, lost sight of the enemy and many of his own ships. Meanwhile, the courageous efforts of the Taffies had sunk two heavy cruisers and knocked a third out of action (which was later scuttled/sunk): , , and . Many of his other ships had also been hit. After about two and a half hours action with Taffy 3, Kurita ordered his force to regroup on a northerly course, away from Leyte.
By this time, Kurita had news that the Japanese "Southern Force", which was to attack Leyte Gulf from the south, had already been destroyed by Kinkaid's aging battleships, which were too far south to attack Kurita's forces. Admiral Kurita's "Central Force" had fewer than half its ships. With Musashi gone, Kurita had four battleships but only three cruisers remaining, and all of his ships were damaged and low on fuel. Kurita was intercepting messages that indicated Admiral Halsey had sunk the four carriers of the "Northern Force" and was racing back to Leyte with his battleships to confront the Japanese fleet and that powerful elements of 7th Fleet were approaching from out Leyte Gulf. After steaming back and forth off Samar for two more hours, he decided to retire and retreated back through the San Bernardino Strait.
His ships were subjected to further air attack the rest of the day and Halsey's battleships just missed catching him that night. Kurita's retreat saved Yamato and the remainder of the IJN 2nd Fleet from certain destruction, but he had failed to complete his mission, attacking the amphibious forces in Leyte Gulf. The path had been laid open to him by the sacrifices of the Northern and Southern Forces, but closed again by the determination and courage of the Taffies.
Following the Japanese surrender, Kurita found work as a scrivener
and masseur, living quietly with his daughter and her family. He never discussed politics or the war with his family or with anyone, except to conduct a brief interview with a journalist, Ito Masanori, in 1954 when he stated that he had made a mistake at Leyte by turning away and not continuing with the battle, a statement he later retracted. He was found by an American Naval Officer
after the war where he was interviewed for the Analysis Division of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey.
Afterward, Kurita returned to his retirement, making a twice-yearly pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine
to pray for his dead comrades-in-arms. In 1966, he was present at the deathbed of his old colleague, Jisaburō Ozawa, at which he silently wept.
It was not until he was in his 80s that Kurita began to again speak of his actions at Leyte. He claimed privately to a former Naval Academy student (and biographer), Ooka Jiro, that he withdrew the fleet from the battle because he did not believe in wasting the lives of his men in a futile effort, having long since believed that the war was lost.
Kurita died in 1977 at age 88, and his grave is at the Tama Reien cemetery in Fuchu, Tokyo
.
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early life
Kurita was born in Mito cityMito, Ibaraki
is the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and has a central location, moderately offset towards the coast in that prefecture. As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 263,748 and a total area is 217.45 km², giving a population density of 1,212.91 persons per km²...
, Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...
in 1889. He was sent off to Etajima
Etajima
Etajima is an island in Hiroshima Bay located in southwestern Hiroshima Prefecture.From the city of Hiroshima the island is about 7km out at sea. The island is about 6km from the city of Kure. It is connected to Kure by two bridges....
in 1905 and graduated from the 38th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy
The was a school established to train officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888...
in 1910, ranked 28th out of a class of 149 cadets. As a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
, he served on the cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s and . On being commissioned as ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
in 1911, he was assigned to .
After his promotion to sub-lieutenant
Lieutenant, Junior Grade
Lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, United States Merchant Marine USMM, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade...
in 1913, Kurita served on the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
, destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
and cruiser . Kurita became a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
on 1 December 1916, and served on a number of ships: cruiser , destroyers and . He also served as either the chief torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
officer or executive officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
on Minekaze, , and . In 1920, he was given his first command: the destroyer . In 1921, he assumed command of .
Promoted to lieutenant commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
in 1922, Kurita captained the destroyers , , and . As commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
from 1927, he commanded the destroyer , 25th Destroyer Group and 10th Destroyer Group.
As captain from 1932, he commanded the 12th Destroyer Group, the cruiser , and from 1937 the battleship .
Kurita became a rear admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
on November 15, 1938 commanding the 1st Destroyer Flotilla then the 4th Destroyer Flotilla. He was in command of 7th Cruiser Division at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.
