The Americans Bet the Limit
“We want the big ones boys, never mind the small fry!” Captain John Waldron, Strike Commander, Battle the Marshall Islands.
While the Japanese air attack is being massacred, the Americans meanwhile are conducting their own. Every bomber that can fly and is not carrying out antisubmarine patrols or searches is committed, along with many of the fighters. In all the Americans send in 200 Dauntless Dive bombers, 150 Avenger Torpedo bombers, 96 Hellcats flying top cover and another 36 Hellcats going in as fighter bombers. Each carrier has a preassigned target, having planned for this battle for over a week, and to oppose them the Japanese only have 60 Zeroes and 20 Rufes in the air, and those come in waves over the two hour attack. The Americans lose 70 aircraft to flak and fighters but only a handful of the Zeroes survive and none of the Rufes, and although a stiff price, the Americans make the Japanese pay even more as American naval aviators demonstrate who know has the best carrier force in the Pacific.
Raking in the Chips
The Enterprise and Independence attack the Yamato, hitting her with five 1,000 pound bombs and 6 torpedoes, knocking out most of her heavy anti-aircraft guns and slowing her speed to 15 knots and giving her a 5 degree list to her port side. The Yorktown and Princeton go after the Musashi, putting two torpedoes into her without any significant notable effect. The Lexington air group was originally assigned another target, but in the confusion and hearing Captain Waldron's instructions (meant for the Enterprise group), they attack the Musashi as does the Essex airgroup for the same reason, and while the Essex aviators fail to score, the veteran Lexington airgroup scores 8 torpedo hits on the Musashi, knocking out her power and she develops a 15 degree list to her starboard and comes to a halt.
Waldron manages to get the next series of airgroups back on their targets, with the Cowpens and Hornet attacking the Mutsu, and eight 1,000 pound bombs and six torpedoes bring her to a stop, and within a few more minutes she disappears in a bright flash and her only grave marker is a huge column of smoke. The Saratoga and Belleau Wood meanwhile go after the Nagato, and she is left burning and stopped as 2 torpedoes knock out her rudder and all but one of a her screws, while 11 bombs knock out two of her main turrets, destroy most of her superstructure, and leave ablaze from her after superstructure to nearly her bow. Amazingly, the Japanese manage to get many of these fires out in spite of personnel losses running over 60% of her crew, and she begins to limp for Truk, attended by the 2 destroyers.
Determined to finish off the two biggest threats, Waldron orders the Intrepid airgroup to finish off the Yamato, and while they try bravely, they only manage 2 more bomb hits on the massive flagship. But the biggest cards the Japanese have, their four biggest gunships, are critically damaged or gone, and the Yamamoto is down to only his three 14 inch gun battleships. The Admiral is taken aboard a destroyer before transferring again to the Ise, and he orders his fleet to continue on, leaving 4 destroyers to either escort the crippled Yamato and Musashi home or to take off survivors.
Players leave the table
Ozawa, now down to only 4 Myrt search planes and 6 Zeroes, has completed his mission as best he can. He orders his task force to turn and run for Truk with Yamamoto's blessing. Meanwhile forms Task Force 38.4 with the damaged Lexington, Indiana, and South Dakota, along with 6 destroyers and sends them along with Admiral Clark for Pearl Harbor and repairs. He and the rest of Task Group 38.1 continue the battle. Mitcher takes over tactical command of the carriers and while Lee is now in overall command of the fleet.
Meanwhile, Fukodome, having lost most of his aircraft is trying to determine an effective way to support Yamamoto who is steaming at the best speed his old battleships can muster straight for Admiral Lee and Task Force 34.
The Americans take a big pot
It is 1430 hours, plenty of time before dark, and Admiral Lee and his fleet have resumed their interception course for the Japanese battleship force. At 1447 hours the Americans begin plotting targets on their gunnery radars and open fire a few minutes later at 1500 hours at a range of 30,000 yards (just a little short of 15 miles). Yamamoto orders his cruisers and destroyers to make a high speed run for the enemy and engage them with torpedoes, while his old battleships turn to avoid having the Americans cross their T. The Washington scores first, landing 11 hits on the Hyuga, which manages to score twice on the Washington in return, but the American 16 inch shells leave her ablaze from end to end, and she staggers to a halt. The Washington is hit once on the armored belt, inflicting only minor damage, another shell penetrates her deck armor and wipes out two starboard 5 inch gun mounts and their crews as well as a damage control party in the main galley. Effective damage control quickly gets the fires out aboard the Washington, but the catastrophic damage to the Hyuga is too great and she eventually detonates as fires reach her aft magazine.
