Battle of Surigao Strait

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INDIANA University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis http://iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796 INDIANA Anthony P. Tully Battle of Surigao Strait Battle of Surigao Strait Tully “Following his collaboration on Shattered Sword, Anthony Tully establishes himself as a solo author with this exhaustive study of the October 1944 battle of Surigao Strait. His unexcelled mastery of the subject features extensive detail wrapped in a lucid treatment that does justice to both sides. No finer chronicler could be found for the last battleship engagement in history.” Barrett Tillman, author of Clash of the Carriers: The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot “Reference to sources previously unexplored in the West puts that chapter of the great series of battles collectively known as the Battle of Leyte Gulf in a new light. Tully has examined the battle from the Japanese side with newly translated documents and challenges what has been depicted as a sort of ‘Charge of the Light Brigade.’ A must read for students of the Leyte Gulf fight.” W. D. Dickson, author of Battle of the Philippine Sea, June 1944 “Aims to sort out the discrepancies that have crept in over time to standard accounts of . . . a confused and complex night action. Of special interest is Tully’s exploitation of fresh source materials.” Malcolm Muir, Jr., author of Black Shoes and Blue Water: Surface Warfare in the United States Navy, 1945–1975 “If the vibrant international community of experts who study the Pacific War and discuss and debate it online can be seen as a mafia, then Anthony Tully is its consigliere. Whenever a question arises about the battle history of World War II in the Pacific—what really happened after the fleets collided, dive-bombers entered their dives, and shot met plate—he is the indispensable man. In this book he paints Admiral Nishimura’s highspeed run into history with an entirely fresh palette of detail, from the command decisions to the after-action reports. It offers naval history buffs something fresh and easy to relish on almost every page.” James D. Hornfischer, author of Ship of Ghosts and The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors $27.95 The Battle of Surigao Strait is one of the four battles that comprised the epic naval battle of Leyte Gulf on October 23–26, 1944. The night action in Surigao has proven to be especially significant as it was the last “big gun vs. big gun” naval battle and the last time that capital ships engaged each other in a surface battle. By a coincidence of history, it took place on the anniversary of the Charge of the Light Brigade, and oddly enough, featured a nautical charge by two Japanese fleets of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers. The opposing U.S. fleet comprised no fewer than five battleships, victims of Pearl Harbor, now ready for a historic moment of revenge. In the intervening years, welters of mysteries and contradictions have been allowed to stand unchallenged, despite self-evident paradoxes and claims bordering on the impossible. In this book, Anthony P. Tully pulls together all of the existing documentary material, including neglected or never-translated Japanese sources and a careful analysis of U.S. Navy action reports, to create a new and more detailed description of the action. The book also includes a number of previously unpublished photographs and charts that bring a fresh perspective to the battle. In several respects, Tully’s narrative differs radically from the received versions and represents an important historical corrective. It sheds new light on tactical and staff decisions that have puzzled many historians, and hidden secrets of some of the losses that night are at last resolved. Some of the revisions may appear as drastic as they will be controversial, but all are backed by persuasive evidence . Making extensive use of never-published records and survivor testimonies, Tully lifts the cloak of ambiguity and mystery that has shrouded the events of that fateful night and produces a truly new retelling of the Battle of Surigao Strait. Anthony P. Tully is an independent scholar and historian of the Imperial Japanese Navy. He is author (with Jon Parshall) of Shattered Sword, a study of the Battle of Midway. Twentieth-Century Battles Spencer C. Tucker, editor Jacket illustration: Night Action at Surigao, showing Yamashiro and Shigure engaging battle line at the height of the battle. Painting by John Hamilton. Courtesy Naval Historical Center. War & Military · World War II BattleSSmec.indd 1 2/17/09 11:13:38 AM...