was a
vice admiral in the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
(IJN) during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Kurita commanded
IJN 2nd Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) created as a mobile strike force in response to hostilities with Russia, and saw action in every IJN military operation until the end of World War II.
History
Established on 27 October 1903, ...
, the main Japanese attack force during the
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fou ...
, the largest naval battle in history.
Biography
Early life
Takeo Kurita was born in
Mito city
is the capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 269,330 in 123,282 households and a population density of 1239 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged ...
,
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...
, in 1889. He was sent off to
Etajima
, also called , ''Nomijima'', ''Nomi Island'', or is an island in Hiroshima Bay located in southwestern Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The mess with island name originates from the ancient (and possibly legendary) strait at now town .
Geography
Th ...
in 1905 and graduated from the 38th class of the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students stu ...
in 1910, ranked 28th out of a class of 149 cadets. As a
midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
, he served on the
cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
s and . On being commissioned as
ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
in 1911, he was assigned to .
After his promotion to
sub-lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces.
In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...
in 1913, Kurita served on the
battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
,
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
and cruiser . Kurita became a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
on 1 December 1916, and served on a number of ships: protected cruiser , destroyers and . He also served as either the chief
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
officer or
executive officer
An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...
on ''Minekaze'', , and . In 1920, he was given his first command: the destroyer ''Shigure''. In 1921, he assumed command of .
Promoted to
lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
in 1922, Kurita captained the destroyers , , and . As
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
from 1927, he commanded the destroyer , 25th Destroyer Group and 10th Destroyer Group.
As captain from 1932, he commanded the 12th Destroyer Group, the cruiser , and from 1937 the battleship .
Kurita became a
rear admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
on November 15, 1938, commanding the 1st Destroyer
Flotilla
A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet.
Composition
A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class ...
then the 4th Destroyer Flotilla.
He was in command of the 7th Cruiser Division at the time of the
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
.
World War II
Early campaigns
Kurita's 7th Cruiser Division participated in the invasion of
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
in the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
in December 1941, and in the
Indian Ocean Raid
The Indian Ocean raid, also known as Operation C or Battle of Ceylon in Japanese, was a naval sortie carried out by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 31 March to 10 April 1942. Japanese aircraft carriers under Admiral Chūichi Nagumo ...
where he led a fleet of six heavy cruisers and the light carrier that sank 135,000 tons of shipping in the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
.
During the
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...
(serving under
Nobutake Kondō
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. As commander of IJN 2nd Fleet, the Navy's principal detached force for independent operations, Kondō was regarded as second in importance only to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.
Biog ...
), he lost the cruiser . Kurita was promoted to
vice admiral on 1 May 1942, and was reassigned to the 3rd Battleship Division in July.
In the
Guadalcanal Campaign
The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...
, Kurita led his battleships in an intense bombardment of
Henderson Field on the night of 13 October, firing 918 heavy
high explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...
shells at the American airfield. This was the single most successful Japanese attempt to incapacitate Henderson Field by naval bombardment and allowed a large transport convoy to resupply forces on Guadalcanal the next day relatively unmolested. Kurita later commanded major naval forces during the Central
Solomon Islands campaign
The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, du ...
and during the
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invas ...
. In 1943, Kurita replaced Admiral Kondō as the commander of
IJN 2nd Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) created as a mobile strike force in response to hostilities with Russia, and saw action in every IJN military operation until the end of World War II.
History
Established on 27 October 1903, ...
.
Battle of Leyte Gulf
It was as
Commander-in-Chief of the IJN 2nd Fleet dubbed "Central Force" during the
Battle of the Sibuyan Sea
The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fou ...
and the
Battle off Samar
The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on October 25, 1944. It was the only major ...
(Both part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf) for which Kurita is best known. The IJN 2nd Fleet included the largest and most heavily armed battleships in the world, and . Additionally, the IJN 2nd Fleet included the older battleships , , and , 10 cruisers and 13 destroyers. Critically, however, the IJN Second Fleet did not include any
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
s.
Kurita was a dedicated officer, willing to die if necessary, but not wishing to die in vain. Like
Isoroku Yamamoto
was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II until he was killed.
Yamamoto held several important posts in the IJN, and undertook many of its changes and reor ...
, Kurita believed that for a captain to "go down with his ship" was a wasteful loss of valuable naval experience and leadership. When ordered by Admiral
Soemu Toyoda
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II.
