Devastating US Navy Ambush - Battle of Vella Gulf Documentary

Four Japanese destroyers are racing into the Vella Gulf in the Solomon islands, on a supply mission to an isolated island garrison. Suddenly, from the darkness ahead of them come the silhouettes of American destroyers, then the sightings of torpedoes surging towards them. A few devastating minutes later, the Japanese ships would lie in ruins, as a devastating ambush played out.
To get early access to Historigraph videos and to support their creation, please support us on Patreon: / historigraph
0:00 - August 6th 1943
0:35 - The Battle for the Central Solomons
3:00 - The Tokyo Express
6:38 - The Battle of Vella Gulf
10:35 - Counting the Cost
► Twitch: / historigraph
► Second Channel: / @historigraphextra5461
► Twitter: / historigraph
►Facebook: / historigraph
►Instagram: / historigraph
►Patreon: / historigraph
Credits:
Artwork by:
/ chrisbyflanker
Lead animation by CKD Productions
Written, Animated, Directed and Produced by:
/ addaway23
Come join the historigraph discord: / discord
Sources:
Hara, Tameichi (2007) [1961]. Japanese Destroyer Captain. Annapolis: Naval Institute.
Mark Stille, US Destroyer vs IJN Destroyer: The Pacific 1943

[@williammurray1341]

"Mildly famous Captain" . Thanks for putting PT109 into the fuller story.

[@historigraph]

Yeah might be a seperate video going into that

[@jankorosec4890]

Nice cameo

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

@@historigraphit’s the Oppenheimer ending all over again

[@wilson2455]

that's how JFK permanently injured his back, thus suffering chronic, often debilitating pain until his assassination..

[@simongeard4824]

@@wilson2455 You seem to be arguing for assassination as a cure for back pain? ;)

[@jackhew93]

These animated ww2 battles are always a hit 🎯

[@Mechanized85]

nothing special, just another day learning the things, i feel nothing about it.

[@skeletonwguitar4383]

​@@Mechanized85you sound depressed, you okay?

[@FluppiLP]

as opposed to the American torpedos in the beginning of the war :D

[@Mechanized85]

@@skeletonwguitar4383 What the fucking hell are you saying about being depressed? I simply meant that I feel nothing. It doesn't mean I am depressed. I am kicking ass and actually fine.

[@martz5794]

@@Mechanized85bro stfu he was just asking if you were ok! No need to be an ass about it

[@robbielewis4740]

My dad served on the USS Moosbrugger. watching this, I was like, wait a minute, that's the ships' namesake, isn't it.

[@RampantFirefly]

Captain Hara knowing full well they were sailing into an ambush despite his warnings “oh no! My ship can’t keep up. I better lag to the rear… just ‘cause”

[@OOZ662]

I'm too lazy to look it up, but I'm pretty sure I recall Shigure being the sole survivor of so many engagements that it became part of her reputation.

[@kebasor]

Actually, before Hara took command, the Shigure and its division were considered among the worst in the Navy, so much so that he initially balked when told he was being assigned to command it. He did a lot of work to straighten out the crew, but it wasn't a feint that Shigure's engines couldn't keep up with other DDs. It plagued her throughout her career, and that made Hara's command later in the war to throw them into super boost all the more horrifying to the crew. Truly a lucky ship with a captain that knew what he was doing (after learning from his mistakes). It didn't carry on past his time as her commander, unfortunately for Shigure.

[@wolfu597]

I have Tameichi Hara's memoares, "Japanese Destroyer Captain" in my book shelf. The way he writes is exemplary when it comes to impartiality. In it, he doesn't hesitate to criticize, and praise, both the strategies and the tactics employed by both sides. The one thing I remembers the most is: Those with the benefit of hindsight, doesn't understand the burden of making split-second decisions. When the Shigure was lifted out the water in November 1943, they discovered that the American torpedo had left a two feet diameter hole in the rudder. When the engineers asked Hara how they'd managed to navigate the destroyer with the rudder in this condition, Hara replied: "The rudder has been sluggish in recent months, but we've been on dozens of missions since then and pulled through as you can see."

[@Guangrui]

Burke once remarked that the difference between a good commander and a bad one was 10 seconds

[@Bandog23]

Japanese naval memoirs are always fascinating

[@Guangrui]

@@Bandog23 and many were transparent lies

[@arwing20]

I never trust memoirs from officers. They will always twist things to make themselves look great or the enemies look stronger than they really were. German memoirs from WW2 and the book that inspired We Were Soldiers are good examples

[@SeattlePioneer]

[@fabianzimmermann5495]

To quote the very amusingly written history book Dark Waters, Starry Skies by Jeffrey R. Cox: "… the lead Japanese destroyer Hagikaze was the first hit, starting a large fire. The good news was the fire was quickly doused; the bad news was that it was doused by the plume of water from a second torpedo hit…" Originally the American plan had been created by Arleigh Burke, who also commanded the destroyer divisions from this battle. Moosbrugger replaced him just before the battle, which in earlier Pacific War battles usually led to disaster. But the destroyer captains convinced Moosbrugger to go with the plan they already knew and had trained for and since he had helped Burke in developing it, he agreed, which is why he used Burke's plan to great success.

[@westrim]

I'll bet there are Sumerian tablets complaining about a new chief coming to power and shuffling around what already worked just to put his stamp on things.

[@fearthehoneybadger]

This is what the USN was capable of when their torpedoes finally started working.

[@johnsmith9161]

I saw a video on the reason for the torpedoes not working and was surprised that the main cause was the force of impact was destroying the front of the torpedoes rendering the firing mechanism inoperable. The fix was not a simple one as I had always believed it involved redesigning the whole front of the torpedo to withstand the initial impact when striking the side of the ship

[@jimsharp5044]

My dad told a story of when something like 16 torpedoes were used to try an sink a Japanese transport. And they all bounced off the haul

[@peterwilkinson3979]

I 0:28

[@stanburk7392]

@@jimsharp5044 I guess the theory was if you hit it enough times eventually they punch their way through? Seriously though, what amazed me was the lack of testing when the torpedoes were put into production.

[@jimsharp5044]

@@stanburk7392 War time production. Get the stuff out there and hopefully it worked correctly.

[@Guangrui]

It's a small battle compared with air sea campaigns such as the Midway, but in cutting off the supply lines and sinking the destroyers that would have been part of the anti-submarine screen of fleet carriers and battleships, the engagement in the dark night of August 6 1943 was of strategic importance that should be recognized

[@jakewillits4678]

1943. Back when americans didnt support socialism because of adolf hitler and they all knew there was only 2 genders and you couldnt switch

[@hrunchtayt1587]

5:27 “Mildly famous captain” 🤪

[@rembrandt972ify]

He wasn't that famous in 1943.

[@LionlordEbonfire]

And there was a mildly famous book about that ship that was almost required reading in my youth. ( PT-109: John F. Kennedy in WW II )

[@joselitostotomas8114]

It's was the steady incremental improvements: 1. Replacement of defective torpedoes. 2. Effective use of radar by placing the most effective radar ship in the lead. 3. Creation and implementation of the Combat information Center to help division commanders and above "see" the tactical situation. It all started with a destroyer XO in the radar room and yelling to the bridge what he's seeing.

[@legoeasycompany]

Also cutting the DDs free from the cruiser line helps. It's crazy that it was a few days short of a year since Savo Island and the USN kept relying on cruisers in the narrow waters until they literally had none before even giving the destroyers the ability to range free.

[@andrewzheng4038]

⁠​⁠@@legoeasycompanyThe USN weren’t unique in employing cruisers the guard straits - after all many USN cruisers were lost at Guadalcanal to IJN cruisers funneling into those same waters. Experience also showed that destroyers had a rather short life expectancy if detected and fired upon by larger ships. USN failures at Guadalcanal were due to poor understanding of radar, bad communication, often simply incompetent leadership (like the USN cruisers refusing to take evasive action at Tassafaronga even when torpedos were already beginning to strike) and *finally* lack of creativity in employing destroyers (which in some ways circles back to the former *koff* Wright not understanding his own DD’s torpedo range *koff*). It’s not like giving destroyers free engagement was mutually exclusive with effective cruiser utilization, as Empress Augusta Bay and early Japanese victories showed The decision to switch to only destroyers was likely motivated by the fact that the Japanese were only employing destroyers and a few positively ancient light cruisers, because if Japanese heavy cruisers had gotten the drop on US DDs as they had done before the results would not have been so pretty

