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I am only half way through, this is the best tactical analysis I have seen of this battle, which i have studied in more than cursory fashion, but clearly not so much as you have. thank you for your fine work!
I still remember during the leyte gulf series, he talked about how someone on the Helena watched a hellcat beat a Japanese bomber to death with its lander gear bc it had run out of ammo
@@naamadossantossilva4736most pilots didn’t have 1911s, S&W victory models (naval contract) were however quite common. The victory model was by and large dependable, and reasonably modern for the time. It was about as good as you could get with a swing out cylinder type revolver in the Second World War.
@@scott_hunts Thank you. The 1911 offered no specific advantage other than one round capacity. We had pilots carrying .38 revolvers well after Vietnam.
This battle both highlights the flaws of American command structure and the brilliance of American individualism. It was the top commanders that set the wheels in motion for what could’ve been a terrible defeat, but the lower ranked individuals who’s boldness and initiative ended up carrying the day.
Agreed. If individual captains did not show initiative they did then the Taffy 3 force could have been wiped out. Instead the destroyers and air wings put Centre Force under pressure almost from the outset
@@ethanmcfarland8240 it was honestly kinda like the strategy the 6th coalition ran against napoleon, they knew they could defeat the smaller forces, but had no chance vs the big boy american fleets
@@dzhang4459Sprague, Evans and others acted of their own initiative, in some cases contrary to orders. In other organizations, for example, the IJN, they would have not acted without direct orders. Yes, there's teamwork, yes there's a chain of command but when that falls to pieces as it did here, it was the individuals that saved the day.
It was the US Navy's "Battle of Thermopylae" (300 Spartans) moment. I'm sure. Resulted from the mistake of 3rd and 7th Fleets having a split command. But can see how ferocious the US Navy fought despite the odds and whilst evading the enemy force
I heard a historian once say; imagine a junior high football team going up against the NFL superbowl champs......and holding their own. That was how lopsided this battle was.
@@SomeDudeSomewhereOverThere it's not a movie, but the book "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" is a fantastic, narrative book about the Battle of Samar
To paraphrase RUclipsr Drachinfel: "It was at this point that the Johnston decides 'running is boring'..." Captain Ernst E Evans and his crew were 100% madlads for what they did, and it goddamn did their craziness pay off.
There should always be a destroyer named USS Johnston, USS Hoel, USS Heerman and a Frigate named USS Samuel B Roberts in the active fleet. Their legacy should be carried on in perpetuity. Less ships named after politicians and more named after ships that covered themselves in glory.
My great Uncle was a cook on the Sammy B, when he told the rare story, he said that he spent 2 days and 2 nights in the ocean. He still remembered the screams of the sailors being eaten by sharks. Godspeed uncle!
Just shows you how massive the Yamato really was. The first and only super battleship to actually sail. Edit: Yamato was the only super battleship class to set sail, as she did have a sister ship
The japanese 25 mm was obsolete by this point in the war. It's mount could not train fast enough to track enemy aircraft. The 25 mm round was too light against the larger, newer American aircraft designs. The 40 mm bofors on the American ships, were the direct counterpart. 40 mm vs 25 mm, not even a contest as to which is more effective.
its not that the 25mm was a horrible anti aircraft gun, it did see itself shoot down planes, more so the IJN lacked a sizeable medium caliber round between its light AA (25mm) and its heavier guns (127mm), the IJN for whatever reason decided that they didnt need a medium caliber anti aircraft weapon and gave the 25mm that role by upsizing into double and triple mounts the elite guy above me is wrong when he says the 40mm were the direct counterpart, the 20mm oerlikon was the direct counterpart of the type 96 and it too saw underwhelming performance compared to the electronic US radar assisted 5 inch guns and twin or quad 40mm gun mounts
They had no choice except to try. And thankfully, trying got the job done. I'm sure nobody that read the after action reports believed any them... The whole 24 hours was a wild engagement.
This is just my opinion, but the battle off samar is one of the finest, if not the finest, moment in the history of the US Navy. Its honestly criminal how few people know about this battle.
If they do know about it, they might know it as "Taffy 3" or mistakenly think of the Taffy 3 engagement as the entire Battle of Leyte Gulf, which it wasn't. I definitely made those mistakes.
I honestly feel USN probably downplayed this incredible battle. Or everyone after admiring the heroics of Taffy 3 would immediately ask this question: how the hell could Taffy 3 be caught in a mismatch like that? Then King or Nimitz had to defend Halsey's stupid mistake of leaving San Bernadino Strait unguarded and unmonitored. At that stage of WW2, all of Halsey's ghastly mistakes were swept under the rug.
@@DarthV3622Fkm I totally agree. I learned about this battle through The History Channel’s “Dogfight” series and was stunned by this battle. The tenacity of Taffy 3 no doubt saved MacArthur’s invasion force. Let’s say in an Alternate Universe the Japanese Center Force destroyed Taffy 3, broke through to Leyte Gulf and Managed to heavily decimate MacArthur’s Invasion Force until it was forced into a retreat by the Southern Force returning to try and stop the carnage; this would have gone from a PR Embarrassment to a Major Tactical and Strategic Victory for the Japanese. The Morale Blow this would have caused in America is unimaginable and the fallout that would have followed of who was to blame would have led to Nimitz, Halsey and others coming under a ton of scrutiny (there is no doubt President Roosevelt and or the Joint Chiefs of Staff would be wanting answers and someone would be sacked).
@@MarkLac Or, more probably, the US battleships and cruisers would have arrived in time to destroy what remained of Center Force after it had dealt with Taffy 3. While many of the US surface ships would have been damaged or sunk, wiping out the last of Japan's surface fleet would have been spun as a huge American victory. "Japan's navy fell into the trap set for it by Nimitz, Halsey, et al, ...." The PR practically writes itself.
@@MarkLac I have read that (sorry I forget about the sources) that USN had simulated the hypothetical battle between Kurita's fleet versus Oldendorf TF 77.2 and Oldendorf would barely win. So there probably would not be a slaughter of the landing fleet. Drach ran a simulation ruclips.net/video/EJJWG0viaZQ/видео.html I did not think it would be that close a victory for Oldendorf because if all three Taffies were available, Kurita would have to deal with six standard battleships plus over 100 planes. My biased opinion is that Oldendorf would come out ahead. And even if it were a draw, by then Nimitz would give clear and explicit order to Halsey to turn the entire Third Fleet around to go south. That would be the end of Kurita's fleet. That said, as an amateur WW2 naval historian for decades I would never forgive Halsey for leaving San Bernadino Strait unguarded. NOT EVEN ONE SINGLE PICKET DD.
IT'S FINALLY HERE! The 1st half of the most lopsided naval battle in history!! USS Johnston's, Samuel B Roberts' and Hoel's crews will go down in history as some of the most insanely brave naval personnel of all time.
I wish Johnston was in the game. It’s insane it’s not. We have Fletcher, Black and Kidd. Black is only noteworthy because it’s name and Hull number. Kidd because it’s name and Jolly Roger. Johnston is a damn legend.
@@fighter5583That’s because WoWs allows DDs to be utterly invisible for the majority of a BB’s range. Gameplay wise it is a great mechanic and adds depth to the game. But it’s not remotely similar to real life. If you recreated this battle in WoWs, you couldn’t. The Destroyers would be almost under center force’s guns before they were even spotted.
*Yamato:* Oh you're approaching me? Instead of running away, you're coming right at me? *DDs and DDEs, Aviators of Taffy 3:* I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer.
Truth. This battle really shows that most Allied DD commanders had that go-getter attitude. Some captains more than others obviously. But I would argue that was a good trait to have for that specific job.
It would make sense for the naval version of HR to look for this personality type for escort ship captains. Their job is to be bodyguards for VIP ships.
Not just the Allies. German destroyer captains and crews were also a bit on the crazy side. A battleship is like a big, massive pitbull that has very little to actually worry about. A destroyer is like a really angry terrier. And those little bastards can be even more terrifying when they're pissed off.
@@Corristo89Reading “Japanese Destroyer Captain” by Tameichi Hara has shown me that Japanese destroyer crews were also pretty insane. There’s a few crazy stories about them, like Yudachi cutting through an American destroyer line at First Guadalcanal, Ayanami attacking “Ching” Lee’s fleet alone and taking three destroyers to the bottom with her at Second Guadalcanal, or Hatsuzuki holding off TF34 alone for almost two hours on the same day as Taffy 3s famous battle
From what I've read. I think this demonstrates the power of the aircraft carrier. Even though these are escort carriers not fleet carriers ... they put out an unbelievable amount of damage/resistance that made the Japanese think they faced a full fleet carrier battle group. Plus the escorting destroyers etc. Really did take the fight to the enemy.
The 7th Fleet battle ship formation even though they were older battle ships did show they were still capable in the last episode when they crossed the T and decimated the southern force
Just for the record, since the Johnston entered the depth, there have been zero Godzilla attacks. At last report he was hiding in the crater of Mount Fuji saying "don't go in the water!"
