TheIronDiaries
Airman
- 14
- Oct 23, 2026
On the morning of 25 October 1944, Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force had the American escort carriers of Taffy 3 at its mercy. His battleships had already sunk the Gambier Bay and the Hoel, and the Roberts was crippled, while the Johnston was still fighting alone. The road to Leyte Gulf was open. And then he turned away.
This video looks at Kurita's three big decisions that morning: the night run through San Bernardino Strait, the dawn attack off Samar, and the break-off itself, and what he believed he was facing when he made the call. It is the other side of the Samar story we told in our earlier videos on the battle and on Ernest Evans.
View: https://youtu.be/ggD3ms372BM
I would welcome corrections from anyone who knows the Japanese side of this battle better than I do, especially on what Kurita's staff believed about the carriers in front of them.
If you watch it, the Hype button on YouTube helps a small channel like ours more than you might think.
This video looks at Kurita's three big decisions that morning: the night run through San Bernardino Strait, the dawn attack off Samar, and the break-off itself, and what he believed he was facing when he made the call. It is the other side of the Samar story we told in our earlier videos on the battle and on Ernest Evans.
View: https://youtu.be/ggD3ms372BM
I would welcome corrections from anyone who knows the Japanese side of this battle better than I do, especially on what Kurita's staff believed about the carriers in front of them.
If you watch it, the Hype button on YouTube helps a small channel like ours more than you might think.
