12. Courage and Unstinting Sacrifice Earn a Miraculous Reprieve
Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague knew that his destroyers’ 5 inch guns stood no chance against the 23 armored Japanese battleships and cruisers steaming towards Leyte Gulf. He also knew that thousands of Americans would die if the Japanese reached the unprotected ships in Leyte. So he ordered Taffy 3 into a suicidal charge. The desperate attacks of the American “tin cans” were supported by planes flying from the escort carriers. They made strafing attacks or dropped high explosives suitable for a ground attack but mostly useless against the Japanese ships. When they ran out of ammunition, the American pilots kept making dry strafing and bombing runs to discomfit the Japanese.
So reckless and incessant were those gadfly attacks that the Japanese admiral lost his nerve. Kurita convinced himself that the opposition he faced was far stronger than it actually was, and must be the first outer layer of a powerful US naval presence. Kurita had an overwhelming naval victory in his grasp. All he had to do was steam on for another hour, to bring his heavy guns within range of Leyte. Instead, he turned his ships around and sailed away, gifting the Americans in Leyte Gulf with a seemingly miraculous reprieve.
