The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-11-18
LARGEST CoMMUNIQUE

LARGEST COMMUNIQUE
wssHINGTON. Nov. II. -P-
r, " tsxt Of Navy Communicate No.
t "a detailing the recent naval &C
, ,oo in the Philippines;
~ Based on reports - necessarily
;,lSmplete due to the necessity OF
j.. ..dio silence for certain fleet
- 'sa' and the impossibility of hav-
. a,,', some offices in attendance at
a ms conferences because Of
continuing operations of fleet units
tSs following information is now
.railable on the second battle of
The Philippines;
ser;es Of naval engagements
and in terms of victory ones
~ T+d; may turn out to be among
tha decisive battles of modern
+ +t we're won by our forces
s .l,', three-pronged attack by
the japanese in an attempt to pre-
vent our landings in the Philip
nine islands.
The fact is known. Progress OF
+be tbree,day battle which began
October 'S % was promptly reported
~ the American public as far as
mi-jtarv security permitted. 1t is
row nossible to give chronology
.s, and diagamatic review OF the
second battle Of the Philippines,
which left the United States fleet
IN command of the eastern ap-
n, nroacbes 10 the Philippines, provid-
;ns support for General MacAr-
thurs invading forces and main
tanning without interruption the sea
borne supply lines pouring men and
munitions into the combat area.
The japanese are still wonder
inc what hit them. 1t is impos-
sibIe. therefore, to identify the
composition Of our naval forces or
n describe the dana ge-other than
loses-suffered by us in the three
day fight. All damage, however
was remediable and some of tine
United States ships hurt in the fight
are already back on duty.
We lost one light carrier, the
rss Princeton, two escort carriers,
the UsS Saint 10 and USS Gam
bier Bay, two destroyers, the OSS
Johnston and USS Hoel, and one
DESTROYER escort. the USS Samuel
B. Roberts and few lesser craft.
Against this, the japanese dell
nitely lost two battleships, four
carriers, six heavy cruisers, two
ligbt cruisers, and an undetermln-
ed number of destroyers. These
ships were seen to go down. so
severely damaged that they may
have sunk before reaching port,
and in any event removed from
action for from one to perhaps
six months. were one Japanese
battleship, three heavy cruisers,
two light cruisers and seven de-
stroyers. In addition, damaging
hits were noted on six battleships.
four heavy cruisers, one light
cruiser and ten destroyers.
The victory not only made pos
sible the continuing supply OF
men and munitions to General
Douglas A. MacArthur's success
tul invasion forces, but by its
magnitude can conservatively be
said to have greatly reduced fu-
ture casualties in both men and
Nater-borne equipment.
Like all battles, this one did
not Just happen. The engagements
m one of which surface ships
augged it out against each other,
aid in which the far-ranging car
flef-borne United States aircraft
0olh Intercepted and pursued en-
envy Ships with conspicuous sue.
cess' were preceded by a series
o. other actions which fall into a
0ellnlte, strategic pattern when
reviewed in order.
II.
rfelmlnaries to the showdown
Uslle can be said to have open
Gu with the landings on Peleliu
s III. Morotai southwest Of thu
MI rlnpplnes, on September IS
.HeSe landings in themselves were
m =. by a two-weeks serie:
VI tents and thrusts, by Vice Ad
. Marc A. Mitscher's carrier
l lssh lorce of the Third fleet, which
NJ. NY. The Japanese forces off bal
s s.se while whiting down tnei1
VIA ats4 strength by some 90|
.,l laese successes indicated tn,
Nv sSolAty Of advancing the dat,
~ @e invasion of the Philippines