18. Sprague and Taffy 3 Save the Day
Taffy 3’s attacks were so sublimely courageous, daring to the point of recklessness and beyond, and incessant, that Japanese admiral Kurita lost his nerve. He convinced himself that he faced opposition far stronger than it actually was and that it must be the first outer layer of a powerful US naval presence.
Kurita, who had an overwhelming victory in his grasp if had kept his cool for just a little longer, and steamed on for another hour to bring his heavy guns within range of Leyte, turned his ships around and sailed away. In so doing, he gifted the Americans in Leyte Gulf with a seemingly miraculous reprieve.