Early campaigns
Kurita's 7th Cruiser Division participated in the invasion of Java in the Dutch East IndiesDutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
in December 1941, and in the Indian Ocean Raid
Indian Ocean raid
The Indian Ocean raid was a naval sortie by the Fast Carrier Strike Force of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 31 March-10 April 1942 against Allied shipping and bases in the Indian Ocean. It was an early engagement of the Pacific campaign of World War II...
where he led a fleet of six heavy cruisers and the light carrier that sank 135,000 tons of shipping in the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
. During the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
(serving under Nobutake Kondō), he lost the cruiser . Kurita was promoted to vice admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
on 1 May 1942, and was reassigned to the 3rd Battleship Division in July.
In the Guadalcanal Campaign
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
Kurita led his battleships in an intense bombardment of Henderson Field on the night of 13 October, firing 918 heavy high explosive shells at the American airfield. This was the single most successful Japanese attempt to incapacitate Henderson Field by naval bombardment. Kurita later commanded major naval forces during the Central Solomon Islands campaign
Solomon Islands campaign
The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, during the first six months of 1942...
and during the Battle of Philippine Sea. In 1943, Kurita replaced Admiral Kondō as the commander of IJN 2nd Fleet
IJN 2nd Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy.-History:First established on 28 December 1903, the IJN 2nd Fleet was created by the Imperial General Headquarters as a mobile strike force of cruisers and destroyers to pursue the Imperial Russian Navy's Vladivostok-based cruiser squadron while the...
.
Battle of Leyte Gulf
It was as Commander-in-ChiefCommander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the IJN 2nd Fleet dubbed "Central Force" during the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea and the Battle off Samar
Battle off Samar
The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on 25 October 1944...
(Both part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...
) for which Kurita is best known. The IJN 2nd Fleet included the largest battleships in the world, and . Additionally, the IJN 2nd Fleet included the battleships , , and , 10 cruisers and 13 destroyers. Critically, however, the IJN Second Fleet did not include any aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s.
Kurita was a dedicated officer, willing to die if necessary, but not wishing to die in vain. Like Yamamoto, Kurita believed that for a captain to "go down with his ship" was a wasteful loss of valuable naval experience and leadership. When ordered by Admiral Soemu Toyoda to take his fleet through the San Bernardino Strait
San Bernardino Strait
The San Bernardino Strait is a strait in the Philippines. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island from the island of Samar in the south.-Filipinos and San Bernardino Strait:...
in the central Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and attack the American landings at Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
, Kurita thought the effort a waste of ships and lives, especially since he could not get his fleet to Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
until after the landings, leaving little more than empty transports for his huge battleships to attack.
His first flagship just six days before the Battle of Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
was actually the which was sunk by an American submarine in Palawan Passage forcing him to swim for his life and transfer his flag to the Yamato. He bitterly resented his superiors, who, while safe in bunkers in Tokyo, ordered Kurita to fight to the death against hopeless odds and without air cover.
Battle of the Sibuyan Sea
While his fleet was en route from Brunei, Kurita's ships were attacked by two American submarines, which sank two cruisers ( and ) in the Palawan Passage. Kurita in the flagship Atago was forced to transfer to Yamato. While in the confines of the Sibuyan Sea
Sibuyan Sea
The Sibuyan Sea is a small sea in the Philippines that separates the Visayas from the northern Philippine island of Luzon.-Description:It is bounded by the island of Panay to the south, Mindoro to the west, Masbate to the east, and to the north Marinduque and the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon Island.The...
and approaching the San Bernardino Strait, he was again attacked by U.S. carrier planes which damaged several other ships, including Yamato. Constant air attacks from Admiral William "Bull" Halsey's 3rd Fleet scored a number of torpedo and dive bomber hits on Yamato and Mushashi, mortally wounding the latter, and scored a number of hits on other vessels.
These attacks caused Kurita to call off his attack and turn his fleet west away from Leyte Gulf. Thus began a chain of events that continues to engage historians and biographers to this day. Halsey, believing that he had mauled Kurita's fleet and that the Japanese "Central Forces" were retreating, and believing that he had the orders and authorization to do so, abandoned his station guarding General MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
's landing at Leyte Gulf and the San Bernardino Strait, in order to pursue Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa
Jisaburo Ozawa
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was the last Commander-in-Chief of Combined Fleet. Many military historians regard Ozawa as one of the most capable Japanese flag officers.-Biography:...
's Northern Fleet of Japanese carriers that were sent as a decoy to lure the Americans away from Leyte. But before doing so, in fact before Ozawa's force had been sighted, Halsey had sent a message announcing a "battle plan" to detach his battleships to cover the exit of the strait. With the decision to attack Ozawa, this battle plan was never executed and the heavy ships went north with the carriers.
