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The Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought near the Philippines over several days with a number of different engagements. The combined conflict made it the largest naval battle of the Second World War, and by some estimates, the largest naval battle in history.
More than 200,000 naval soldiers, auxiliary personnel, and officers were involved in the conflict between October 23d and 26th of 1944. The forces were mostly American and Australian on the Allied side against Imperial Japanese on the Axis side.
The naval battle was to support the amphibious invasion of Leyte in an effort to force the Japanese from the Philippine Archipelago. Doing so would begin to isolate the Japanese Empire from much of the oil and raw materials fueling their war efforts.
The battle is historically considered to have been divided into four separate fights: The Battle of Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle off Cape Engaño, and the Battle of Samar.
Paramount among the battles was the engagement at Surigao Strait, where the US Seventh Fleet Support Force almost wholly destroyed Japan's "Southern Force." It would be the last battleship battle in history as the Japanese force, which included two battleships, attempted to run the gauntlet through a trap set by the Americans.
The American force, including six battleships, awaited and managed to "cross the T" over the ragged Japanese line, completing the classic naval maneuver for the last time ever...
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