Biography Early career
Toyoda was born in what is now part Kitsuki city, Ōita Prefecture. He graduated from the 33rd class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1905, ranked 26 ...
to take his fleet through the
San Bernardino Strait
The San Bernardino Strait ( fil, Kipot ng San Bernardino) is a strait in the Philippines, connecting the Samar Sea with the Philippine Sea. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island from the island of Samar in the south.
History
During th ...
in the central
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and attack the American landings at
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
, Kurita thought the effort a waste of ships and lives, especially since he could not get his fleet to
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao Isl ...
until five days after the landings, leaving little more than empty transports for his huge battleships to attack. He bitterly resented his superiors, who, while safe in bunkers in Tokyo, ordered Kurita to fight to the death against hopeless odds and without air cover. At the same time, Toyoda was aware that the plan was a major gamble, but as the Imperial Japanese Navy fleet was running out of fuel and other critical supplies, he felt that the potential gain offset the risk of losing a fleet that was about to become useless in any event.
= Ambush in the Palawan Passage
=
While his fleet was en route from Brunei to attack the American Invasion fleet, Kurita's ships were attacked in
Palawan Passage
Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...
by U.S. submarines. damaged heavy cruiser and sank Kurita's flagship heavy cruiser , forcing him to swim for his life while sank heavy cruiser . Kurita was plucked from the water by a destroyer and transferred his flag to the ''Yamato'', but Kurita's dunking did him little good, especially since he had only recently recovered from a severe case of dengue fever, and no doubt contributed to the fatigue which may have influenced his subsequent actions.
=Battle of the Sibuyan Sea
=
While in the confines of the
Sibuyan Sea
The Sibuyan Sea is a small sea in the Philippines that separates the Visayas from the northern Philippine island of Luzon.
It is bounded by the island of Panay to the south, Mindoro to the west, Masbate to the east, and to the north Marinduque a ...
and approaching the San Bernardino Strait, Kurita's force underwent five aerial attacks by U.S. carrier planes which damaged several of his ships, including ''Yamato''. Constant air attacks from Admiral
William "Bull" Halsey's
3rd Fleet scored two bomb hits on ''Yamato'', reducing her speed, and numerous torpedo and bomb hits on ''Musashi'', mortally wounding her. They also scored a number of damaging near misses on other vessels, reducing fleet speed to 18 knots. Knowing that he was already six hours behind schedule and facing the possibility of a sixth attack in the narrow confines of the San Bernardino strait Kurita requested air support and turned his fleet west away from Leyte Gulf.
Thus began a chain of events that continues to engage historians and biographers to this day. Halsey, believing that he had mauled Kurita's fleet and that the Japanese "Central Forces" were retreating, and believing that he had the orders and authorization to do so, abandoned his station guarding General
MacArthur's landing at Leyte Gulf and the San Bernardino Strait, in order to pursue Admiral
Jisaburō Ozawa
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was the last Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet. Ozawa has been noted for his unusual height, measuring in at over tall, although his exact height has not been reliabl ...
's Northern Fleet of Japanese carriers that were sent as a decoy to lure the Americans away from Leyte. But before doing so, in fact before Ozawa's force had been sighted, Halsey had sent a message announcing a "battle plan" to detach his battleships to cover the exit of the strait. With the decision to attack Ozawa, this battle plan was never executed and the heavy ships went north with the carriers. The battle plan called for detaching the battleships to guard San Bernardino strait, unfortunately Halsey's flagship the battleship,
USS ''New Jersey'', would have to be detached too, leaving him behind and only have Adm. Mitscher to chase the carriers. Unfortunately for Halsey, after an hour and a half without further air attacks Kurita turned east again at 1715 towards San Bernardino strait and the eventual encounter with Kinkaid's forces in Leyte Gulf.
=Battle off Samar
=
Vice Admiral
Thomas C. Kinkaid
Thomas Cassin Kinkaid (3 April 1888 – 17 November 1972) was an admiral in the United States Navy, known for his service during World War II. He built a reputation as a "fighting admiral" in the aircraft carrier battles of 1942 and commanded t ...