The extremely sad and enraging fact that china has been pulling most of these ships off the seafloor for scrap makes me so damn angry. Apparently the metal was kept safe from increased radiation levels from being on the bottom of the ocean during all the nuclear testing, that the low background radiation steel is extremely valuable. Leave it to the chinese to destroy history so blatantly to build products that are junk anyway,
In his book "History of the United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume VII, Leyte" the eminent naval historian Samuel Eliot Morrison states: "In no engagement in its entire history has the United States Navy shown more gallantry, guts and gumption than in those two hours between 0730 and 0930 off Samar."
"I see the biggest Red Meatball flag I ever saw on the biggest battleship I ever saw" ~Brooks, the Legend I don't know why but this line made me laugh out loud. It was a desperate situation but man.
We've read the books. We've seen the videos. We've listened to Drach tell the story. . And now we see it. . Brilliant. Thanks Operations Room. Can't wait for Part 2.
This story always makes me misty eyed, the shear audicity that those pipsqueak little boats went straight at the mighty imperial Navy's biggest and nest battleships without fail. It really makes you respect the men of that era.
The warrior spirit was strong in Ernest Evans, half Cherokee, quarter Creek. The Naval Academy education pointed him in a direction that would spare many lives.
The USN's destroyer crews in the Pacific during Ww2 were something else. They would perform so aggressively and successfully the Japanese crews would be loading AP shells because they had been convinced they were fighting American cruisers. The AP shells would just glide straight through the destroyers whereas a HE shell could've in theory blown one clean in half. USN damage control was also so effective the Japanese usually reported destroying multiple ships when they were fighting the exact same ship multiple times. For example: At the battle of Midway the Japanese thought they sank two American carriers. In reality the Japanese attacked USS Yorktown (CV-5) twice and still didn't sink her. She was sunken by a Japanese submarine attack.
If I had a nickel for every time the Japanese claimed they'd sunk the USS Enterprise, I'd have 3 nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's strange it happened 3 times
My dad was a plane mechanic on the Fanshaw Bay during this battle. Towards the end of his life he might not remenber what he had for dinner the night before but he could remember what he had for breakfast on the day of the battle seventy years earlier.
@@Galvvy very true, especially with the publication of the book which I think was "the last stand of the tin can sailors". He read it and I think put himself in every page. I can't recall any other book he ever read....
"A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can." Every time i hear about this battle, i get chills. Its insane.
One of the Johnston surviving crews said in the History channel series Battle 360 Enterprise said that when they were about to charge at the Japanese fleet, one of the crew said to commander Evans: "please, do not let us get sunk with our torpedoes in the ship" which Evans replied: "well, let's do our torpedo run then", WHAT A CHAD!!!!
Imagine being a boilerman or an electrician. Completely unable to shoot at the enemy. Your only job is to push the ship wherever the captain says and if it takes damage as a consequence you are in charge of keeping her in the fight. All of these guys possessed will and grit beyond what words could describe. Knowing death is the most likely outcome they just said “fuck it, we ball.”
Thomas Copeland being denied joining the attack but still going on a mission that in his own words “survival cannot be expected”. Sheesh, those sailors were a different breed. 18:50
There was a guy Chalmer Goheen who’s passed now but he was on the Samuel B and one of the survivors in this battle, he was from (and returned back to after the war) my hometown (of 800 people) I don’t think I ever met him but know many of his family. His story is in a book that I can’t remember the name of but it’s nuts as you can imagine
My great uncle was a cook on the USS Samuel B Roberts he didn’t say much about it but he said he spent 2 days and 2 nights in the water, my uncle brownie became a fry cook after the war and died in peace back home in Modesto. Rest In Peace Legend ✌️
This is the best example of a David and Goliath situation in naval history. I read the book Last Stand Of the Tin Can Sailors which is about this battle.
I would argue the Battle of Myeongnyang is probably the greatest David vs Goliath Naval victory in history although I do think it's arguable either way. Taffy 3's accomplishment was beyond extraordinary. I do find it interesting that the only 2 'last stand' naval victories in history occurred against the Japanese.
@@colbyphillips7039 late 1500s 13 korean ships vs 333(130 warships to 200 support if I remember correctly) Japanese ships. A naval invasion force. The Korean Admiral Yi Sun-Sin drew the Japanese armada into a narrow strait during a tidal change causing the Japanese frontal warships to begin ramming the ships behind them then charged directly at them. They won with one lost sailor and no ships sunk and the Japanese lost 33 ships. If you like naval naval history Search up Yi Sun-Sin. He might be the greatest admiral in history and not many westerners know about him unless they really dig into military history as the Imjin war isn't really discussed over here.
It's quite an interesting battle from one of the several times Japan tried to invade Korea in the 1500s. It doesn't quite have the last stand desperation that Samar has despite Korean Admiral Yi's 13 ship fleet being outnumbered 15 to 1 and is more of an exercise of using superior tactics, terrain, and technology to defeat a much larger force in detail. He basically used the narrow waters of the strait as choke point while setting his fleet up upstream so the Japanese would have to fight a strong current to close with the Koreans leaving their crews exhausted. Although his fleet was smaller in number and size in general he also had more modern ships that were more manuverable with iron plate armor and rams versus what were essentially large floating houses. Everytime the Japanese closed it would be in piecemeal formations and Yi would outmaneuver, ram, and sink them with the enemy wrecks creating even tighter confines. He sank 31 ships that way while only loosing a handful of men to arrows or falling overboard. He pulled off the equivalent of holding the pass at Thermopylae with 13 dudes armed with modern machine guns and winning.
I'm not American, but this is one of my favourite battles in naval history. The heroism of the destroyers and destroyer escorts is second to none. It should never have happened and wouldn't have if Halsey hadn't fallen for the Japanese decoy carrier fleet. I do wonder how things would have turned out if the USN fast battleships had faced off with Kurita. ❤❤❤❤❤❤
@@markstott6689 Maybe but keep in mind the japanese where higly trained vs big targets,for they're decisive battle,they wanted that fight more than any one,maybe they would have lost,but still did more damage to the US than a couple of escort carriers and destroyers,the japanese wanted a fight even vs the whole american battleship force,and they where trained exactly for that
@@d.olivergutierrez8690is actually the suzuya, poor her and kumano. Just trying to leave the battle but ran into the whole 3rd fleet. And for Kumano, that’s just the first few days of her struggling to survive for the next whole month.
@manveerparmar6570: I did not know that Copeland and the Sammy B. were defying orders by going in. I'd seen Copeland's quote (plenty of times) once they'd changed course to join the attack, but never that he'd asked permission prior to and was denied. "Radio interfence." Hefty huevos - all those guys.
"Faced with an enemy whose largest gun turrets weigh more than the entire ship, Johnston decides that running is boring." Drachinifel - The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those? Feb 27, 2019
“This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.” That’s one of the most bad-ass real life quotes you’ll ever hear.
My great-uncle was the radio operator in the last TBF Avenger to fly off the Gambier Bay. The reason his plane was last is because he was poking around in the galley, looking for sugar for his coffee. The pilot found him and ordered him to get up to the flight deck, because they were taking off. "Just a minute, I can't find the sugar," my uncle replied. "Get in the plane right now! We gotta get out of here!" the pilot yelled. Of course, once the plane was in the air the reason for the urgent takeoff became obvious. They attacked the Japanese fleet with whatever weapons they had, eventually made a rough landing on a muddy field on Leyte that had only recently been recaptured, and my great-uncle never did get any sugar for his coffee.
Also one of the most horrible performances of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Being handed such a perfect opportunity since Halsey completely fell for a basic decoy and doing so little with such an overwhelming amount of firepower is grounds for the most summary court martial ever. Admiral Kurita couldn't have done a worse job if he had made his battle decisions by rolling a 6-sided die.
The last stand of the tin can sailors is a must read. The bravery, courage, and unwavering loyalty. This has to be one the finest examples of sacrifice during WW2.
I've read extensively about this battle, but it's very hard to get an overall picture of how all the individual stories fit together, and static maps can only help so much. Thank you for putting in the time and effort to depict it so clearly this way!
Two years ago, on your Tassafaronga video, I left a comment saying that you'd be the perfect content creator to cover The Battle off Samar. When you started going through the Leyte Gulf battles recently, there was a big hope that you'd end up getting to this. Your content two years ago was good, but it was great being reminded of the quality improvements since then. Fantastic work, and thanks to you and your team for making phenomenal content.
It would be nice to see one of your amazing videos cover the Battle for Peleliu which took place in the Palauan archipelago. You actually show the islands chain on your map here and it reminded me of it. It happens after these battles, but is notorious for being a superfluous fight that came at a very high cost. Cheers!
