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The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James D. Hornfischer
This just might be the best book I have read so far this year. Simply fantastic! You don't have to be a navy or WWII buff like me to enjoy it.
The book tells the story of the Battle of Samar which was part of the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf which followed MacArthur's return to the Philippines. Following the landings on Leyte, the Japanese launched an all out naval offensive to defeat the American forces.
The plan was for two forces of Japanese battleship to converge on Leyte Gulf form both the north and the south. The southern force was handily defeated by the old battleships that had been resurrected from the Pearl Harbor mud. The center force, the fleet that would approach Leyte from the north, was bloodied by air attacks on the first day of the battle. There was a northern force comprised of carriers which were to act as decoy to draw the American carriers north and open the way up for the center force to make its approach.
The commander of the U.S. Third Fleet, which contained the fast carriers and new battleships, took the bait and sailed north to attack the Japanese carriers. This allowed the Japanese center force to approach Leyte Gulf from the north, and the only ships that stood in the way were the three U.S. destroyers, four destroyer escorts, and six escort carriers of Taffy 3.
Of the David vs Goliath fight that followed, Samuel Eliot Morison wrote: "In no engagement in its entire history had the United States Navy shown more gallantry, guts and gumption. . . ."
This just might be the best book I have read so far this year. Simply fantastic! You don't have to be a navy or WWII buff like me to enjoy it.
The book tells the story of the Battle of Samar which was part of the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf which followed MacArthur's return to the Philippines. Following the landings on Leyte, the Japanese launched an all out naval offensive to defeat the American forces.
The plan was for two forces of Japanese battleship to converge on Leyte Gulf form both the north and the south. The southern force was handily defeated by the old battleships that had been resurrected from the Pearl Harbor mud. The center force, the fleet that would approach Leyte from the north, was bloodied by air attacks on the first day of the battle. There was a northern force comprised of carriers which were to act as decoy to draw the American carriers north and open the way up for the center force to make its approach.
The commander of the U.S. Third Fleet, which contained the fast carriers and new battleships, took the bait and sailed north to attack the Japanese carriers. This allowed the Japanese center force to approach Leyte Gulf from the north, and the only ships that stood in the way were the three U.S. destroyers, four destroyer escorts, and six escort carriers of Taffy 3.
Of the David vs Goliath fight that followed, Samuel Eliot Morison wrote: "In no engagement in its entire history had the United States Navy shown more gallantry, guts and gumption. . . ."
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