[@d.olivergutierrez8690]

They literally had the industrial capacity to give themselves the luxury of royally screw things up at the beginning, and then come back even stronger now using the same lethal Japanese tactics against them, “oh no my cruisers are gone... anyway, want me to introduce you to my little fellas here the Cleveland’s and Baltimore’s”

[@somerandomguy4812]

I think it really just speaks to how unrealistic the US had expected night battles to be. Whereas the Japanese Navy placed a premium on realistic night combat training since the 1920s and willingly accepted the loss of several destroyers during training accidents, the pre-war USN focused more on safety over realism in their training. The confusion and brutal nature of night combat was ignored in those exercise, making the lessons skewed. One of those being that destroyers were too vulnerable to heavier warships, and thus needed the escort of light cruisers and heavy cruisers. This wasn’t at all realistic to the Solomon Islands Campaign, and hindered Allied naval success. To be fair, the tactic of combing destroyers and cruisers in the Solomons had worked during Cape Esperance, but it’s still really surprising that it was only in July 1943 that the US Navy finally learned of the capabilities of the Japanese torpedoes (from Kula Gulf and Kolombangara, and from a recovered Japanese torpedo on Guadalcanal).

[@legoeasycompany]

@@somerandomguy4812 unfortunately Cape Esperance was more luck and a few other factors than the viable tactic if we take in the experiences of other battles like Tassafaronga and those two other battles mentioned are taken into account. It's also crazy that the assumption of IJN submarines hitting the ships with torpedoes rather than the long lances being better ranged thought still would have the USN risk cruisers in the narrow confines of "The Slot".

[@eitantovey2570]

Wow, a perfectly executed textbook attack down to the letter. A full surprise torpedo attack at the broadside, and crossing the T with the guns, while also waiting for the torpedoes to hit before opening fire. Absolutely stunning

[@sharkscrapper]

As a retired US Navy surface warfare officer I greatly appreciate the graphics and discussion. Keep up the great work.

[@joeschenk8400]

Great to see this battle animated. Capt Hara's book does tell this battle very well.

[@samschellhase8831]

It’s so interesting to me that naval ships can take so much damage sometimes, but can also go down in minutes from a single lucky hit. You could be hit with shells and torpedoes for minutes straight and still limp away, or one lucky magazine hit means you’re going down with almost all souls on board. 300 out of over 1500 people surviving, is horrific, really. Has to have been really demoralizing too

[@CydeWeys]

These destroyers are tiny, with total displacement under two thousand tons. That means they had very little armor, and any sort of impact (torpedo or shell) could do substantial if not catastrophic damage to them. The battleships were made to take a punch, and indeed the Yamato did, taking many dozens of such hits any one of which could have sunk one of these destroyers.

[@samschellhase8831]

@@CydeWeys still, was the Johnston that took hit after hit in the battle of the coral sea and only after a day of battle did it finally sink?

[@WeddingVegetables]

@@samschellhase8831 Yup, it's all about where the hits landed. Of course caliber was important but location even more so.

[@kisaragi_san1378]

@@samschellhase8831 battle off samar, but yes. there's also a few destroyers who had their bows completely sheered off yet managed to stay afloat (HMS Eskimo, IJN Suzutsuki, and technically the USS O'Brien are good examples)

[@GamerSnow3]

Such a shame that you don't have that iconic intro music anymore, for me it was such a unique feel when watching the start of your videos. Watched everyone and would like to comment that your documentary are outstanding. Great narration voice also!

[@Mechanized85]

Sometimes, it's good to have no music. it's better to find something that is truly suitable to your type, rather than settling for modern rubbish, popularized chaos, or mindless meme songs either any music that cannot match with theme. If there's nothing suitable, I wouldn't fucking bother playing any music at all.

[@kievbutcher]

​@@Mechanized85watch his older videos with music in the intro, it's not "modern rubbish".