When Yammato weighs more then your whole force engaged and its turret weighs more then USS Johnston someone screwed up. Also its a sign of how insanely brave the US little ships were, knowing that they wernt coming back but doing it anyway to buy time for others and then even (hopefuly not a soiler) winning.
I have heard this bit of history countless times throughout my childhood and it never gets old. The bravery on display throughout the entirety of Taffey 3's true David vs Goliath battle is something that almost seems unbelievable, but this was just the way people were back then. Truly awe inspiring.
I feel I should mention something: All of the men of Taffy 3 went into this fight fully expecting to die due to the overwhelming odds against them but they were the ONLY thing standing between the IJN and the vulnerable landing ships and beachheads. Taffy 3 knew what the outcome would logically be and stood their ground against a vastly superior force in both numbers and in firepower and they WON, something no-one could've predicted. Remember the crews of the following ships: USS Fanshaw Bay, St. Lo, White Plains, Kalinin Bay, Kitkun Bay, Gambier Bay, Hoel, Heermann, Johnston, Dennis, John C. Butler, Raymond, and Samuel B. Roberts as well as the airmen of Taffy 1,2, and 3. Heroes and legends, nothing less.
By the time the Battle off Samar ended, Oldendorf's six old battleships from Task Force 77.2 had arrived northeast of the entrance to Leyte Gulf from Surigao Strait. They didn't have all their escorts back from the battle yet, they didn't have enough fuel for an extended chase of Kurita, and Yamato heavily outgunned them, but Leyte Gulf wasn't exactly undefended. Kincaid even waffled on sending them north without their escorts to aid Taffy 3, but consolidating his force to protect the support fleet was the right choice. That doesn't take anything away from the heroism of Taffy 3.
I lived on the Island of Samar for about 3 years and have beeb back and forth to Leyte. I wish they had a musuem there that preserves the memories of this battle. I never heard of thise battles till I found your channel.
"I see the biggest red meatball flag I ever saw, flying on the biggest battleship I ever saw" That's one way to communicate effectively! It's the god-damned Yamato, boys!
In one of his books, Samuel Morrison tells the story of how, after the war, a US admiral was reading theJapanese after action report and he read that Kurita's staff at one point estimated that the US carriers were doing 30 knots instead of their maximum of 17.5 knots. He remarked to Ziggy Sprague, "Gee, I knew you were scared but I didn't know you were THAT scared". This action has to go down as one of, if not THE, proudest moments in US Navy history.
"These Officers are finding it difficult to concentrate on coordinating their own assault- after all, some mad bastard was trying to gun them down with a revolver, fired from a moving cockpit."
I am absolutely loving this series covering Leyte Gulf. It is quickly becoming one of, if not my most favorite naval engagements of the second World War.
Outstanding! I have seen this battle recounted before on shows on the History channel in the past (when it still had shows on history). But never have I seen this recounted in so much detail, which has made me a big fan of your channel. Thank you again, I look forward to the remaining parts of the battle.
A little known fact is that after this battle, a sailor on the St. Lo said, "Man, I thought for sure we were goners!" Not really but it is nice to imagine that.
@@NoewerrATall Not particularly when you lead your fleet into not just one typhoon but two. Being lucky is good and all until it fails, and then you gotta fall back on something
@@legoeasycompany That's the thing, though. Halsey was lucky that Taffy 3 contained some of the biggest badasses in the US Navy. He was lucky that there wasn't more damage in the first typhoon. He was lucky that he wasn't relieved of command after the second one. When he screwed up, luckily the consequences were not war-altering. Therefore, it's better to be lucky than good.
Halsey was warned by Admiral W. A. Lee that Kurita's turn to the north was a feint, and that they should leave TF 34 to guard the strait. But Lee (and others) were ignored. Many armchair admirals and alternate history buffs wonder what a surface battle between TF 34 and Center Force would have been like. The foremost expert on naval gunnery against the biggest ship afloat. (Lee already had the Kongo Class BB Kirishima on his scorecard, so it would be a chance for him to sink 3 of the four Kongo class ships.)
@@johnferguson1970 Not covering San Bernadino Straight was one of, if not the biggest mistakes Halsey made. Regardless of what his fellow admirals were telling him, or even what he thought was going on, leaving your rear uncovered is just bad fighting.
In spite of what she was built for, in the end, Yamato's essence was betrayed. It's pretty sad this is the only time she ever fired her main battery at an enemy ship. But like in WoWs, Yamato can get sunk pretty quickly by DDs and aircraft, especially since many players overestimate their skill just because she's a huge ship.
IMHO Yamato and Musashi only demonstrated the fallacy of the supership concept. It takes a lot of time, treasure and materiel to build one, so much so that you can never build as many such ships as your enemy can crank out smaller, cheaper ships. So your enemy can more easily dogpile your supership, and every supership you lose makes the ones that are left that much more vulnerable. TL;DR, without a Wave Motion Gun or similar godtech a supership just ain't worth building.
Have really been impressed by the amount of detail that The Operations Room has provided in this multiple video series on the whole naval battle of Leyte Gulf and not just focusing on the amazing and courageous job of the ships and aircrews of Taffy Three!
Little fun fact: USS St. Lo CVE-63 used to be named USS Midway. On October 10th 1944, a mere 15 days before she was sunk, she was renamed to St. Lo to free the name Midway for a new CVB under construction at the time. For thoses who don’t know, CVB = Large Fleet Carrier (Midway class are the only CVBs built)
Great presentation. One comment: the cruisers in 7th fleet were not "obsolete" as stated at around the 4.20 mark of this video. Relative to the BBs, the cruisers Louisville, Portland, Minneapolis, Denver, and Columbia were on the left flank and the cruisers Phoenix, Boise, and Shropshire were on the right flank. Even the newest ships of the Cleveland class, Denver and Columbia, had combat experience by this time, including one prior surface night battle.
This was one of the most exciting battles you guys have ever covered. The courage and tenacity demonstrated by the pilots and ship crews is to be lauded for all of time
I've been waiting for this video since finding your channel over a year ago. Almost 2 now. I love the story of the Johnston and Evans. Something truly heroic and to aspire to.
All honor to the incredible grit and courage of the American destroyer crews, especially Cmdr. Evans on the USS Johnston. They proved once again how to turn the enormous weight of a bigger enemy against itself. They also achieved the main ingredient of a victory: distracting the enemy from its original objective (the troops on the beach). So incredibly inspiring.
This channel sucks. I’ve got to wait a whole week for a very well narrated, well researched, and well illustrated video. Love the channel, keep up the good work. I’m just upset I’ve finally caught up on the other videos you’ve produced.
OPs, I am surprised how quickly you got this video out since your last one. Keep them coming. This part of the battle has a personal interest to me. My cousin was a TBM Avenger Radio Operator serving off the Gambier Bay. The efforts of Taffy 3 and The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors should not be forgotten. Thank you for the video.
25:22 Ya see. It's sh*t like this that convinces me Americans are unprecedently, uncharacteristically good at war. No one else ever knows wtf we're doing, and neither do we.
The other 3 Destroyer Escorts USS Dennis, John Butler, and Raymond are forgotten compared to the heroics of the Johnston, Samuel B. Roberts, Hoel, and Heerman. However, they laid smokescreens for the CVEs, also made their own attack runs and slugged it out with the Japanese ships.
I've been waiting for you to cover this battle for so long, I'm happy the day is finally here. Thanks for all your excellently put together content. I highly recommend the book "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" by James D. Hornfischer. It covers this battle in depth and has more details regarding this battle that a couple of short youtube videos wouldn't be able to include.
Drachs video was one of my first introductions to this battle. His "odds? what are those?" captures the sheer unbeliveability of the situation well and goes into depths about why things happened and didnt happen as well which is really nice.
@@necrothitude His last book was "Who Can Hold the Sea," published posthumously and slightly unfinished. Still a great read. "Neptune's Inferno," "The Fleet at Flood Tide," and "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" are all amazing reads. I've burned through the bindings on 2 copies each over the years. I seriously can't recommend them enough.
This ^^^ Seriously it is one of the most epic tales and when I was down on my career in the Navy, it always gave me a shot in the arm and restored the "diggit" tank to full. RIP to my favorite WWII author.
@@brentonherbert7775 I need to watch again that video!!! It's a very well made video and excellent to be showed in history class!!! Like this video also should be also been showed in history classes
My late grandfather served on USS Savo Island. In his dementia toward the end of his life, he often forgot who I was during the few meetings I managed to get with him, but he remembered I was a Navy man and he ripped into Halsey for his decision here.
I swear to God, a movie made on this single action, going point-by-point using this video as basis for a screenplay, would be amazing. No added Hollywood drama, JUST this action.
@@Yamato-tp2kf not just samar but the entire leyte gulf action, movies are saturated on the european theater and pearl harbour yet we have like 2 movies about midway and none that i know of about like 8000 engagements at guadalcanal
@@kulot-ki1tu That's true, they need to do all the Battle of Leyte gulf!!! The 10 episode mini-series The Pacific is the only one talking about the Guadalcanal campaign...
