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When US and German Soldiers Fought Together and Lesser-Known World War II Events

Khalid Elhassan August 25, 2020 35 min

Itter Castle - Battle of Castle Itter — The French Army's former commander in chief, Maxime Weygand, leaving Itter Castle. Agence France Presse

13. The “Tin Cans” Against the Might of Japan

American forces landing on Leyte. Encyclopedia Britannica

While Halsey was off chasing the Japanese decoy fleet, 23 Japanese battleships and heavy cruisers headed towards the nearly undefended Americans in Leyte Gulf. They included the world’s most powerful battleship ever, the 18.1 inch gun Yamato. The powerful Japanese force showed up north of Leyte Gulf, steaming towards the landing site under the command of an admiral Kurita. The Americans were caught by surprise.

The only thing standing between the Japanese and a massacre of the Americans at Leyte Gulf was an underwhelming collection of escort carriers and destroyer escorts. Their northernmost contingent, which first came in contact with the Japanese, was commanded by Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague, and was known as “Taffy 3”. It consisted of a measly 7 destroyers and destroyer escorts, nicknamed “tin cans” for their lack of protection.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.