San Isidro, Philippines

History

The Battle of Leyte Gulf during the Second World War is considered by most historians as the biggest naval battle in history. The scope of the encounter in terms of warships, warplanes, and manpower involved is nothing short of astounding. The casualties borne by both warring parties are incomparable to other similar engagements, to say the least. It was, by all standards, a decisive victory for the American naval forces and could easily have turned the tide in favor of the Japanese Imperial Navy had the result been otherwise.

The battle was waged in an attempt by the Japanese to thwart General Douglas MacArthur's bold return via the Leyte Landings on October 20, 1944, the second biggest amphibious invasion in modern history after the Normandy Invasion less than five months earlier. The Japanese naval forces organized three attack forces with the American landing armada in the Leyte Gulf as target. The largest attack group, organized hastily by the Japanese, was the Central Force headed by Admiral Kurita. This powerful force encountered a token fleet of American escort ships in the Philippine Sea off the island of Samar. Despite overwhelming superiority, the Japanese Central Force surprisingly retreated through the San Bernardino Strait. Part of the remnants of the Central Force was pursued and destroyed by American warplanes.

From the History section of San Isidro, Leyte on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.