Battle off Samar
Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid
Thomas C. Kinkaid
Thomas Cassin Kinkaid was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. He built a reputation as a "fighting admiral" in the aircraft carrier battles of 1942 and commanded the Allied forces in the Aleutian Islands Campaign...
, Commander 7th Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
and responsible for protecting the landing forces, assumed that Halsey's "Battle Plan" was a deployment order and that Task Force 34 (TF 34) was actually guarding San Bernardino. Kinkaid thus concentrated his battleships to the south in order to face the Japanese "Southern Force". During the night of 24–25 October, Kurita changed his mind again, and turned his ships east toward Leyte Gulf. On the morning of 25 October, Kurita's fleet, led by Yamato, exited San Bernardino Strait and sailed south along the coast of Samar
Samar Island
Samar is an island in the Visayas, within the central Philippines. The island is divided into three provinces: Samar province, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar. These three provinces, along with the provinces on the nearby islands of Leyte and Biliran are part of the Eastern Visayas region...
. 30 minutes after dawn, the battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy sighted "Taffy 3" — a task unit of Kinkaid's covering forces that consisted of six escort carriers, three destroyers and four small destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
s, commanded by Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague
Clifton Sprague
Vice Admiral Clifton Albert Frederick Sprague was a World War II-era officer in the United States Navy.-Biography:...
. Taffy 3 was designed to provide shore support and anti-submarine patrols; not to engage in fleet action against battleships.
Admiral Kurita thought he had chanced upon the carriers of the American 3rd Fleet and ordered his battleships to open fire, including Yamato with her 18.1 in (459.7 mm) guns. However, the moment Taffy 3 was sighted, the "Central Force" had just been ordered to change from nighttime to air defense steaming formation, but had not yet completed the maneuver. Rather than properly form his ships for action with the enemy, Kurita at this point gave the order for "General Attack". His ships thus charged uncoordinated into action and Kurita quickly lost tactical control of the battle.
Kurita's forces mauled the American ships, sinking one of the small carriers, two destroyers, including the , commanded by Commander Ernest E. Evans
Ernest E. Evans
Ernest Edwin Evans was an officer of the United States Navy who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in World War II.-Biography:...
. But the planes from Taffy 3 and Taffy 2, stationed farther south, fought back, and although the American destroyers had only 5 in (127 mm) guns, they too attacked, launched torpedoes and laid smoke. These determined attacks by the escorts and continual air attacks served to further confuse and separate Kurita's forces. Kurita, whose flagship fell far behind early in the battle while avoiding an aerial torpedo
Aerial torpedo
The aerial torpedo, airborne torpedo or air-dropped torpedo is a naval weapon, the torpedo, designed to be dropped into water from an aircraft after which it propels itself to the target. First used in World War I, air-dropped torpedoes were used extensively in World War II, and remain in limited...
attack, lost sight of the enemy and many of his own ships. Meanwhile, the courageous efforts of the Taffies had sunk two heavy cruisers and knocked a third out of action (which was later scuttled/sunk): , , and . Many of his other ships had also been hit. After about two and a half hours action with Taffy 3, Kurita ordered his force to regroup on a northerly course, away from Leyte.
By this time, Kurita had news that the Japanese "Southern Force", which was to attack Leyte Gulf from the south, had already been destroyed by Kinkaid's aging battleships, which were too far south to attack Kurita's forces. Admiral Kurita's "Central Force" had fewer than half its ships. With Musashi gone, Kurita had four battleships but only three cruisers remaining, and all of his ships were damaged and low on fuel. Kurita was intercepting messages that indicated Admiral Halsey had sunk the four carriers of the "Northern Force" and was racing back to Leyte with his battleships to confront the Japanese fleet and that powerful elements of 7th Fleet were approaching from out Leyte Gulf. After steaming back and forth off Samar for two more hours, he decided to retire and retreated back through the San Bernardino Strait.
His ships were subjected to further air attack the rest of the day and Halsey's battleships just missed catching him that night. Kurita's retreat saved Yamato and the remainder of the IJN 2nd Fleet from certain destruction, but he had failed to complete his mission, attacking the amphibious forces in Leyte Gulf. The path had been laid open to him by the sacrifices of the Northern and Southern Forces, but closed again by the determination and courage of the Taffies.