@@Yamato-tp2kf i saw a clip of the pacific of the marines overlooking the battle of savo island, just imagine an actual movie based on the navy side of guadalcanal
@@kulot-ki1tu That would be very good, showing all the naval battles in The Iron Bottom Sound, where the brave USS Laffey fought close quarters with Hiei, where the tragic events of the USS Juneau, Atlanta, Vincennes, Astoria and Quincy and many other US Navy ships met their destiny, while many others had they time of glory! Those battles deserve to be putted in a movie or a mini series...
This is one of my favorite battle accounts from WW2. Also, the cojones on the pilot who had his report questioned... "I guess I'll just fly closer and take pictures." You might as well put them on the radio while you're at it.
I ve watched enough video depicting the battle of samar. But man, this one is the most detail ever and give me understanding of what was happened on that day
Something that I hadn’t really considered before is what the pilots felt watching their destroyers charging into what must have looked like certain death. Such bravery by each and every person who literally threw everything they had at the Japanese fleet in defense of their fellow Americans. Thank you Operations Room for giving that perspective
The most epic naval battle in history!!! One MUST read James D. Hornfischer's book "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" - the finest hour of the US Navy in its history. Epic. Unreal. No other way to put it. Can't wait for Part 2!! Plus it's a great detail of the Coke bottle being hurled at the Japanese ships - I wonder what was on the mind of the IJN sailors when they saw it and a clipboard being thrown against them.
I imagine being a Sailor in Taffy and knowing you are the last line of defense for every soldier on the Philippines would make you fight harder than for yourself.
Really interesting that the Battle of Leyte Gulf would see both American and Japanese pilots being sent to fight with no weapons. The Japanese, already in a desperate situation, would send their few remaining pilots to die, essentially alone in suicide bombings. Whereas the American pilots took huge risks supporting their fellows.
This battle even happening highlights how lucky the USN was that Halsey was forced to take medical leave before Midway and lucking into a comptetent Admiral leading the battle in Spruance
Halsey had his limitations; the key was figuring out what situations you could put him in where they did not come into play. He was the perfect theater commander for Guadalcanal. Late in the war, the complexity of the new kind of war the USN was fighting had moved beyond him.
Halsey and Spruance each had different qualities. Not only Guadalcanal but Bougainville features Halsey as his bold and inspiring best- such as after Merrills cruisers had nearly emptied their magazines at Empress Augusta Bay, Halsey took the bold gamble of hitting Rabaul before an even larger Japanese surface force could counter attack. With insufficient escort, Saratoga and Independence smashed the base and forestalled the threat. Halsey also won one of the most crushing victories of the war at Kure when he avenged Pearl Harbor by smashing the still respectable remnants of Combined Fleet- sinking 3 battleships and a carrier, and putting another two carriers out of action, besides sinking or damaging most of the surviving escorts. As the damaged sustained by USS Franklin had proved in March, cruising up and down the Japanese coast was not without risk. Halsey and Spruance each got the wrong battle; at Philippine Sea, Halsey hurls TF 58 at Ozawa and Kurita, and wins a far more crushing if costlier victory. Spruance at Leyte takes most of TF 38 to smash Ozawa but TF 34 stays to guard San Bernardino (not merely sinking several of Kurita battleships- at significant cost-but enabling an even bigger victory at Cape Engano because of Massachusetts and South Dakota being present with TF38 to overtake Ise and Huguya).
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Thank you for making the content.
I see your Glowworm
and raise Taffy
I am only half way through, this is the best tactical analysis I have seen of this battle, which i have studied in more than cursory fashion, but clearly not so much as you have. thank you for your fine work!
that was the best cliffhanger ad i have ever seen. watch this...
Another great and exciting episode.
Was fascinating viewing "Taffy 3" and learning what escort carriers did
"When faced with an enemy who's largest gun turrets weigh more than his entire ship, Evans decides that running is boring"-
Drachinifel 2019
Ah, I see you are a man of culture as well.
I have that quote set as a text message notification sound
Drachinifel needs to guest star for an episode.
I still remember during the leyte gulf series, he talked about how someone on the Helena watched a hellcat beat a Japanese bomber to death with its lander gear bc it had run out of ammo
@@evaman0182 I believe that was a wildcat at Guadalcanal
The thought of being a Japanese sailor seeing a US pilot ripping by shooting a revolver at you is nuts lmao
One of them must have thought " You have the 1911 you moron,revolvers are worse than the Nambu ".
@@naamadossantossilva4736he was concussed.
Then seeing another one open his window and throwing an empty coke bottle and a clipboard.
@@naamadossantossilva4736most pilots didn’t have 1911s, S&W victory models (naval contract) were however quite common. The victory model was by and large dependable, and reasonably modern for the time. It was about as good as you could get with a swing out cylinder type revolver in the Second World War.
@@scott_hunts
Thank you. The 1911 offered no specific advantage other than one round capacity. We had pilots carrying .38 revolvers well after Vietnam.
This battle both highlights the flaws of American command structure and the brilliance of American individualism. It was the top commanders that set the wheels in motion for what could’ve been a terrible defeat, but the lower ranked individuals who’s boldness and initiative ended up carrying the day.
Agreed. If individual captains did not show initiative they did then the Taffy 3 force could have been wiped out.
Instead the destroyers and air wings put Centre Force under pressure almost from the outset
Still, it irks me off that we never got to see a head on battle between the modern BBS and center force
@@ethanmcfarland8240 it was honestly kinda like the strategy the 6th coalition ran against napoleon, they knew they could defeat the smaller forces, but had no chance vs the big boy american fleets
Sailors on ships working as a unit highlights individualism?
@@dzhang4459Sprague, Evans and others acted of their own initiative, in some cases contrary to orders.
In other organizations, for example, the IJN, they would have not acted without direct orders.
Yes, there's teamwork, yes there's a chain of command but when that falls to pieces as it did here, it was the individuals that saved the day.
Center Force vs Taffey 3 is definitely one of the greatest mismatched victories in history
Real life David vs Goliath situation
It was the US Navy's "Battle of Thermopylae" (300 Spartans) moment.
I'm sure. Resulted from the mistake of 3rd and 7th Fleets having a split command.
But can see how ferocious the US Navy fought despite the odds and whilst evading the enemy force
This needs to be a movie
I heard a historian once say; imagine a junior high football team going up against the NFL superbowl champs......and holding their own. That was how lopsided this battle was.
@@SomeDudeSomewhereOverThere it's not a movie, but the book "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" is a fantastic, narrative book about the Battle of Samar
The USS Johnston was the original Leroy Jenkins of destroyers 😭
To paraphrase RUclipsr Drachinfel: "It was at this point that the Johnston decides 'running is boring'..." Captain Ernst E Evans and his crew were 100% madlads for what they did, and it goddamn did their craziness pay off.
Pretty sure the USS Laffey takes that distinction.
@@blamatron USS Laffey didn't bumrush the Yamato plus her surrounding fleet and successfully scare them off.
ORP Piorun. She charged Bismarck signaling "I am a Pole!"
Hilarious.
There should always be a destroyer named USS Johnston, USS Hoel, USS Heerman and a Frigate named USS Samuel B Roberts in the active fleet. Their legacy should be carried on in perpetuity.
Less ships named after politicians and more named after ships that covered themselves in glory.
Wikipedia had a edit war to hide Yamato sinking itself.
@@mustang1912 That's what happens when a haphazard attempt at creating an enclyclopedia ends up being handled by hippies and idologized e-diots.
Well it has just been announced that the next Burke will be the second USS Ernest E Evans
My great Uncle was a cook on the Sammy B, when he told the rare story, he said that he spent 2 days and 2 nights in the ocean. He still remembered the screams of the sailors being eaten by sharks. Godspeed uncle!
@@Reilly-Marescagood, Evans died missing a hand, no shirt, no shoes, and still fighting his ship
Its insane that Yamato displaces almost as much as the entire task force of Taffy 3
A single turret weighs more than some of the destroyers
@@rudyyyxu Which is crazy. The engineering effort put into it is amazing.
Just shows you how massive the Yamato really was. The first and only super battleship to actually sail.
Edit: Yamato was the only super battleship class to set sail, as she did have a sister ship
Fat slug.
Frightening isn't it.
A pilot shooting his revolver at the bridge of an enemy ship is honestly the most baller move in the history of naval aviation.
And a pilot doing an entire attack run just to throw out his coke bottle and clipboard.
Priceless
Naval aviators do a lot of crazy things. I remember during Vietnam an A-1 Skyraider pilot improvised a bomb out of a toilet and high explosive.
The aviator at Guadalcanal that scored an aerial melee kill against a Japanese bomber using his fighter's landing gear would like a word.
There was one where an American pilot under canopy played dead so a zero would get close enough so he could shoot the pilot.
