16. Regarded as one of the greatest mismatches in naval history, at the Battle off Samar the outnumbered American forces embarked upon a suicidal attack against superior Japanese numbers in an effort to allow transport ships a chance to escape
The centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Battle off Samar took place on October 25, 1944, between the Imperial Japanese Navy and a largely unprepared American force. Tricked by an insignificant decoy fleet, Admiral William Halsey Jr. dispatched his immense 3rd Fleet in pursuit, leaving behind only three escort carrier groups of the 7th Fleet. Typically reliant upon Halsey’s fleet to protect the troop transports from enemy attack, a Japanese naval force previously thought to be in retreat suddenly turned to attack the exposed American ships. Outnumbered and outgunned, possessing just three destroyers and four destroyer escorts against twenty-three Japanese warships, Admiral Clifton Sprague ordered a desperate attack to buy his accompanying six escort carriers a chance to retreat.
Due to the overwhelming enemy force, Sprague’s suicidal assault took the Japanese by surprise. Nevertheless, they responded with deadly force and the Americans suffered immense losses comparable to the more famous battles of Midway and the Coral Sea. Losing two escort carriers, two destroyers, a destroyer escort, as well as more than fifteen hundred lives, the Japanese suffered surprisingly high casualties also. Inflicting the loss of three destroyers, as well as three more damaged, the Japanese were persuaded to withdraw rather than pursue vulnerable troops and supply ships in the Leyte Gulf.