Southern Force during the Battle of Leyte Gulf
E903815
The Southern Force during the Battle of Leyte Gulf was a Japanese naval contingent tasked with attacking Allied invasion forces in the southern approaches to Leyte Gulf as part of Japan’s larger, ultimately unsuccessful, effort to repel the U.S. landings in the Philippines in October 1944.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Southern Force (Battle of Surigao Strait) | 1 |
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Japanese naval task force
ⓘ
World War II naval formation ⓘ |
| commandStructure | Under overall Japanese Combined Fleet plan for Leyte counterattack ⓘ |
| conflict | Battle of Leyte Gulf NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| coordinatedWith |
Center Force under Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Northern Force under Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country |
Japan
ⓘ
surface form:
Empire of Japan
|
| date | October 1944 ⓘ |
| engagedBy |
U.S. Seventh Fleet
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
U.S. battleships and destroyers in Surigao Strait ⓘ |
| engagement | Battle of Surigao Strait NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| fate | Largely destroyed in the Battle of Surigao Strait ⓘ |
| hasCommander |
Vice Admiral Kiyohide Shima
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasComponent |
Nishimura Force
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Shima Force NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasShip |
battleship Fuso
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
battleship Yamashiro NERFINISHED ⓘ destroyer Shigure NERFINISHED ⓘ destroyer escorts of Shima Force ⓘ heavy cruiser Ashigara NERFINISHED ⓘ heavy cruiser Mogami NERFINISHED ⓘ heavy cruiser Nachi NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance | Part of the largest naval battle in history ⓘ |
| location |
Philippine Sea
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Surigao Strait NERFINISHED ⓘ approaches to Leyte Gulf ⓘ |
| navalType | Surface action group ⓘ |
| notableFeature | Last battleship-versus-battleship action in naval history ⓘ |
| objective |
Attack Allied invasion forces in the southern approaches to Leyte Gulf
ⓘ
Penetrate Surigao Strait and reach Leyte Gulf ⓘ |
| opposedBy |
Allied naval forces
ⓘ
United States Navy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| outcome | Failed to reach Leyte Gulf ⓘ |
| partOf |
Imperial Japanese Navy
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Japanese forces at the Battle of Leyte Gulf NERFINISHED ⓘ Operation Sho-Go 1 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| partOfOperation | Japanese counteroffensive against Leyte landings ⓘ |
| purpose | Support Japanese defense of the Philippines ⓘ |
| relatedEvent | U.S. landings on Leyte ⓘ |
| result | Defeat ⓘ |
| status | Destroyed as an effective fighting force by 25 October 1944 ⓘ |
| strategyRole | Southern pincer of Japanese surface attack on Leyte invasion fleet ⓘ |
| tacticalSituation | Attempted night transit of Surigao Strait ⓘ |
| theater | Pacific Theater of World War II NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| timePeriod | World War II ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Shōji Nishimura
this entity surface form:
Southern Force (Battle of Surigao Strait)