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Wresting the islands of Leyte and Luzon from Japan capped MacArthur’s island-hopping campaign.
Here s What You Need to Remember: Leyte was “the last great naval battle” of World War II. It broke the back of Japanese sea power, finishing what the Philippine Sea started. It forced the IJN into desperate and increasingly futile expedients in its bid to forestall defeat. No longer could Japanese mariners compete for mastery with any genuine hope of success.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was a tough slog, where U.S. maritime forces reclaimed a beachhead in the Far East after being expelled in 1941-1942. In reality, Leyte Gulf was a series of naval engagements sprawling across the map of Southeast Asia. Three were centered on the gulf and its approaches, taking place in the San Bernardino Strait, the Surigao Strait and the waters off the island of Samar. A fourth pitted carrier fleets against each other in the open sea off Cape Engaño. Each ended in triumph for the U.S. Navy. The ba
No Navy wins every engagement.
Here s What You Need to Remember:
It’s crucial to remember and learn from defeat. People and the institutions they comprise commonly tout past triumphs while soft pedaling setbacks. That’s natural, isn’t it? Winning is the hallmark of a successful team, losing a hateful thing. And yet debacles oftentimes have their uses. They supply a better reality check than victories. Defeat clears the mind, putting the institution on “death ground” in other words, compelling it to either adapt or die. Nimble institutions prosper.
Winning, on the other hand, can dull the mind reaffirming habits and methods that may prove ill-suited when the world changes around us. As philosophers say, past success and the timber of humanity predispose individuals and groups to keep doing what worked last time. Or as the old adage goes: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Problem is, we have a habit of discovering it
Misguided Military Doctrine
Quote of the week:
“Until we, as a department, come to understand, if not accept, what we are facing and what should be done about it, we run the risk of developing plans we cannot execute and procuring capabilities that will not deliver desired outcomes. In the absence of change, we are on the path, once again, to prepare for the conflict we prefer, instead of one we are likely to face. It is through this lens that we must take a hard look at how we intend to compete against and deter our adversaries, assure our allies, and appropriately shape the future joint force.” – Admiral Charles Richard
An impressive list.
Here s What You Need to Know: These weapons of war were the best in their day.
(This is a series of 5 pieces combined for your reading pleasure that have ranked as some of our most popular ever.)
5 Best Battleships:
Ranking the greatest battleships of all time is a tad easier than ranking naval battles. Both involve comparing apples with oranges. But at least taking the measure of individual men-of-war involves comparing one apple with one orange. That s a compact endeavor relative to sorting through history to discern how seesaw interactions shaped the destinies of peoples and civilizations.