[@GamerSnow3]

Im talking about his intro music at the start of each video, really set the tune for the video..@@Mechanized85

[@tomaung]

I agree with this sentiment as the intro music can really set the mood. Similar to having a show/channel with a distinct sound affiliated with it (ex: Mark Felton's intro randomly pops into my mind from time to time). Histriograph's intro even got me to downloading the Ryno's Theme just to hear that particular segment of the song.

[@SquidInJapan]

Frederick Moosbrugger was my great grandfather! Thanks for the interesting video! First time I’ve seen the battle talked about in a conspicuous manner. Some funny irony about the whole situation is that I actually live in Japan. Proud that via the efforts of men like my great grandfather, that this country went from being what was essentially a military dictatorship to one of the most desirable places to live in the world.

[@sjb3460]

Did you hear about Johnny Somali?? He is an asshole KZbinr that harassed the Japanese civilians. He is an embarrassment for our entire country. I am disappointed he only recieved a small fine and deportation. He should have been jailed for 10 years.

[@AbeBSea]

So you're stationed at Yokosuka or some such?

[@SquidInJapan]

@@AbeBSea I am not in the military, personally, though much of my family is. Oddly enough I just work as an actor here, so in terms of my work, no connection.

[@linguinatorschwartz9309]

@SquidInJapan -- So you're the round-eye who "gets it" in all of their WWII movies ?

[@SquidInJapan]

​@@linguinatorschwartz9309 haha, from time to time. Thankfully I mostly do voice acting these days, and that is a lot of fun.

[@bf61marc35]

Arashi just couldnt catch a break. First Midway, now this.

[@dude97x]

I have read Tameichi Hara's memoirs, it is fascinating to see the "birds eye" perspective of the events he described. I strongly recommend his memoirs, a very rare case of recorded history since so many of the destroyer captains died during the war and many who survived stayed silent.

[@Krywiggles]

This was an amazing video! Some years ago, I attended the United States Naval War College, and they really focus on the Naval Battles of Guadalcanal in November 1942. If you did a video on those series of battles, I guarantee you that those professors would definitely use your video in an academic manner. Keep up the good work, man!

[@skyden24195]

Wow, as they say, "slow and steady wins the race," or in this case, slow and steady survived the attack. Thanks for that extra note on Kennedy's PT-Boat. The incident is, of course, so often discussed but usually just from the point of the boat being rammed and then the aftermath. Pretty much never putting into context of the bigger picture within the overall conflict of the Pacific Theater of the war, i.e., why were the two involved warships in the area in the first place. (edit: word use spelling correction, i.e., where -> were)

[@SeattlePioneer]

> I agree. Placing Kennedy's disaster in the context of this larger battle was very useful.

[@badkittynomilktonight3334]

Tameichi Hara wrote a memoir called "Japanese Destroyer Captain" which is the second best book I have read on the naval conflict between the US and Japan. The best book being "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors". If you have not read this book its it an absolute MUST READ. Hara was involved is several key battles and brings a unique and fascinating viewpoint to the war.

[@christopherhanton6611]

very nice i must get this book for my kindle then ty.

[@jamespaul4618]

5:27 PT 109. I never knew that incident happened or the circumstances leading up to the event. THANKS for this information.

[@chrisjensen918]

Ive been a critic of many videos put out by others, i was a 16inch GMG and have seen some incredibly derpy videos. This however is VERY well done. This young man should be proud.

[@legallyblind393]

Thank you for always having captions ❤️😊

[@devildogcrewchief3335]

I hope that you do more of these videos explaining the smaller but yet important engagements of the Pacific War that get overshadowed by the much bigger naval battles.

[@darekkijewski713]

You are doing a great job focusing on lesser known engagements, thus preserving a fuller picture of the WW2 maritime history; I find your maps extremely helpful in trying to figure out what is happening in the course of a battle. Please, keep up the good job. Greetings from Poland, my friends!

[@Strathclydegamer]

Another fantastic video. I hugely appreciate that you post your stuff with proper subtitles ready to go!

[@mcnorcan]

Your content is among the absolute best historical material. And your narration is fantastic. Thank you.

[@JHruby]

Another terrific video. I really enjoy these videos, the animations showing the geographic view of the battles adds so much. Excellent work again.

