During the Battle of Leyte Gulf during World War II, the U.S. invaded the
Philippines, forcing a Japanese response. Knowing that the U.S. had superior
naval power in the theater, the Japanese employed a series of decoys hoping to
draw the main U.S. force out of position. Near the end of the third day of the
battle this strategy worked, and the U.S. Third Fleet was drawn nearly 100
miles out of position.
The Japanese fleet then launched an attack directly on the American invasion
force, which was protected by the U.S. Seventh Fleet. The Seventh Fleet was
equipped to support a marine landing, not to engage in a heavy sea battle. The
commander of the Seventh Fleet realized that his only chance to save the
invasion force was to delay the Japanese several hours until the Third Fleet
could return. Lacking air support and heavy guns, he decided that his only
hope was to sacrifice his destroyers.
An order was given: ``Attack overwhelming forces with little probability of
survival.''
The guns of the U.S. destroyers were not powerful enough to be of any use
against the armor of the Japanese battleships. Further, the destroyers could
withstand only one direct hit from the battleships' main guns, which fired
salvos of 3000-pound shells. The only effective weapon that the destroyers had
were torpedos, but they could only be used an extremely close range.
By zigzagging erratically, the destroyers were able to close to within torpedo
range and fire all of their torpedos. Although three out of the four
destroyers were sunk while retreating, the damage to the Japanese fleet was so
great that it was forced to withdraw.
The fact that speed and maneuverability could be so effectively utilized was
somewhat contrary to the conventional wisdom of the day. It caused naval
architects to focus on these features for decades to come.