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Leyte Gulf, also known simply as the Leyte, 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 Island, separated from Leyte by the Surigao Strait.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf [5] (Japanese: レイテ沖海戦, romanized: Reite oki Kaisen, lit. 'Leyte Open Sea Naval Battle') 23–26 October 1944, 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.
To the east, Leyte is somewhat "set back" from the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, Samar to the northeast and the Dinagat Islands to the southeast forming Leyte Gulf. To the west is the Camotes Sea. [citation needed] Leyte is mostly heavily forested and mountainous, but the Leyte Valley in the northeast has much agriculture.
Houses in Guiuan's shoreline facing Leyte Gulf, 2016. The municipality of Guiuan is located at the southeasternmost tip of Samar Island. It is bounded on the north by the municipality of Mercedes, on the east by the Philippine Sea and the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Surigao Strait, and on the west by Leyte Gulf.
The sea is connected to the Philippine Sea to the north via San Bernardino Strait, to Leyte Gulf to the southeast via San Juanico Strait, to the Visayan Sea to the southwest, and to the Sibuyan Sea to the northwest via Masbate Pass and Ticao Pass. It contains Biliran Island, the islands of Almagro, Maripipi, Sto. Nino, Daram, and Tagapul-an.
Battle off Samar; Part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Philippines Campaign (1944–45), Pacific War (World War II): The escort carrier Gambier Bay, burning from earlier gunfire damage, is bracketed by a salvo from a Japanese cruiser (faintly visible in the background, center-right) shortly before sinking during the Battle off Samar.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, generally considered to be the largest naval combat in history, was fought 24–25 October 1944 in the waters of the Philippine Islands by elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet (bringing together the IJN's 2nd Fleet, 3rd Fleet and 5th Fleet) and the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet (bringing together the USN's 3rd Fleet and 7th Fleet).
Dawn of 25 October 1944 found "Taffy 3" steaming northeast of Samar operating as the Northern Air Support Group. "Taffy 2" was in the central position patrolling off the entrance to Leyte Gulf, and "Taffy 1" covered the southern approaches to the Gulf some 150 miles (240 km) to the southeast of Hoel ' s "Taffy 3".