He did.
24:40 the fact that Japanese AA was so bad that a bomber was able to fly alongside a cruiser and throws trash out of his cockpit at it is insane.
I wonder why Japanese AA got so bad in the latter part of the war?
@@desertdude8274they believed their superior race genes can replace training
@@hphp31416 More like their 25mm autocannons were the worst out of all nations, low accuracity, terrible ammunition, low rate of fire etc.
The japanese 25 mm was obsolete by this point in the war. It's mount could not train fast enough to track enemy aircraft. The 25 mm round was too light against the larger, newer American aircraft designs. The 40 mm bofors on the American ships, were the direct counterpart. 40 mm vs 25 mm, not even a contest as to which is more effective.
its not that the 25mm was a horrible anti aircraft gun, it did see itself shoot down planes, more so the IJN lacked a sizeable medium caliber round between its light AA (25mm) and its heavier guns (127mm), the IJN for whatever reason decided that they didnt need a medium caliber anti aircraft weapon and gave the 25mm that role by upsizing into double and triple mounts
the elite guy above me is wrong when he says the 40mm were the direct counterpart, the 20mm oerlikon was the direct counterpart of the type 96 and it too saw underwhelming performance compared to the electronic US radar assisted 5 inch guns and twin or quad 40mm gun mounts
Man, I never failed to be impressed by the guts of the sailors of Taffy 3 in doing what they did
They had no choice except to try.
And thankfully, trying got the job done.
I'm sure nobody that read the after action reports believed any them...
The whole 24 hours was a wild engagement.
@@AndrewBlacker-t1dThe Battle of Leyte Gulf itself is insane from the Battle of the Surigao Strait to the Battle off Samar.
@@benpurcell4935 Don't forget the actions of Dace and Darter the day before!
@@AndrewBlacker-t1d For sure.
Same here, I always get goosebumps listening to stuff about this battle
USS Johnston turning around for round 2 is basically the naval version of the meme "someone call an ambulance! ...but not for me!"
"I didn't hear no bell!"
@@ald1144"Johnston! Johnston! Johnston!"
"GET UP, YOU SON OF A BITCH, Johnston" cause Mickey loves you'.
You gotta say it in a Clint Eastwood voice
"You ain't so bad!"
This is just my opinion, but the battle off samar is one of the finest, if not the finest, moment in the history of the US Navy. Its honestly criminal how few people know about this battle.
If they do know about it, they might know it as "Taffy 3" or mistakenly think of the Taffy 3 engagement as the entire Battle of Leyte Gulf, which it wasn't. I definitely made those mistakes.
I honestly feel USN probably downplayed this incredible battle. Or everyone after admiring the heroics of Taffy 3 would immediately ask this question: how the hell could Taffy 3 be caught in a mismatch like that? Then King or Nimitz had to defend Halsey's stupid mistake of leaving San Bernadino Strait unguarded and unmonitored. At that stage of WW2, all of Halsey's ghastly mistakes were swept under the rug.
@@DarthV3622Fkm I totally agree. I learned about this battle through The History Channel’s “Dogfight” series and was stunned by this battle. The tenacity of Taffy 3 no doubt saved MacArthur’s invasion force.
Let’s say in an Alternate Universe the Japanese Center Force destroyed Taffy 3, broke through to Leyte Gulf and Managed to heavily decimate MacArthur’s Invasion Force until it was forced into a retreat by the Southern Force returning to try and stop the carnage; this would have gone from a PR Embarrassment to a Major Tactical and Strategic Victory for the Japanese. The Morale Blow this would have caused in America is unimaginable and the fallout that would have followed of who was to blame would have led to Nimitz, Halsey and others coming under a ton of scrutiny (there is no doubt President Roosevelt and or the Joint Chiefs of Staff would be wanting answers and someone would be sacked).
@@MarkLac Or, more probably, the US battleships and cruisers would have arrived in time to destroy what remained of Center Force after it had dealt with Taffy 3. While many of the US surface ships would have been damaged or sunk, wiping out the last of Japan's surface fleet would have been spun as a huge American victory. "Japan's navy fell into the trap set for it by Nimitz, Halsey, et al, ...." The PR practically writes itself.
@@MarkLac I have read that (sorry I forget about the sources) that USN had simulated the hypothetical battle between Kurita's fleet versus Oldendorf TF 77.2 and Oldendorf would barely win. So there probably would not be a slaughter of the landing fleet.
Drach ran a simulation
ruclips.net/video/EJJWG0viaZQ/видео.html
I did not think it would be that close a victory for Oldendorf because if all three Taffies were available, Kurita would have to deal with six standard battleships plus over 100 planes. My biased opinion is that Oldendorf would come out ahead.
And even if it were a draw, by then Nimitz would give clear and explicit order to Halsey to turn the entire Third Fleet around to go south. That would be the end of Kurita's fleet.
That said, as an amateur WW2 naval historian for decades I would never forgive Halsey for leaving San Bernadino Strait unguarded. NOT EVEN ONE SINGLE PICKET DD.
IT'S FINALLY HERE!
The 1st half of the most lopsided naval battle in history!!
USS Johnston's, Samuel B Roberts' and Hoel's crews will go down in history as some of the most insanely brave naval personnel of all time.
Yeah, as if Johnston wasn't enough, there came 3 more! Kurita's centre force was totally outmatched. 😅
and the skipper who was never found and got the pros medal of honor
USS Johnston's
Most most lopsided and won.
I’ll drink to that!
Imagine building the most Powerfull Battleship ever created, just to get *Denied* by a Destroyer that weighs less than one of the Gun Turrets.
In WoWs even Tier 10 BBs fear DDs because of their torpedoes.
Any time I play Fletcher and see Yamato in game I always yolo. Must kill Yamato.
I wish Johnston was in the game. It’s insane it’s not. We have Fletcher, Black and Kidd. Black is only noteworthy because it’s name and Hull number. Kidd because it’s name and Jolly Roger. Johnston is a damn legend.
The Mighty Jingles defaults into fits of glorious laughter.
@@fighter5583That’s because WoWs allows DDs to be utterly invisible for the majority of a BB’s range.
Gameplay wise it is a great mechanic and adds depth to the game. But it’s not remotely similar to real life.
If you recreated this battle in WoWs, you couldn’t. The Destroyers would be almost under center force’s guns before they were even spotted.
*Yamato:* Oh you're approaching me? Instead of running away, you're coming right at me?
*DDs and DDEs, Aviators of Taffy 3:* I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer.
Basically what Cmdr. Evans aboard Johnston said lol.
"Fly me closer, I want to hit it with my clipboard."
At this point, I’m convinced that being at least slightly insane was a prerequisite for Allied destroyer crews.
Truth. This battle really shows that most Allied DD commanders had that go-getter attitude. Some captains more than others obviously. But I would argue that was a good trait to have for that specific job.
It would make sense for the naval version of HR to look for this personality type for escort ship captains. Their job is to be bodyguards for VIP ships.
The men called them "tin cans" for a reason. An they all served on them regardless.
Not just the Allies. German destroyer captains and crews were also a bit on the crazy side. A battleship is like a big, massive pitbull that has very little to actually worry about. A destroyer is like a really angry terrier. And those little bastards can be even more terrifying when they're pissed off.
@@Corristo89Reading “Japanese Destroyer Captain” by Tameichi Hara has shown me that Japanese destroyer crews were also pretty insane. There’s a few crazy stories about them, like Yudachi cutting through an American destroyer line at First Guadalcanal, Ayanami attacking “Ching” Lee’s fleet alone and taking three destroyers to the bottom with her at Second Guadalcanal, or Hatsuzuki holding off TF34 alone for almost two hours on the same day as Taffy 3s famous battle
From what I've read. I think this demonstrates the power of the aircraft carrier. Even though these are escort carriers not fleet carriers ... they put out an unbelievable amount of damage/resistance that made the Japanese think they faced a full fleet carrier battle group.
Plus the escorting destroyers etc. Really did take the fight to the enemy.
The 7th Fleet battle ship formation even though they were older battle ships did show they were still capable in the last episode when they crossed the T and decimated the southern force
Having said that. USS Johnston did unbelievably. Distracting the enemy and took them by surprise
I don't think you should read too much into this battle. If the Japanese had half way decent fire control Taffy 3 would not have stood a chance.
@@XMysticHeroxbut they didn't though did they?
Plus Taffy 3 put up more resistance than the ships it was constituted of suggested it should
@@XMysticHeroxif ifs and buts were candies and nuts we’d all have a wonderful Christmas brother
Just for the record, since the Johnston entered the depth, there have been zero Godzilla attacks.
At last report he was hiding in the crater of Mount Fuji saying "don't go in the water!"