, Commander
7th Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...
and responsible for protecting the landing forces, assumed that Halsey's "Battle Plan" was a deployment order and that Task Force 34 (TF 34) was actually guarding San Bernardino Strait. Kinkaid thus concentrated his battleships to the south in order to face the Japanese "Southern Force". During the night of 24–25 October 1944, Kurita changed his mind again, and turned his ships around and headed east again, toward Leyte Gulf. On the morning of 25 October, Kurita's fleet, led by ''Yamato'', exited San Bernardino Strait and sailed south along the coast of
Samar
Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
. 30 minutes after dawn, the battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy sighted "
Taffy 3
The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on October 25, 1944. It was the only majo ...
" — a task unit of Kinkaid's covering forces that consisted of six
escort carrier
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...
s, three destroyers and four
destroyer escort
Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships.
Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
s, commanded by Rear Admiral
Clifton Sprague
Clifton Albert Frederick "Ziggy" Sprague (January 8, 1896 – April 11, 1955) was a World War II-era officer in the United States Navy.
Biography
Sprague was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and attended the Roxbury Latin School. He entere ...
. Taffy 3 was intended to provide shore support and anti-submarine patrols, not to engage in fleet action against battleships.
Believing he had chanced upon the carriers of the American 3rd Fleet, Kurita immediately ordered his battleships to open fire. Recognizing that his best chance depended upon destroying the aircraft carriers before they could launch their aircraft, Kurita gave the order for "General Attack" rather than take the time to reform his ships for action with the enemy. Kurita then compounded his error by ordering his destroyers to the rear to prevent them from obstructing his battleships' line of fire, preventing them from racing ahead to cut off the slower American carriers. Concern that his destroyers would burn too much fuel in a flank speed stern chase of what Kurita presumed were 30 knot fleet carriers also played a part in Kurita's decision. However, at the moment Taffy 3 was sighted, Center Force was in the midst of changing from nighttime scouting to daytime air defense steaming formation. Kurita's ships thus charged uncoordinated into action and Kurita quickly lost tactical control of the battle, a situation not helped by poor visibility, intermittent rain squalls and a wind direction favorable to the Americans, who immediately began to make smoke for additional concealment.
Kurita's forces mauled Taffy 3, sinking the escort carrier , the destroyers and , and the destroyer escort , and inflicting significant damage on most of the other ships. But continual air attacks by aircraft from Taffy 3 and Taffy 2 stationed farther south and a determined counterattack by the U.S. escorts served to further confuse and separate Kurita's forces. Kurita, whose flagship fell far behind early in the battle while avoiding a
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
salvo from USS ''Hoel'', lost sight of the enemy and many of his own ships. Meanwhile, the courageous efforts of the Taffies had cost him three heavy cruisers: , , and . Many of his other ships had also been hit and most had suffered casualties from the relentless strafing. After about two and a half hours in action with Taffy 3, Kurita ordered his force to regroup on a northerly course, away from Leyte.
By this time, Kurita had received news that the Japanese Southern Force, which was to attack Leyte Gulf from the south, had already been destroyed by Kinkaid's battleships. With ''Musashi'' gone, Kurita still had four battleships but only three cruisers remaining, all of his ships were low on fuel and most of them were damaged. Kurita was intercepting messages that indicated Admiral Halsey had sunk all four carriers of the "Northern Force" and was racing back to Leyte with his battleships to confront the Japanese fleet, and that powerful elements of 7th Fleet were approaching from Leyte Gulf. After steaming back and forth off Samar for two more hours, Kurita, who'd been on ''Yamato''s bridge for nearly 48 hours by this point, and his chief of staff
Tomiji Koyanagi decided to retire and retreated back through the San Bernardino Strait.
Kurita's ships were subjected to further air attack the rest of the day and Halsey's battleships just missed catching him that night, sinking the destroyer , which had remained behind to save the survivors from ''Chikuma''. Kurita's retreat saved ''Yamato'' and the remainder of the IJN 2nd Fleet from certain destruction, but he had failed to complete his mission, attacking the amphibious forces in Leyte Gulf. The path had been laid open to him by the sacrifices of the Northern and Southern Forces, but closed again by the determination and courage of the Taffies.
After Leyte and postwar
Kurita was criticized by some elements in the Japanese military for not fighting to the death. In December, Kurita was removed from command. In order to protect him against assassination, he was reassigned as commandant of the
Imperial Japanese Navy Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students stud ...
.
Following the
Japanese surrender
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
, Kurita found work as a
scrivener
A scrivener (or scribe) was a person who could read and write or who wrote letters to court and legal documents. Scriveners were people who made their living by writing or copying written material. This usually indicated secretarial and admini ...
and
masseur
Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...
