Takeo Kurita
On the morning of 23 October 1944, American submarines detected and attacked units of the Japanese fleet coming in from the South China Sea toward the Leyte beachhead. The battleship-cruiser-destroyer Southern Force was attacked as it attempted to enter Leyte Gulf via Surigao Strait the night of 24–25 October. The more powerful battleship-cruiser-destroyer Center Force under Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita had been attacked by Admiral William "Bull" Halsey's carrier planes and presumably turned back from San Bernardino Strait. Admiral Halsey then sailed north with his carriers and battleships to engage a decoy Japanese carrier–battleship task force off Cape Engaño. This left "Johnston" and her small escort carrier task unit alone in north Leyte Gulf, east of Samar and off San Bernardino Strait.