LOL🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The extremely sad and enraging fact that china has been pulling most of these ships off the seafloor for scrap makes me so damn angry. Apparently the metal was kept safe from increased radiation levels from being on the bottom of the ocean during all the nuclear testing, that the low background radiation steel is extremely valuable. Leave it to the chinese to destroy history so blatantly to build products that are junk anyway,
🤣🤣🤣
In his book "History of the United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume VII, Leyte" the eminent naval historian Samuel Eliot Morrison states: "In no engagement in its entire history has the United States Navy shown more gallantry, guts and gumption than in those two hours between 0730 and 0930 off Samar."
Wikipedia had a edit war to hide Yamato sinking itself.
@@mustang1912Dude, come on, if this was a joke you forgot this: 😂
"I see the biggest Red Meatball flag I ever saw on the biggest battleship I ever saw"
~Brooks, the Legend
I don't know why but this line made me laugh out loud. It was a desperate situation but man.
We've read the books.
We've seen the videos.
We've listened to Drach tell the story.
.
And now we see it.
.
Brilliant.
Thanks Operations Room.
Can't wait for Part 2.
This story always makes me misty eyed, the shear audicity that those pipsqueak little boats went straight at the mighty imperial Navy's biggest and nest battleships without fail. It really makes you respect the men of that era.
The warrior spirit was strong in Ernest Evans, half Cherokee, quarter Creek. The Naval Academy education pointed him in a direction that would spare many lives.
The USN's destroyer crews in the Pacific during Ww2 were something else. They would perform so aggressively and successfully the Japanese crews would be loading AP shells because they had been convinced they were fighting American cruisers. The AP shells would just glide straight through the destroyers whereas a HE shell could've in theory blown one clean in half. USN damage control was also so effective the Japanese usually reported destroying multiple ships when they were fighting the exact same ship multiple times.
For example: At the battle of Midway the Japanese thought they sank two American carriers. In reality the Japanese attacked USS Yorktown (CV-5) twice and still didn't sink her. She was sunken by a Japanese submarine attack.
If I had a nickel for every time the Japanese claimed they'd sunk the USS Enterprise, I'd have 3 nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's strange it happened 3 times
There still are some men like that...though far and few in between
@@mcfrisko834nah, it's alot more than you think
My dad was a plane mechanic on the Fanshaw Bay during this battle. Towards the end of his life he might not remenber what he had for dinner the night before but he could remember what he had for breakfast on the day of the battle seventy years earlier.
Probably because he re-lived that battle for years on end, stuff like that never goes away.
@@Galvvy very true, especially with the publication of the book which I think was "the last stand of the tin can sailors". He read it and I think put himself in every page. I can't recall any other book he ever read....
Did you dad ever find out the name of the idiot who yelled "GODDAMMIT, BOYS, THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!"
Yamato: _exists_
Ernest E. Evans: "...and I took that personally."
One of the most incredible and bold underdog battles of all time.
Wikipedia had a edit war to hide Yamato sinking itself.
"A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."
Every time i hear about this battle, i get chills. Its insane.
One of the Johnston surviving crews said in the History channel series Battle 360 Enterprise said that when they were about to charge at the Japanese fleet, one of the crew said to commander Evans: "please, do not let us get sunk with our torpedoes in the ship" which Evans replied: "well, let's do our torpedo run then", WHAT A CHAD!!!!
"Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?"
Always remember Taffy Three
And the little Sammy B
@@texasson9076I mean, yes
Imagine being a boilerman or an electrician. Completely unable to shoot at the enemy. Your only job is to push the ship wherever the captain says and if it takes damage as a consequence you are in charge of keeping her in the fight. All of these guys possessed will and grit beyond what words could describe. Knowing death is the most likely outcome they just said “fuck it, we ball.”
My grandfather, Alvin Sharp, F2C, was on the St. Lo...he survived. Thank you for this in depth look at the Leyte battle.
Thomas Copeland being denied joining the attack but still going on a mission that in his own words “survival cannot be expected”. Sheesh, those sailors were a different breed. 18:50
SAMMY B LETS GOOOOOOOOOO
Can’t forget Johnston either
There was a guy Chalmer Goheen who’s passed now but he was on the Samuel B and one of the survivors in this battle, he was from (and returned back to after the war) my hometown (of 800 people) I don’t think I ever met him but know many of his family. His story is in a book that I can’t remember the name of but it’s nuts as you can imagine
Uss Johnston
Lt cmdr Evans
🫡
My great uncle was a cook on the USS Samuel B Roberts he didn’t say much about it but he said he spent 2 days and 2 nights in the water, my uncle brownie became a fry cook after the war and died in peace back home in Modesto. Rest In Peace Legend ✌️
There needs to be another USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Navy. A Johnson or Ernest Evans, too.
This is the best example of a David and Goliath situation in naval history. I read the book Last Stand Of the Tin Can Sailors which is about this battle.
I would argue the Battle of Myeongnyang is probably the greatest David vs Goliath Naval victory in history although I do think it's arguable either way.
Taffy 3's accomplishment was beyond extraordinary.
I do find it interesting that the only 2 'last stand' naval victories in history occurred against the Japanese.
@@drpainglove3389 never heard of that battle. I'll have to look it up.
@@colbyphillips7039 late 1500s 13 korean ships vs 333(130 warships to 200 support if I remember correctly) Japanese ships. A naval invasion force.
The Korean Admiral Yi Sun-Sin drew the Japanese armada into a narrow strait during a tidal change causing the Japanese frontal warships to begin ramming the ships behind them then charged directly at them.
They won with one lost sailor and no ships sunk and the Japanese lost 33 ships.
If you like naval naval history Search up Yi Sun-Sin. He might be the greatest admiral in history and not many westerners know about him unless they really dig into military history as the Imjin war isn't really discussed over here.
It's quite an interesting battle from one of the several times Japan tried to invade Korea in the 1500s.
It doesn't quite have the last stand desperation that Samar has despite Korean Admiral Yi's 13 ship fleet being outnumbered 15 to 1 and is more of an exercise of using superior tactics, terrain, and technology to defeat a much larger force in detail.
He basically used the narrow waters of the strait as choke point while setting his fleet up upstream so the Japanese would have to fight a strong current to close with the Koreans leaving their crews exhausted.
Although his fleet was smaller in number and size in general he also had more modern ships that were more manuverable with iron plate armor and rams versus what were essentially large floating houses.
Everytime the Japanese closed it would be in piecemeal formations and Yi would outmaneuver, ram, and sink them with the enemy wrecks creating even tighter confines. He sank 31 ships that way while only loosing a handful of men to arrows or falling overboard.
He pulled off the equivalent of holding the pass at Thermopylae with 13 dudes armed with modern machine guns and winning.
@@renegadeleader1 He was outnumber 15 to 1????
That's really overwhelming odds... And courage...
I'm not American, but this is one of my favourite battles in naval history. The heroism of the destroyers and destroyer escorts is second to none.
It should never have happened and wouldn't have if Halsey hadn't fallen for the Japanese decoy carrier fleet.
I do wonder how things would have turned out if the USN fast battleships had faced off with Kurita.
❤❤❤❤❤❤
The greatest gun battle that never was but what a sight to behold had it been.
@@bjpowerequipment1023 Absolutely 😀
Maybe better for the japanese because at least they're rounds would have armed unlike vs Taffy 3 where AP shells where almost useless
@@peterbrown6494 US fire control radar my well have given the USN a substantial head start?
@@markstott6689 Maybe but keep in mind the japanese where higly trained vs big targets,for they're decisive battle,they wanted that fight more than any one,maybe they would have lost,but still did more damage to the US than a couple of escort carriers and destroyers,the japanese wanted a fight even vs the whole american battleship force,and they where trained exactly for that
Hopefully one day there will be a movie based on this battle and hopefully the wrecks of Gambier Bay, Hoel, Suzuya and Chikuma will be found some day.
Chikuma hasn’t been found?
We can thank the folks of the RV Petrol for finding wrecks such as USS Johnston.
@@d.olivergutierrez8690is actually the suzuya, poor her and kumano. Just trying to leave the battle but ran into the whole 3rd fleet. And for Kumano, that’s just the first few days of her struggling to survive for the next whole month.
Suzuya is probably at the very bottom on the trench in over 26,000 feet of water.
@manveerparmar6570: I did not know that Copeland and the Sammy B. were defying orders by going in. I'd seen Copeland's quote (plenty of times) once they'd changed course to join the attack, but never that he'd asked permission prior to and was denied. "Radio interfence." Hefty huevos - all those guys.
"Faced with an enemy whose largest gun turrets weigh more than the entire ship, Johnston decides that running is boring."
Drachinifel - The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?
Feb 27, 2019
When the video is split into two parts, with part 1 being 28 minutes long, you know this battle will be a doozy
I was gonna say I can’t wait for part 2 to come out. But then again, I’ve waiting four years for this series. So I guess I can wait a little longer 😂
“This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.”
That’s one of the most bad-ass real life quotes you’ll ever hear.
Samuel B Roberts is a gusty ship crewed by gusty sailors.
My great-uncle was the radio operator in the last TBF Avenger to fly off the Gambier Bay. The reason his plane was last is because he was poking around in the galley, looking for sugar for his coffee. The pilot found him and ordered him to get up to the flight deck, because they were taking off. "Just a minute, I can't find the sugar," my uncle replied. "Get in the plane right now! We gotta get out of here!" the pilot yelled. Of course, once the plane was in the air the reason for the urgent takeoff became obvious. They attacked the Japanese fleet with whatever weapons they had, eventually made a rough landing on a muddy field on Leyte that had only recently been recaptured, and my great-uncle never did get any sugar for his coffee.
THE FINEST HOUR OF THE US NAVY
I’ll drink to that!
Also one of the most horrible performances of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Being handed such a perfect opportunity since Halsey completely fell for a basic decoy and doing so little with such an overwhelming amount of firepower is grounds for the most summary court martial ever.
Admiral Kurita couldn't have done a worse job if he had made his battle decisions by rolling a 6-sided die.
"I took on a Japanese battleship with a clipboard and an empty Coke bottle." Mad Lad Level 10,000!
The last stand of the tin can sailors is a must read. The bravery, courage, and unwavering loyalty. This has to be one the finest examples of sacrifice during WW2.
I've read extensively about this battle, but it's very hard to get an overall picture of how all the individual stories fit together, and static maps can only help so much. Thank you for putting in the time and effort to depict it so clearly this way!
Two years ago, on your Tassafaronga video, I left a comment saying that you'd be the perfect content creator to cover The Battle off Samar.
When you started going through the Leyte Gulf battles recently, there was a big hope that you'd end up getting to this.
Your content two years ago was good, but it was great being reminded of the quality improvements since then.
Fantastic work, and thanks to you and your team for making phenomenal content.
Disabling the safety valves on your steam plant. "Now hear this! Ludicrous Speed! Go!!!"
Always heard a rumor that Evans ship had to have a bigger engine...to drag his enormous balls around the Pacific.
Evans really pulled the "I'm not stuck in here with you, your stuck in here with me."
History Channel Dogfights had a really great episode covering this battle, these guys were the bravest
I’ve watched that one twice in the last week. Soooooo good
And also Battle 360 Enterprise series too
The notion that there is a difference between a naval battle and a barroom brawl is… amusing, given sailors proclivity for both.
Each is practice for the other.
It would be nice to see one of your amazing videos cover the Battle for Peleliu which took place in the Palauan archipelago. You actually show the islands chain on your map here and it reminded me of it. It happens after these battles, but is notorious for being a superfluous fight that came at a very high cost.
Cheers!
When Yammato weighs more then your whole force engaged and its turret weighs more then USS Johnston someone screwed up. Also its a sign of how insanely brave the US little ships were, knowing that they wernt coming back but doing it anyway to buy time for others and then even (hopefuly not a soiler) winning.
I have heard this bit of history countless times throughout my childhood and it never gets old. The bravery on display throughout the entirety of Taffey 3's true David vs Goliath battle is something that almost seems unbelievable, but this was just the way people were back then. Truly awe inspiring.
A new episode from Operations Room is always a morale booster.
I feel I should mention something: All of the men of Taffy 3 went into this fight fully expecting to die due to the overwhelming odds against them but they were the ONLY thing standing between the IJN and the vulnerable landing ships and beachheads. Taffy 3 knew what the outcome would logically be and stood their ground against a vastly superior force in both numbers and in firepower and they WON, something no-one could've predicted. Remember the crews of the following ships: USS Fanshaw Bay, St. Lo, White Plains, Kalinin Bay, Kitkun Bay, Gambier Bay, Hoel, Heermann, Johnston, Dennis, John C. Butler, Raymond, and Samuel B. Roberts as well as the airmen of Taffy 1,2, and 3. Heroes and legends, nothing less.
By the time the Battle off Samar ended, Oldendorf's six old battleships from Task Force 77.2 had arrived northeast of the entrance to Leyte Gulf from Surigao Strait. They didn't have all their escorts back from the battle yet, they didn't have enough fuel for an extended chase of Kurita, and Yamato heavily outgunned them, but Leyte Gulf wasn't exactly undefended. Kincaid even waffled on sending them north without their escorts to aid Taffy 3, but consolidating his force to protect the support fleet was the right choice. That doesn't take anything away from the heroism of Taffy 3.
I lived on the Island of Samar for about 3 years and have beeb back and forth to Leyte. I wish they had a musuem there that preserves the memories of this battle. I never heard of thise battles till I found your channel.
I'm a native Filipino, and sometimes I think our postwar generations have gone out of their way to pretend World War II never happened.
"I see the biggest red meatball flag I ever saw, flying on the biggest battleship I ever saw" That's one way to communicate effectively! It's the god-damned Yamato, boys!
In one of his books, Samuel Morrison tells the story of how, after the war, a US admiral was reading theJapanese after action report and he read that Kurita's staff at one point estimated that the US carriers were doing 30 knots instead of their maximum of 17.5 knots. He remarked to Ziggy Sprague, "Gee, I knew you were scared but I didn't know you were THAT scared". This action has to go down as one of, if not THE, proudest moments in US Navy history.
"These Officers are finding it difficult to concentrate on coordinating their own assault- after all, some mad bastard was trying to gun them down with a revolver, fired from a moving cockpit."
I am absolutely loving this series covering Leyte Gulf. It is quickly becoming one of, if not my most favorite naval engagements of the second World War.
The total bravery shown in this battle is absolutely biblical.
Outstanding! I have seen this battle recounted before on shows on the History channel in the past (when it still had shows on history). But never have I seen this recounted in so much detail, which has made me a big fan of your channel. Thank you again, I look forward to the remaining parts of the battle.
A little known fact is that after this battle, a sailor on the St. Lo said, "Man, I thought for sure we were goners!"
Not really but it is nice to imagine that.
St. Lo is considered the first U.S. ship hit by a kamikaze.
"Quite frankly he doesn't" well that does cover Hasley's fault simply
Admiral Halsey proves the axiom that it's better to be lucky than good.
@@NoewerrATall Not particularly when you lead your fleet into not just one typhoon but two. Being lucky is good and all until it fails, and then you gotta fall back on something
@@legoeasycompany That's the thing, though. Halsey was lucky that Taffy 3 contained some of the biggest badasses in the US Navy. He was lucky that there wasn't more damage in the first typhoon. He was lucky that he wasn't relieved of command after the second one. When he screwed up, luckily the consequences were not war-altering. Therefore, it's better to be lucky than good.
Halsey was warned by Admiral W. A. Lee that Kurita's turn to the north was a feint, and that they should leave TF 34 to guard the strait. But Lee (and others) were ignored. Many armchair admirals and alternate history buffs wonder what a surface battle between TF 34 and Center Force would have been like. The foremost expert on naval gunnery against the biggest ship afloat. (Lee already had the Kongo Class BB Kirishima on his scorecard, so it would be a chance for him to sink 3 of the four Kongo class ships.)
@@johnferguson1970 Not covering San Bernadino Straight was one of, if not the biggest mistakes Halsey made. Regardless of what his fellow admirals were telling him, or even what he thought was going on, leaving your rear uncovered is just bad fighting.
In spite of what she was built for, in the end, Yamato's essence was betrayed. It's pretty sad this is the only time she ever fired her main battery at an enemy ship.
But like in WoWs, Yamato can get sunk pretty quickly by DDs and aircraft, especially since many players overestimate their skill just because she's a huge ship.
Sounds like german mains in WT
Yamato's crew was young and didn't know how to use her. Axis aside, it's a real tragedy that she never got to realize her true potential.
IMHO Yamato and Musashi only demonstrated the fallacy of the supership concept. It takes a lot of time, treasure and materiel to build one, so much so that you can never build as many such ships as your enemy can crank out smaller, cheaper ships. So your enemy can more easily dogpile your supership, and every supership you lose makes the ones that are left that much more vulnerable. TL;DR, without a Wave Motion Gun or similar godtech a supership just ain't worth building.
Those madlads throwing coke bottles, clipboards, and doing .38 revolver drive-bys have strong Piorun "I AM A POLE!" energy.
Archer locking eyes with the Japanese bridge crew while shooting at them with a pistol from his cockpit is something else.
Have really been impressed by the amount of detail that The Operations Room has provided in this multiple video series on the whole naval battle of Leyte Gulf and not just focusing on the amazing and courageous job of the ships and aircrews of Taffy Three!
Little fun fact: USS St. Lo CVE-63 used to be named USS Midway.
On October 10th 1944, a mere 15 days before she was sunk, she was renamed
to St. Lo to free the name Midway for a new CVB under construction at the time.
For thoses who don’t know, CVB = Large Fleet Carrier
(Midway class are the only CVBs built)
They should have renamed the Johnston the USS Leeroy Jenkins. What an insane manoeuvre.
