Largest Naval Battle Ever: U.S. Aircraft Carriers and Battleships Fought Japan at Leyte Gulf

Robert Farley

Security, Asia Pacific

This was the battle that broke Imperial Japan's navy for good.

In late October 1944, the United States and Japan fought what was, by the most useful metrics, the largest naval battle in history. An American armada of more than 300 ships intended to begin the liberation of the Philippines at the island of Leyte. Nearly seventy Japanese warships sought to stop that invasion. The fleets collided in dramatic fashion, with moments of terror and heroism on both sides. By the end, the United States had established a foothold in the Philippines, and the Imperial Japanese Navy was finished as a major fighting force.

Strategic Situation

Japan’s military situation had become dire in the wake of the Battle of Philippine Sea. In that battle Japan had lost three fleet carriers (including its newest, Taiho, and one of the survivors of Pearl Harbor, Shokaku), and a tremendous number of pilots and aircraft. U.S. advantages after Philippine Sea only grew, as more American ships and planes came into service. Japan’s outer ring of island defenses had been pierced, and its central supply lines to the resources (particularly oil) of Southeast Asia were now vulnerable. The United States Navy, for its part, had flexed its muscles at Philippine Sea and in other raids along the Japanese periphery, and was now confident of its advantages. Moreover, despite the setback at Arnhem it had become clear that the victory over Germany was only a matter of time.

The Americans

The United States had the luxury of determining where the next battle would be fought. After debating whether to invade Formosa or the Philippines, the United States decided to concentrate its attention on the latter. Considerations included the promise that General Douglas MacArthur had made when he left U.S. forces in 1942, the continuing pro-American resistance on the islands, and the belief that they would provide a base for straddling Japan’s remaining supply lines to Southeast Asia. Decisionmakers also worried that the Formosa operation would take up too much manpower, and that it had the potential to draw the United States too deeply into China.