[@aaronbussey3856]

Amazing video of a little known battle - love it! Thank you!

[@samhunt9380]

Enjoyed immensely. The graphics are simple but first class and support the narrative very well. Thank you.

[@--Dani]

Great content as always 👍🏻

[@Greg_Andrews]

I was glued to the screen! Great video man!

[@cbusdavecbusdave1408]

Well done - Thanks for explaining the tactics & strategy.

[@kilcar]

Excellent, concise. The Maps and such are wonderful and essential. Well done.

[@greghanson5696]

Great stuff as always!

[@jeffreyharris3440]

Thank you. I just listened to Tameichi Hara's memoir, and had trouble visualizing in my mind the battles he described. This animation was very helpful. Well done.

[@williamkirk1156]

Astounding. Thank you for sharing this.

[@jackland3387]

Great video. Informative and entertaining. Keep up the great work

[@DeaconBlu]

Great vid mate! Thanks! 😎👍

[@glitchtastic759]

Captain Hara’s book is my absolute favorite of war in the pacific. Love to see this action animated.

[@garyhughes2446]

That was a very interesting and informative video thank you keep up the good work.

[@larrywilson6900]

My father was a radioman on the USS Craven, DD 382. H8e was very proud of this battle!

[@asamann1738]

Thank you for doing all these small battles I’ve never heard of most of these and I looooove ship and plane battles from ww2.

[@stanleydomalewski8497]

Great Video, thanks for sharing !

[@kiwifruit27]

Excellent video as always, thanks

[@selfawaretrashcan4594]

Love your content man!

[@jeffbenton6183]

Thanks for including the old music at 7:40 I missed hearing it every episode.

[@jamesmcstein6758]

'A mildy famous captain' Oh you are a funny man 😂

[@daddiospatio]

Just discovered you to-day, subbed right away. Thank you!

[@davidwemyss7303]

Saw this as my first of this channel's videos. I enthusiastically immediately subscribed. My father, a non-com, his loyal troopers of the 1st Cav Division recieved extensive jungle warfare at Camp Strathpine from whom he called the finest jungle warriors ever; the ANZACs, before flanking the Marines, already in the horrific Island Campaign. WWII-PTO was Dad's first of his 3 wars, two of with his admired ANZACs. Vietnam may have been the Cav's evolution to airmobile, but many older non-coms, like my father, were trained jungle fighters well before thanks to the ANZACs. Proud of Dad, his beloved Cav troopers & the ANZACs. I have extensive diaries, maps, souvenirs from Dad's operations but the overall perspective of the battle movements too broad told from my American influencers POV, I found a personal POV that forms a detailed story, I think, because of who the presenter is & from. I'm an ANG Aviation veteran of Grenada & Panama, btw. I get the vibes the young man presenter is possibly from "Down Under"? Great job young man. "Whoever sheds his blood with me on this day shall be forever my brother..." THANK YOU.

[@ChaoticOrcPaladin]

Great video! Loved it.

[@tcsmagicbox]

Great to finally see the face behind the voice. Great content as always!

[@toawing]

an excellent judgment of tactics and use of radar combined with the efforts to fix the mark 14 giving a dramatic success.

[@tomfultz8793]

Thanks for great video. My father was on the uss craven dd382.i have heard this story dozens of times.it was a special day for us to remember . I have a copy of the ships log which i read often

[@Martiniboy22]

Great stuff as allways

[@chetanjejurkar7449]

The old music was pleasent and great to hear

[@keyslonsimon4571]

I love that he names the heroes who fought, they were not just nameless robots, they were people who had lives and I think that point is lost on other animated war channels

[@aaroncrudup554]

A very interesting battle. Thanks.

[@captainawesomesplayground5403]

Great video, thank you.

[@JessWLStuart]

Well presented!

[@johntempest267]

Outstanding post.

[@zovaynezovanyari5442]

Very informative and entertaining.

[@billhanna2148]

Thank you for your wonderful work.

[@historigraph]

Thanks so much for the support, means the world!

[@NinjaNezumi]

Wonderful video!

[@trlavalley9909]

Very cool TY for sharing.

[@manveerparmar6570]

Hopefully we get more videos in the future about the pacific sea battles of ww2

[@briancochran8356]

Clear detail. Very entertaining.

