Battle of Surigao Strait

Anthony P. Tully

Narrated by Gary Roelofs

Available from Audible

Book published by Indiana University Press

Surigao Strait in the Philippine Islands was the scene of a major battleship duel during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Because the battle was fought at night and had few survivors on the Japanese side, the events of that naval engagement have been passed down in garbled accounts. Anthony P. Tully pulls together all of the existing documentary material, including newly discovered accounts and a careful analysis of U.S. Navy action reports, to create a new and more detailed description of the action. In several respects, Tully's narrative differs radically from the received versions and represents an important historical corrective.

Anthony P. Tully is an independent scholar and historian of the Imperial Japanese Navy. He is author (with Jon Parshall) of Shattered Sword, a study of the Battle of Midway.

REVIEWS:

“Anthony Tully has managed to trace the complicated flow of and reason for events ... with a skill and aplomb that forces one to reconsider previously held views.”

—Naval History

“Tully's narrative is clear and clarifies a confused night battle in restricted waters. He disputes several perceived truths about the battle by giving the reader a complete record of what each ship was doing at each stage of the battle.”

—Military Review

“The skilful incorporation of personal testimony from those involved is what really elevates this work above run-of-the-mill naval history and turns it into something special.”

—Warship

“By giving a fuller view of the Japanese side, Tully's work forces a substantial revision of the traditional picture of the battle. Battle of Surigao Strait is not only military history based on scrupulous use of a plethora of new source materials, but is a spanking good read. Highly recommended.”

—War in History

“If the vibrant international community of experts who study the Pacific War and discuss and debate it online can be seen as a mafia, then Anthony Tully is its consigliore. Whenever a question arises about the battle history of World War II in the Pacific—what really happened after the fleets collided, dive-bombers entered their dives, and shot met plate—he is the indispensable man. In this book he paints Admiral Nishimura's high-speed run into history with an entirely fresh palette of detail, from the command decisions to the after-action reports. It offers naval history buffs something fresh and easy to relish on almost every page.”

—James D. Hornfischer, author of Ship of Ghosts and The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors