In October 1944, Admiral William F. Halsey fidgeted as his fleet stood guard at the San Bernardino Strait. The strait led to the beaches of Leyte, where MacArthur (Number 8) was landing ground forces to retake the Philippines. The U.S. Navy believed that the Japanese were about to make a last, desperate attempt to turn the war around. The Japanese knew they had no hope for victory anymore, but maybe they could strike a heavy blow against the American fleet, a defeat so surprising and devastating that a negotiated peace with reasonable terms for Japan would result.
Halsey was not good at sitting around and waiting for something to happen. So, when he received word that a huge Japanese carrier force had been approaching from the north, it is possible that he read his orders from Nimitz (Number 18) one more time before acting. This was the part he liked best:“
In case opportunity for destruction of major portion of the enemy fleet is offered or can be created, such destruction becomes the primary task.”
Halsey may have rubbed his hands with glee before giving the orders to attack the oncoming Japanese fleet. What he didn’t know was that he was being lured into a Japanese trap, one he fell right into. Halsey’s fleet was being lured away from the San Bernardino Strait by a Japanese fleet far less powerful than it appeared from a distance. A more powerful Japanese fleet lay in waiting for the opportunity to steal into the strait and wipe out the American landing forces on the beaches of Leyte.
Halsey is included here as one of the outstanding U.S. naval commanders of the war. He was certainly the most aggressive, and, with the nickname of “Bull,” he was absolutely the last commander one would have chosen to stand guard duty when a battle was in the offing. His actions in the San Bernardino Strait would be referred to by critics as “Bull’s Run.” Uncalled for and unfair, the criticism would cast a cloud on a very distinguished career, and today the controversy surrounding the incident contin-ues among naval historians.
A Distinguished Career
William F. Halsey, Jr., was born in 1882 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1904. During World War I, he commanded destroyer patrol forces in the Atlantic and won the Navy Cross.
After the war, he was a U.S. naval attaché in Germany and the Scandinavian countries.
His career in naval aviation began in 1935, when he won his wings as a naval pilot. In quick succession, he was assigned to the carrier Saratoga, ran the Pensacola naval station, and was put in charge of a carrier division. By 1938, he was training fliers for the carriers Enterprise and Yorktown.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Halsey commanded the task force that escorted the Hornet into Japanese waters. The American carrier brought the Doolittle (Number 9) raiders to bomb the Japanese home islands, including Tokyo, for the first time.
Halsey continued to carry the war to the enemy. He raided Japanese bases in the Marshall and Gilbert islands. He took on the Japanese at Santa Cruz island. His force sank two dozen Japanese ships off Guadalcanal in the Solomons.
A Controversial Decision
In the fall 1944, Halsey’s action became the subject of controversy. MacArthur was about to return to the Philippines by way of Leyte. A Japanese response was expected, and Halsey was ordered to guard the San Bernardino Strait to protect the landings on Leyte beach.
Two problems confronted Halsey. First, there was divided command. Admiral Halsey reported to Nimitz, and Admiral Kinkaid (Number 35) reported to MacArthur.
Second, Halsey’s orders, as outlined previously, apparently gave him the option of pursuing a Japanese force. For Halsey, the opportunity to go after a major Japanese force was irresistible. He left the strait wide open and chased what was, in reality, a decoy fleet commanded by Japanese Admiral Ozawa. That action almost led to disaster at Leyte.
Weighing the Options
What did Halsey see as his options for the future? He could guard the strait with his entire fleet and wait for the advancing Japanese fleet to strike. Halsey rejected that idea.
He could use his Task Force 34 to guard the strait and take the rest of his fleet to attack the approaching Japanese fleet. This idea was also rejected.
The option he chose was to leave the strait unguarded and use his entire fleet to confront what he believed to be the major Japanese fleet.Japanese Admiral Kurita (Number 38) headed for the unguarded strait. A deter-mined American naval force so bloodied him that he turned around and headed for home.
So, in the end, it all worked out for the Americans. The Japanese suffered enormous losses in the three Leyte Gulf sea battles, including all four of their carriers, most of their battleships, nine cruisers, and four submarines. From that point on, the Japanese would never again pose a naval threat in the Pacific.
Afterward, Halsey led successful raids on Formosa (Taiwan), the Ryukus, the Philippines, China, and the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). Japan surrendered on Halsey’s flagship, the Missouri, in September 1945.
Shortly after the war, he won promotion to Admiral of the Fleet. He retired in 1947 to work in the private sector, and he died in 1959.
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