[@stephenkeen6039]

Well presented, I always wondered what went on during that time.

[@oneshotme]

I very much enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@warbuzzard7167]

Best New Year's wishes to you, laddie!

[@jayfrank1913]

Great video, as usual! Just one note on the pronunciation of USS Helena: It is pronounced, "HELL-en-uh," named after the capital of the state of Montana, Helena, one of the smallest state capitals in the US.

[@samarkand1585]

Do we really have to yell out the first syllable?

[@jurgschupbach3059]

Next to the Minute Man Silo

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

Making a ship after the capital of a land locked state? I’ll never understand that

[@noahbody9875]

If you had ever been to Helena you would understand why the first part is all capitals.@@samarkand1585

[@jayfrank1913]

@@samarkand1585 Emphasis on the first syllable, no yelling necessary. 🫢

[@robbabcock_]

Great video!

[@andrewsin383]

Thanks!

[@bigsarge2085]

Incredible!

[@nighthunter46]

Benn wanting to see this for a while and well what a nice suprise this was

[@jamesd3472]

Really enjoy learning more about these smaller scale battles and engagements, would love to see you cover some more of the ones in the Mediterranean between the British and Italians - there are some British attacks on Italian convoys that I think would make some really great videos!

[@morgan97475]

Love your content.

[@rajesrecipe2492]

Come On Historigraph!!!! Videos on British Pacific Fleet from the new year right ??? ❤ Waiting for it 🇬🇧

[@user-lw7om1sg1m]

Excellent work and very much appreciated on a little known pacific battle which I find interesting please can you make more on little known battles may I suggest the battles fought in China and Burma as well as Tunisia and Italy

[@coyote4237]

Thank you.

[@K3end0]

Excellent animation!

[@samschellhase8831]

5:56 Hara really asked ‘can you put that in writing’ and his boss gave it

[@Thirdbase9]

Everyone seems to focus on the Cruisers and bigger ships. It's nice to see some small ship coverage.

[@Boxxkarr]

Gr8 video!

[@user-if2wl1yb8m]

love the video's!!

[@user-hp5bc5cy2l]

You are amazing!

[@paulthetester1023]

So good .... a Pacific War doc with a voiceover that pronounces Rabaul properly. I find it too distracting if not done right, so this doco is a joy to watch. The content and animations - spot on too. Thank you.

[@turbo_timo]

Rammed a torpedo boat with a "mildly famous captain" ?

[@historigraph]

I’ve heard he did some stuff later in life, yeah

[@raphaeldacutan2310]

Yeah he's JFK aka John F. Kennedy

[@frankbodenschatz173]

Nice job reporting the battle.

[@MrMojolinux]

Very Good!! Now I think I more clearly understand the naval actions up The Solomons, just after Guadalcanal was won.

[@Henandi]

You make great videos, just wish they were longer

[@stevecastro1325]

Riveting story; great stuff!

[@ericmosher6969]

"mildly famous captain"

[@EdibleClown]

Arashi? The same Arashi whose actions at Midway essentially doomed the Japanese carriers?

[@Nuke89345]

Yep.

[@Kwaj]

4:28 "With no time to waste, Shigure was attached to Destroyer Division 4." *Hagikaze:* Welcome to the division! I heard you were quite a destroyer of good fortune. Hope some of it rubs off on the rest of us. *Shigure:* _(pauses)_ We'll see...

[@d.olivergutierrez8690]

Im literally unable to not picture this conversation as anime girls with high pitch voices, this is what media has done to me And i love it

[@Kwaj]

@@d.olivergutierrez8690 Agreed. Anime girls are a complete good in the world. No one will steer me any different.

[@markw2016]

PT-109, captain only MILDLY famous.

[@mguy8802]

Cool animation, one thing that would be nice is a compose in corner. Would make discerning the directions of the ships easier.

[@falconplays4170]

Amazing video as always

[@gavinmclaren9416]

As I started watching this, I was thinking that JFK's encounter was right around this time and place. Shure enough, it came out at 5:25.

[@historigraph]

Yeah thinking about making a video on that tale next

[@FarmerJob33]

@@historigraphGreat idea 👍