Battle of Leyte Gulf

Japanese: レイテ湾海戦 - レイテわんかいせん（英語表記）Battle of Leyte Gulf

A naval battle fought between the Japanese and American fleets near the Philippines on October 23-25, 1944, at the end of the Pacific War. In response to the launch of Operation Sho-1, an attempt to prevent the American forces from landing in Leyte Gulf, the Combined Fleet led by Commander-in-Chief Toyoda Soemu mobilized all its forces to head for the U.S. Third Fleet led by Admiral W. Halsey. The Combined Fleet was divided into four groups: the Kurita Group, the Nishimura Group, the Ozawa Group, and the Shima Group, with four aircraft carriers, eight battleships, and nine heavy cruisers. The main forces of the U.S. Third Fleet were the M. Mitscher Group, with nine aircraft carriers, eight light aircraft carriers, six battleships, four heavy cruisers, and 1,073 aircraft. The main battlefields were the Surigao Strait, off the coast of Samar, and off Cape Engano, and the Japanese lost all of their aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 15 other ships, and most of their aircraft. The American side lost 1 aircraft carrier, 3 light aircraft carriers, and several other ships. In the end, land-based air power was no match for the power of the carriers, and Japan was defeated, with the Combined Fleet virtually destroyed. It was during this battle that the Kamikaze Special Attack Forces were formed and launched their first attack.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

太平洋戦争末期の 1944年 10月 23～25日，フィリピン近海で日米艦隊の間で戦われた海戦。アメリカ軍のレイテ湾上陸を阻止しようとする「捷 (しょう) 1号作戦」の発動により，豊田副武司令長官の率いる連合艦隊が総力をあげて，W.ハルゼー大将の率いるアメリカ第3艦隊に向った。連合艦隊は栗田部隊を主力に西村隊，小沢隊，志摩隊の4隊に分れ，兵力は航空母艦 (空母) 4，戦艦8，重巡洋艦9，主力は陸上基地航空兵力の第1，2航空艦隊で陸・海軍作戦可能機約 500機であった。アメリカ第3艦隊の主力は M.ミッチャー隊の空母9，軽空母8，戦艦6，重巡洋艦4，艦載機 1073機であった。スリガオ海峡，サマール沖，エンガノ岬沖などが主戦場となり，日本側は空母が全滅し，戦艦3，重巡洋艦6，その他 15と航空機の大半を失った。アメリカ側の損害は，空母1，軽空母3，その他数隻であった。結局，陸上基地航空兵力は空母兵力に敵しえず，日本が大敗し，連合艦隊は事実上壊滅した。なお，この戦いで神風特別攻撃隊が編成され，最初の攻撃が行われた。

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