Meanwhile the North Carolina and Fuso exchange fire, and in a superb demonstration of gunnery, the Fuso is blown apart as at least 20 of the big sixteen inch shells plunge through her deck armor and at least one detonates in a magazine. Which magazine is unknown, as the ship seems to explode everywhere at once. The Fuso fails to score a single hit in return.
The Massachusetts and Alabama both fire at the Ise, and both crews will forever claim credit for her demise and the death of Yamamoto. It the end it does not matter which ship got in the killing blow for at least 16 heavy shells smashed into her, and her demise is as explosive as that of the Fuso. She at least gets in some licks however, as four 14 inch shells hit the Alabama, knocking out her aft turret and damaging her steering.
The Japanese take a little pot
While the Japanese battleships die spectacularly, they do however manage to focus the American attention, and the Japanese force of 9 cruisers and 20 destroyers reach 12,000 yards and fire off a volley of nearly 300 torpedoes at the American battle line and the 2 cruisers and 6 destroyers between them and Lee's battleships. Admiral Lee orders emergency turns by his force, but it is too late for his escorts, and the cruisers Raleigh and Memphis are both gutted by two hits each, bringing them to a stop, both sinking, while the destroyers O'Bannon, Waller, Strong and Taylor either blow up or sink quickly from two or more hits, and the Bache and Beale are both damaged by a hit each, knocking them out of action. The Alabama, slowed and with steering problems, takes 3 torpedoes, but manages to continue underway with a 5 degree list, her forward magazine flooded, and now well out of the fight.
Nishimura folds
With all three battleships gone, the Americans steaming away at 26 knots, his own force needing at time to reload torpedo tubes, and 16 inch shells still splashing around him, indeed one detonates aboard the destroyer Shimikaze and blows off her bow even as he is deciding what to do, Nishumura is in a tough spot.
Having witnessed the overwhelming American air attack and knowing another is likely, he decides that the fleet must survive. He orders a full retreat at the best possible speed and his cruisers and destroyers, now reduced by the Shimikaze which is already foundering, leave the battle behind at 34 knots. By leaving he also gives up the last chance to inflict a crippling blow of the US Navy in this battle.
As a result of this decision Nishimura will be removed from his command and given command of the naval defense forces headquartered at Saipan.
The Americans pick up another pot
As Ozawa and his small force of carriers steam away at high speed, they pass in front of the USS Wahoo, and the fleet submarine takes the opportunity to use the last of her torpedoes in what has already been a successful cruise with 2 tankers and a frigate to her credit. Commander Mush Morton adds a carrier to his kills when 4 torpedoes smash into the Ryuho, which is set ablaze and sinks two hours later along with a third of her crew. The Wahoo sneaks away after taking the opportunity to take several photographs.
The final pot is raked in
Admiral Lee, stripped of escorts, links up with Task Force 38.1 and orders the 3rd Fleet to move to the east at 20 knots. He also orders Mitcher to launch another strike and take care of the Japanese battleships that are escaping. The Yamato, Musashi, and Nagato are all overwhelmed by torpedoes and bombs, and already severely damaged, they can barely defend themselves. All three are lost, as are four Japanese destroyers, and with them the Japanese Navy has lost its entire battleline and nearly 20,000 irreplaceable experienced sailors and officers. Meanwhile, a Japanese submarine manages to penetrate the screen and puts six torpedoes into the Indiana as she is limping home with Task Group 38.4, resulting in her loss although most of the crew is rescued. That the Americans almost immediately sink the Japanese submarine, whose exact identity remains undetermined due to so many others being lost in the week before, is small comfort.
“Yamamoto got his decisive battle. But it was a decisive defeat. Many think this shattering defeat played a role in Goring's decision to sell out Japan and make a separate peace with the Allies. It also proved beyond a doubt that the Carrier was now the dominant capital ship, and while this was a major victory for the Black Shoe Navy best embodied by Admiral Lee and his battleship captains, it was Halsey and his carrier admirals and their captains and air group commanders who won the battle, shattering Japanese Naval Aviation and sinking over half of the enemy battle fleet. A decisive blow that ended any hope that the Japanese Navy would defeat the Allies.”
Jack Kennedy, “Yamamoto and the Japanese Search for the Decisive Battle” Naval Institute Press 1967
Japanese losses Battle of the Marshall Islands March 1943
Battleships Yamato, Musashi, Nagato, Mutsu, Ise, Fuso, Hyuga, Carrier Ryuho, 8 destroyers, 7 submarines, 720 aircraft (including those lost at Wake Island), 26,000 dead or missing including 700 pilots
American losses Battle of the Marshall Islands
Battleship Indiana, Carrier Wasp, Light Cruisers Raleigh, Memphis, 5 destroyers, 350 aircraft (including those lost at Wake and aboard the Wasp), 3,000 dead or missing, plus 100 pilots
