Battle of Surigao Strait t wentieth-century battles Edited by Spencer C. Tucker The Battle of An Loc James H. Willbanks The Battle of Heligoland Bight Eric W. Osborne The Battle of Leyte Gulf: The Last Fleet Action H. P. Willmott The Battle of the Otranto Straits: Controlling the Gateway to the Adriatic in World War I Paul G. Halpern The Brusilov Offensive Timothy C. Dowling D-Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan Harold J. Goldberg The Dieppe Raid: The Story of the Disastrous 1942 Expedition Robin Neillands Midway Inquest: Why the Japanese Lost the Battle of Midway Dallas Woodbury Isom Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands Michael B. Barrett BATTLE of SURIGAO STRAIT Anthony P. Tully Indiana University Press bloomington & indianapolis This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail
[email protected] © 2009 by Anthony P. Tully All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tully, Anthony P., dateBattle of Surigao Strait / Anthony P. Tully. p. cm. — (Twentieth-century battles) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-253-35242-2 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Leyte Gulf, Battle of, Philippines, 1944. 2. Surigao Strait (Philippines)—History, Military—20th century. I. Title. D774.P5T75 2009 940.54′25997—dc22 2008031394 1 2 3 4 5 14 13 12 11 10 09 Dedicated to all the men who died in battle at sea with their stories untold or unknown Shows the Philippine Islands setting and San Bernardino and Surigao Straits. Map prepared by Jon Parshall. Contents List of Maps Preface · · ix xi Acknowledgments · xiii Abbreviations · xv prologue · 1 “Retiring towards the enemy.” 1 · 15 “I have returned.” 2 ·<