OCR Text |
Show DETAILS GIVEN ON GREAT SEA, AUl BATTLE The navy has given out a detailed de-tailed account of the fighting in the second battle of the Philippine Phil-ippine Sea, when three Japanese Japan-ese groups were decisively thwarted in their effort to disrupt dis-rupt the landings on Lyte and compelled to retire after suffering suffer-ing heavy losses. By 9:20 our carriers were in a bad position, with the Jap fleet 12,000 yards away, and ready for the kill. Then, suddenly, sudden-ly, the enemy ships hauled away, widening the distance and to the astonishmnt of the battered American Am-erican forces, broke off the battle, bat-tle, steaming over the northern horizon at high speed, trailing oil from pierced hulls as they fled. Some speculation has developed develop-ed as to the sudden withdrawals of the strongest Japanese force just when it had six of our escort carriers in a bad position, apparently ap-parently doomed to destruction. What happened? The Japanese admiral, with a local victory in sight, had received word of the destruction of the southern force in Suriago Strait, and the utter rout of the northern force, with the loss of its carriers. He "had to get back through San Brnar-dino Brnar-dino Strait or face annihilation." In addition, the navy reveals that, while the Japs may not have known it, "we had a battleship battle-ship and cruiser force a part of the Seventh fleet in Lyte Gulf for the purpose of protecting the transports and landing craft from any enemy force attempting to destroy them." This was the force wnicn naa, oeiore uayngni., annihilated an-nihilated the southern enemy group and, almost unscathd, was available to prevent the entrance of the enemy's central group. In addition, Third fleet units, which had been dispatched southward south-ward by Admiral Halsey, were getting close to the enemy. In fact, some of these ships "caught one straggling enemy destroyer before it reached the strait and sank it." |