, living quietly with his daughter and her family. He was found by an
American naval officer after the war where he was interviewed for the Analysis Division of the
U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey.
With Kurita's address in hand, a young American naval officer got out of a jeep
Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...
and spotted the unimposing figure tending to his garden chores. Years later, he still vividly recalled the moment: "It really made an impression of me. The war was just over. Less than a year before Kurita had been in command of the largest fleet that was ever put together, and there he was out there chopping potatoes."
Kurita never discussed politics or the war with his family or others, except to conduct a brief interview with a journalist,
Masanori Itō, in 1954 when he stated that he had made a mistake at Leyte by turning away and not continuing with the battle, a statement he later retracted. In retirement, Kurita made twice-yearly pilgrimages to
Yasukuni Shrine
is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...
to pray for his dead comrades-in-arms. In 1966, he was present at the deathbed of his old colleague,
Jisaburō Ozawa
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was the last Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet. Ozawa has been noted for his unusual height, measuring in at over tall, although his exact height has not been reliabl ...
, at which he silently wept.
It was not until he was in his 80s that Kurita began to again speak of his actions at Leyte. He claimed privately to a former Naval Academy student (and biographer), Jiro Ooka, that he withdrew the fleet from the battle because he did not believe in wasting the lives of his men in a futile effort, having long since believed that the war was lost.
Kurita died in 1977 at age 88, and his grave is at the
Tama Cemetery
in Tokyo is the largest municipal cemetery in Japan. It is split between the cities of Fuchu and Koganei within the Tokyo Metropolis. First established in April 1923 as , it was redesignated Tama Cemetery in 1935. It is one of the largest green ...
in
Fuchu, Tokyo.
Notes
References
*Goralski, Robert and Russel W. Freeburg (1987). ''Oil & War: How the Deadly Struggle for Fuel in WWII Meant Victory or Defeat''. William Morrow and Company. New York.
*
*
*Thomas, Evan (2006). ''Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941–1945''. Simon & Schuster. .
Further reading
*Cutler, Thomas (2001). ''The Battle of Leyte Gulf: 23–26 October 1944''. Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.: Naval Institute Press. .
*D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). ''Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II''. Devin-Adair Pub. .
*Dull, Paul S. (1978). ''A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941–1945''. Naval Institute Press. .
*Field, James A. (1947). ''The Japanese at Leyte Gulf;: The Sho operation''. Princeton University Press. .
*Friedman, Kenneth (2001). ''Afternoon of the Rising Sun: The Battle of Leyte Gulf''. Presidio Press. .
*Halsey, William Frederick (1983). ''The Battle for Leyte Gulf''. U.S. Naval Institute
*Hornfischer, James D. (2004). ''The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors''. Bantam. .
*Hoyt, Edwin P.; Thomas H Moorer (Introduction) (2003). ''The Men of the Gambier Bay: The Amazing True Story of the Battle of Leyte Gulf''. The Lyons Press. .
*Lacroix, Eric; Linton Wells (1997). ''Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War''. Naval Institute Press. .
*Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001). ''Leyte: June 1944 – January 1945 (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II'', Volume 12. Castle Books; Reprint
*Potter, E. B. (2005). ''Admiral Arleigh Burke''. Naval Institute Press. .
*Potter, E. B. (2003). ''Bull Halsey''. Naval Institute Press. .
*Sears, David ''The Last Epic Naval Battle: Voices from Leyte Gulf''. Praeger Publishers (2005)
*Willmott, H. P. (2005). ''The Battle Of Leyte Gulf: The Last Fleet Action''. Indiana University Press. .
*Woodward, C. Vann (1989). ''The Battle for Leyte Gulf (Naval Series)''. Battery Press
Web
U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey Pacific – Interrogations of Japanese officialsA list of the U.S. Naval Interrogations of Japanese Officials, conducted after the war, with full texts of the interviews. A number of these interviews are available on line and provide interesting insight from the Japanese commanders, who, many for first time, are openly critical of the war and their superiors. Admiral Kurita and his role in the war is discussed in a number of different interrogations.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurita, Takeo
1889 births
1977 deaths
People from Mito, Ibaraki
Imperial Japanese Navy admirals
Japanese admirals of World War II
Battle of Midway
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy alumni