Hunter Sniper

“Quiet is fine by me,” Oatmire said. He took a step, realizing that his legs still felt rubbery after the climb up the ship’s ladder. He took another step and staggered.

O’Connell moved to steady him. “You know what? There’s officially no booze allowed on board, but the officers do keep a little scotch on hand for medicinal purposes. I’d say you could use a drink.”

“I think I could use a drink — strictly for medicinal purposes,” Oatmire said.

“That’s the spirit,” O’Connell said. “Right this way.”

“I have to admit that I’m suddenly liking the navy a lot more than I did a minute ago.”

CHAPTER TEN

At that moment, little did Oatmire or anyone else aboard USS Kalinin Bay know that the Japanese were about to launch a vast and desperate gambit to crush the American landing efforts at Leyte. Events being set in motion would result in the largest sea battle in history.

The Japanese effort spanned vast distances across the Pacific, putting at risk almost all that was left of their navy. But as with so many gambles in military history, with the risk went tremendous potential rewards.

Oatmire, O’Connell, and USS Kalinin Bay would find themselves in the middle of it.

* * *

By that point in 1944, the Japanese fleet had been decimated by losses at Midway, the Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz, and the Philippine Sea — where it had lost nearly four hundred aircraft. Those pilots and aircrew, not to mention the planes, could not be replaced.

Meanwhile, American production prowess had geared up almost faster than the United States could have hoped for, producing new aircraft and ships at an astonishing rate. The growth of the United States Navy was almost exponential.

The Japanese built excellent aircraft and ships but could not replace the huge numbers that had gone down in flames. At that point Japan was losing the war, but it had not yet lost.

There were still Japanese planes, but the overall loss of Japanese aircraft leading up to the Philippines campaign was devastating.

Although their numbers of seaborne aircraft were greatly diminished, their navy remained relatively strong. They still possessed large numbers of submarines, heavy cruisers, and battleships — including two of the most formidable ships in the world.

It hardly required a military expert to see that the odds were not in Japan’s favor. The chief factor was aircraft. Admiral Yamamoto had been visionary at the outset of the war in understanding the value of aircraft carriers and aircraft as the path toward winning the war of the future. When the battlefield was mainly composed of islands and the vast Pacific itself, these resources were vital.

Their other great weakness was that, simply put, they were running out of the oil they needed to fuel their ships. Oil flowed from their oil fields around Indonesia to Japan itself. The loss of the Philippines would cut that off, creating the nautical supply route equivalent of a vasectomy. Put in those terms, there wasn’t a man who didn’t flinch at the thought.

As the Japanese high command saw it, the best way to crush and thwart the invasion of the Philippines might be to smash the invasion fleet that provided the supply and logistics support.

Although it might seem obvious to an armchair admiral, the Japanese had not previously used this strategy of targeting the logistical apparatus of the invasion forces. With a little luck, the Emperor’s ships might even be able to get in close enough to unleash their massive guns on the American troops on shore.

To that end, the Japanese developed a simple but devious plan to fool the Americans.

* * *

Most of Japan’s remaining aircraft carriers had been recalled to Japan itself for refitting. The bulk of Japan’s remaining naval power, including the massive battleships Yamato and Musashi, were in the vicinity of Singapore.

Under October skies, the Japanese carrier fleet set sail from Japan on a path toward the Philippines. US Navy submarines quickly detected the movement and relayed the information. This information caused a great deal of excitement in American quarters.

US Navy forces around the Philippines consisted of the Seventh Fleet, composed mainly of older vessels. Their task was to provide logistical support for the US Army landing forces on Leyte. Consequently, these ships were operating closer to shore. The USS Kalinin Bay that Oatmire found himself aboard with Lieutenant Commander O’Connell was part of this Seventh Fleet force.

The Third Fleet with its large aircraft carriers was nearly sixty miles off the Leyte coast. This was the force commanded by Admiral Halsey from his flagship, the carrier USS Enterprise.