Battle of Surigao Strait (Anthony P. Tully)

My strongest recommendation up front: buy this book, read it. There are information and insights here that you will not be able to get from any other English-language source on the Battle. This book is in my collection, and I expect to be referring to it often in the future. The author has done a great job of research, drawing on many unused American and Japanese sources, and has corrected many errors in the "standard" historical works and records. You will get information on the Japanese planning and conduct of the battle that you will not get anywhere else. My most important caveat - and the reason why I can only score the book a "4" - is that there are significant interpretive and stylistic problems in Mr. Tully's text. Care must be taken when reading this book, as I will delve into later. First, the good stuff: Mr. Tully has made a significant contribution to the history of the battle, and has contributed to a better understanding of the objectives of the Japanese forc... Read more

This is an excellent addition to the 20th Century Battles series, which addresses a number of relatively obscure battles. While Surigao Strait isn't particularly obscure, being part of the huge Leyte Gulf battle, it most often is referred to only as "the last battle between battleships". Mr. Tully does an excellent job of rescuing the battle from that historical ghetto. He has tapped not only previously overlooked original Japanese records of the battle, but also the memories of Japanese survivors. These sources have been added to the US records to provide a balanced view of not only the Surigao Strait battle but also the strategic and operational situations that led to the battle. The Japanese naval command sent Yamashiro and Fuso, their two oldest and slowest battleships on what was essentially a one-way mission to attack portions of the US landing force in the Phillipines, supposedly in coordination with other Japanese forces. In a nice bit of historical irony these two antiq... Read more

I just received this yesterday, so I have not yet completed the book, so these are just initial impressions. I've read the author's previous (joint) work 'Shattered Sword' (which was excellent) so I have high expectations for this book. The book's genesis when the author signed on to be an expert for a diving expedition to explore the sunken wrecks from this battle. The wrecks are deep (960m or more) and there have been problems diving there, so his research extended into a complete book-project. Like the Midway plan, the OPLAN for the Japanese was intricate. The book enlightens one to the complications and hurried COA by Admiral Kurita and others that led to the engagement. The force disposition, with Admiral Shima and Admiral Nishimura sailing in separate TFs is covered in detail. What sets this work apart is the excellent Japanese-source research involved. I skimmed through the notes and bibliography, and it contained materials I have never seen covered in prior works. ... Read more