The Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf took place on October 23-26 1944 at the Phillipines. The Battle of Leyte Gulf is the biggest naval battle in history, with 282 ships involved. It was an important battle for the war in the Pacific. The outcome would determine the fate of the Philippines and the course of the war with Japan. Both the United States and Japan wanted control of the Philippines. There were four battles that made up the Battle of Leyte Gulf: Battle of Surigao Strait, Battle of Sibuyon Sea, Battle Off Cape Engano and Battle Off Samar. During this battle, the Japanese used a new weapon called the kamikaze, which are suicide pilots with explosives on their plane that purposefully crash into American ships. By the end of the war, the Japanese kamikazes sunk 30 ships and damaged 300. In the end, the United States won the battle of Leyte Gulf, and the Japanese lost. U.S. causalities included about 12,300 people and Japanese causalities was more than 11,000 people. The battle cost the Japanese 26 vessels and most of its warships. The US navy only lost six warships.