The Battle of Leyte Gulf The Last Fleet Action [Paperback]

The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the greatest naval engagement in history. The battle was four separate actions, none of which were fought in the Gulf itself, and the result was the destruction of Japanese naval power in the Pacific. This book is a detailed and comprehensive account of the fighting from both sides. It provides the context of the battle, most obviously in terms of Japanese calculations and the search for a fitting place to die and the chance to bloom as flowers of death. Using Japanese material never previously noted in western accounts, H. P. Willmott provides new perspectives on the unfolding of the battle and very deliberately seeks to give readers a proper understanding of the importance of this battle for American naval operations in the following month. This careful interrogation of the accounts of the last fleet action is a significant contribution to military history.

List of Maps
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
1. The Nature of War and Victory
2. The Option of Difficulties: The American Situation in the Aftermath of the Victory in the Philippine Sea
3. The Search for Solutions: The Japanese Situation in the Aftermath of Defeat in the Philippine Sea
4. Preliminaries: 6-18 October 1944
5. Advance and Contact, 18-24 October 1944
6. The Great Day of Wrath: 25 October 1944
7. The Naval Battle for the Philippines: The Postscript, 26 October-30 November 1944
8. To Pause and Consider: Blame, Responsibility, and the Verdict of History.
Appendixes
Notes
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
Index

Winner, 2006 Society for Military History Distinguished Book AwardAn outstanding contribution to the military and naval history of our times.2008The Battle of Leyte Gulf is an outstanding addition to a Pacific library.August 2008[A]n outstanding book which can be appreciated by naval historians and those who have a general interest in the subject.

H. P. Willmott has written extensively on warfare in genelCx