Yup.
I vehemently disagree. Leeroy Jenkins never knows what he's doing. Ernest Edwin Evans did.
Great presentation. One comment: the cruisers in 7th fleet were not "obsolete" as stated at around the 4.20 mark of this video. Relative to the BBs, the cruisers Louisville, Portland, Minneapolis, Denver, and Columbia were on the left flank and the cruisers Phoenix, Boise, and Shropshire were on the right flank. Even the newest ships of the Cleveland class, Denver and Columbia, had combat experience by this time, including one prior surface night battle.
The stunning incompetence or American admirals was matched only by the sheer good luck and utter tenacity of American sailors
Evans might truly be one of the maddest lads of all time.
Him and Lt Cdr Roope of HMS Glowworm, who took on two German DDs and the Admiral Hipper.
@@ald1144dont forget copeland of the sammy b
@@legionx4046 Absolutely.
The greatest “Fuck it we ball” moment in Naval History
Salute to the sailors and airman of Taffy 3. The Japanese while brave could never do what Johnson, Samuel B Roberts, Hoel did.
This was one of the most exciting battles you guys have ever covered. The courage and tenacity demonstrated by the pilots and ship crews is to be lauded for all of time
I've been waiting for this video since finding your channel over a year ago. Almost 2 now. I love the story of the Johnston and Evans. Something truly heroic and to aspire to.
All honor to the incredible grit and courage of the American destroyer crews, especially Cmdr. Evans on the USS Johnston. They proved once again how to turn the enormous weight of a bigger enemy against itself. They also achieved the main ingredient of a victory: distracting the enemy from its original objective (the troops on the beach). So incredibly inspiring.
This channel sucks. I’ve got to wait a whole week for a very well narrated, well researched, and well illustrated video.
Love the channel, keep up the good work. I’m just upset I’ve finally caught up on the other videos you’ve produced.
OPs, I am surprised how quickly you got this video out since your last one. Keep them coming. This part of the battle has a personal interest to me. My cousin was a TBM Avenger Radio Operator serving off the Gambier Bay. The efforts of Taffy 3 and The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors should not be forgotten. Thank you for the video.
25:22
Ya see. It's sh*t like this that convinces me Americans are unprecedently, uncharacteristically good at war. No one else ever knows wtf we're doing, and neither do we.
The other 3 Destroyer Escorts USS Dennis, John Butler, and Raymond are forgotten compared to the heroics of the Johnston, Samuel B. Roberts, Hoel, and Heerman. However, they laid smokescreens for the CVEs, also made their own attack runs and slugged it out with the Japanese ships.
My man! Throwing clipboards and empty bottles at the enemy ships! Legend!
I've been waiting for you to cover this battle for so long, I'm happy the day is finally here. Thanks for all your excellently put together content. I highly recommend the book "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" by James D. Hornfischer. It covers this battle in depth and has more details regarding this battle that a couple of short youtube videos wouldn't be able to include.
I read Mr. Hornfischer's last book, Neptune's Inferno. I cannot recommend his work enough.
Drachs video was one of my first introductions to this battle.
His "odds? what are those?" captures the sheer unbeliveability of the situation well and goes into depths about why things happened and didnt happen as well which is really nice.
@@necrothitude His last book was "Who Can Hold the Sea," published posthumously and slightly unfinished. Still a great read. "Neptune's Inferno," "The Fleet at Flood Tide," and "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" are all amazing reads. I've burned through the bindings on 2 copies each over the years. I seriously can't recommend them enough.
This ^^^ Seriously it is one of the most epic tales and when I was down on my career in the Navy, it always gave me a shot in the arm and restored the "diggit" tank to full. RIP to my favorite WWII author.
@@brentonherbert7775 I need to watch again that video!!! It's a very well made video and excellent to be showed in history class!!! Like this video also should be also been showed in history classes
The detail being added to these videos is impressive. the shells and rain are great effects
The massive Balls of Captain Evan’s matches the tonnage of the Weight of Center Force’s ships.
My late grandfather served on USS Savo Island. In his dementia toward the end of his life, he often forgot who I was during the few meetings I managed to get with him, but he remembered I was a Navy man and he ripped into Halsey for his decision here.
I swear to God, a movie made on this single action, going point-by-point using this video as basis for a screenplay, would be amazing. No added Hollywood drama, JUST this action.
We need to ask Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood to make this a movie, why them you ask? Because they are very picky with historical accuracy
@@Yamato-tp2kf not just samar but the entire leyte gulf action, movies are saturated on the european theater and pearl harbour yet we have like 2 movies about midway and none that i know of about like 8000 engagements at guadalcanal
@@kulot-ki1tu That's true, they need to do all the Battle of Leyte gulf!!!
The 10 episode mini-series The Pacific is the only one talking about the Guadalcanal campaign...
@@Yamato-tp2kf i saw a clip of the pacific of the marines overlooking the battle of savo island, just imagine an actual movie based on the navy side of guadalcanal
@@kulot-ki1tu That would be very good, showing all the naval battles in The Iron Bottom Sound, where the brave USS Laffey fought close quarters with Hiei, where the tragic events of the USS Juneau, Atlanta, Vincennes, Astoria and Quincy and many other US Navy ships met their destiny, while many others had they time of glory!
Those battles deserve to be putted in a movie or a mini series...
We need more of this, take your time Quality over Quantity.
This is one of my favorite battle accounts from WW2.
Also, the cojones on the pilot who had his report questioned... "I guess I'll just fly closer and take pictures."
You might as well put them on the radio while you're at it.
I ve watched enough video depicting the battle of samar. But man, this one is the most detail ever and give me understanding of what was happened on that day
CONGRATS on 1 million subs!! you earned it buddy!!
This is my favorite naval battle of all time, maybe favorite military battle. So glad you covered this, great video!!
The guy shooting at the battleship with a .38 is the biggest chad of all time 🤣 imagine if he'd of actually hit the captain or something
Something that I hadn’t really considered before is what the pilots felt watching their destroyers charging into what must have looked like certain death. Such bravery by each and every person who literally threw everything they had at the Japanese fleet in defense of their fellow Americans. Thank you Operations Room for giving that perspective
By far my favorite battle in history. I've done so many reports and so much research on this battle.
"This is the greatest handgun ever made." - Lt. Earl Archer, probably
Well a colt 1911 was a very good handgun, I love that gun, (I do airsoft by the way!)
The most epic naval battle in history!!!
One MUST read James D. Hornfischer's book "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" - the finest hour of the US Navy in its history.
Epic. Unreal. No other way to put it.
Can't wait for Part 2!! Plus it's a great detail of the Coke bottle being hurled at the Japanese ships - I wonder what was on the mind of the IJN sailors when they saw it and a clipboard being thrown against them.
The one I've been waiting for
A true David vs Goliath
I imagine being a Sailor in Taffy and knowing you are the last line of defense for every soldier on the Philippines would make you fight harder than for yourself.
Really interesting that the Battle of Leyte Gulf would see both American and Japanese pilots being sent to fight with no weapons. The Japanese, already in a desperate situation, would send their few remaining pilots to die, essentially alone in suicide bombings. Whereas the American pilots took huge risks supporting their fellows.
I must say that your writing and narration are excellent. They really give you the tension and weight of the events unfolding.
This battle even happening highlights how lucky the USN was that Halsey was forced to take medical leave before Midway and lucking into a comptetent Admiral leading the battle in Spruance
Halsey had his limitations; the key was figuring out what situations you could put him in where they did not come into play. He was the perfect theater commander for Guadalcanal. Late in the war, the complexity of the new kind of war the USN was fighting had moved beyond him.
Halsey and Spruance each had different qualities. Not only Guadalcanal but Bougainville features Halsey as his bold and inspiring best- such as after Merrills cruisers had nearly emptied their magazines at Empress Augusta Bay, Halsey took the bold gamble of hitting Rabaul before an even larger Japanese surface force could counter attack. With insufficient escort, Saratoga and Independence smashed the base and forestalled the threat.
Halsey also won one of the most crushing victories of the war at Kure when he avenged Pearl Harbor by smashing the still respectable remnants of Combined Fleet- sinking 3 battleships and a carrier, and putting another two carriers out of action, besides sinking or damaging most of the surviving escorts. As the damaged sustained by USS Franklin had proved in March, cruising up and down the Japanese coast was not without risk.
Halsey and Spruance each got the wrong battle; at Philippine Sea, Halsey hurls TF 58 at Ozawa and Kurita, and wins a far more crushing if costlier victory. Spruance at Leyte takes most of TF 38 to smash Ozawa but TF 34 stays to guard San Bernardino (not merely sinking several of Kurita battleships- at significant cost-but enabling an even bigger victory at Cape Engano because of Massachusetts and South Dakota being present with TF38 to overtake Ise and Huguya).
The Johnston going back for round two like when you try to walk away from an argument but they open their mouth as you’re leaving.