After Leyte and Postwar
Kurita was criticized by some elements in the Japanese military for not fighting to the death. In December, Kurita was removed from command. In order to protect him against assassination, he was reassigned as commandant of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy.Following the Japanese surrender, Kurita found work as a scrivener
Scrivener
A scrivener was traditionally a person who could read and write. This usually indicated secretarial and administrative duties such as dictation and keeping business, judicial, and history records for kings, nobles, temples, and cities...
and masseur, living quietly with his daughter and her family. He never discussed politics or the war with his family or with anyone, except to conduct a brief interview with a journalist, Ito Masanori, in 1954 when he stated that he had made a mistake at Leyte by turning away and not continuing with the battle, a statement he later retracted. He was found by an American Naval Officer
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
after the war where he was interviewed for the Analysis Division of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey.
With Kurita's address in hand, a young American naval officer got out of a jeepWillys MBThe Willys MB US Army Jeep and the Ford GPW, were manufactured from 1941 to 1945. These small four-wheel drive utility vehicles are considered the iconic World War II Jeep, and inspired many similar light utility vehicles. Over the years, the World War II Jeep later evolved into the "CJ" civilian...
and spotted the unimposing figure tending to his garden chores. Years later, he still vividly recalled the moment: "It really made an impression of me. The war was just over. Less than a year before Kurita had been in command of the largest fleet that was ever put together, and there he was out there chopping potatoes
Afterward, Kurita returned to his retirement, making a twice-yearly pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine
Yasukuni Shrine
is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. Currently, its Symbolic Registry of Divinities lists the names of over 2,466,000 enshrined men and women whose lives were dedicated to the service of...
to pray for his dead comrades-in-arms. In 1966, he was present at the deathbed of his old colleague, Jisaburō Ozawa, at which he silently wept.
It was not until he was in his 80s that Kurita began to again speak of his actions at Leyte. He claimed privately to a former Naval Academy student (and biographer), Ooka Jiro, that he withdrew the fleet from the battle because he did not believe in wasting the lives of his men in a futile effort, having long since believed that the war was lost.
Kurita died in 1977 at age 88, and his grave is at the Tama Reien cemetery in Fuchu, Tokyo
Fuchu, Tokyo
is a city located in western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 255,394 and a population density of 8,700 persons per km². The total area was 29.34 km²...
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Books
- Evan Thomas, "Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign, 1941–1945." New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007. ISBN 0743252217.)
- Cox, Robert Jon (2010). The Battle Off Samar - Taffy III at Leyte Gulf (Fifth Edition). Wakefield, Michigan, Agogeebic Press, LLC. ISBN 0-9822390-4-1
- Cutler, Thomas (2001). The Battle of Leyte Gulf: 23–26 October 1944. Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-243-9.
- D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
- Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
- Field, James A. (1947). The Japanese at Leyte Gulf;: The Sho operation. Princeton University Press. .
- Friedman, Kenneth (2001). Afternoon of the Rising Sun: The Battle of Leyte Gulf. Presidio Press. ISBN 0-89141-756-7.
- Halsey, William Frederick (1983) The Battle for Leyte Gulf. U.S. Naval Institute
- Hornfischer, James D. (2004). The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. Bantam. ISBN 0-553-80257-7.
- Hoyt, Edwin P.; Thomas H Moorer (Introduction) (2003). The Men of the Gambier Bay: The Amazing True Story of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Lyons Press. ISBN 1-58574-643-6.
- Lacroix, Eric; Linton Wells (1997). Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-311-3.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001) Leyte: June 1944 – January 1945 (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume 12. Castle Books; Reprint ISBN 0785813136
- Potter, E. B. (2005). Admiral Arleigh Burke. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-692-5.
- Potter, E. B. (2003). Bull Halsey. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-691-7.
- David Sears. The Last Epic Naval Battle: Voices from Leyte Gulf. Praeger Publishers (2005) ISBN 0275985202
- Thomas, Evan (2006). Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941–1945. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-5221-7.
- Willmott, H. P. (2005). The Battle Of Leyte Gulf: The Last Fleet Action. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34528-6.
- Woodward, C. Vann (1989) The Battle for Leyte Gulf (Naval Series) Battery Press ISBN 0898391342
Web
- The Battle Off Samar – Taffy III at Leyte Gulf by Robert Jon Cox
- US Strategic Bombing Survey Pacific – Interrogations of Japanese officials A list of the U.S. Naval Interrogations of Japanese Officials, conducted after the war, with full texts of the interviews. A number of these interviews are available on line and provide interesting insight from the Japanese commanders, who, many for first time, are openly critical of the war and their superiors. Admiral Kurita and his role in the war is discussed in a number of different interrogations.