The Battle of Formosa: Prelude to Leyte Gulf

[@blusofa8814]

I hope your pup feels better!

[@redtailpunk]

wishing the pup a quick recovery!

[@billbrockman779]

It’s great that you’re helping to bring a new generation of history buffs into better understanding of the complexity of the Pacific War.

[@corvus8000]

Indeed, channels like this have *vastly* increased my understanding of how the Pacific War was actually fought and my appreciation for the men who pulled it off. On a related note, I'm hoping once the refurbishment of the Battleship Texas is done and she's open to the public we can start having events like the one's Ryan's been hosting on the NJ here as well. In fact, one of the benefits of the Tex's new berth in Galveston is she's going to be right next door to a variety of hotels and restaurants so we can probably put together some very enjoyable events for attendees and speakers alike...

[@the-chow-hall]

This is fascinating, I'd literally never heard of this part of the campaign before. It adds so much context to the following weeks, I don't know why this is so infrequently talked about.

[@Ghauster]

Poor Trooper. 12 hours at the doctors is fun for no one. A great look into the battle. Thanks Ryan, Libby and the rest of the crew that bring us this content.

[@nigelterry9299]

My greyhounds hope you little hound gets better soon. Thanks for this series. A complex subject....

[@mkien1052]

Best wishes to Trooper!❤

[@ut000bs]

When I saw the title before I saw the channel I thought, "Now, who would finally be putting out a video about this important but not much discussed action? Then I saw the channel and I should have known. Ryan, I'd give anything to sit down and talk Pacific War with you. The study of WW2 and the Pacific in particular has been my main hobby for 55 years. I always thought it was a mistake not hitting Formosa first. They might have destroyed twice the number of Japanese aircraft. Thank you all so much for this. My uncle may have been on one of those tugs. I know he pulled a cruiser from over there somewhere once but I have no idea when or which.

[@timsimms65707]

I am a history buff, a model ship builder and collector, I enjoy these videos as both a refresher and a source of new information. Thanks Ryan and kudos on a fine wall of ships. I hope your pup feels better, pets are family.

[@petestorz172]

Japan had acquired the island of Formosa through the first Sino-Japanese War, and had occupied it for some 50 years at the time of this battle. It had significant air facilities.

[@andrewcubbage1007]

Thank you, I now understand why the Japanese carriers were used as bait at Leyte Gulf, and better appreciate how long the US aircrew had been in action for prior to the main battle. The latter had to have impacted their performance

[@emmgeevideo]

It's hard to imagine anyone more qualified than Ryan to be the curator of the USS New Jersey museum. He goes to work each day on the battleship and then comes home to the "Wall of Ships" to build model ships.

[@pruittiii]

Susie the Parson Russell/Beagle mix sends her best wishes to Trooper. Great video!

[@philiphumphrey1548]

Thank you for that. It really puts Leyte Gulf into perspective.

[@Philobiblion]

Your incursion into documentary is a success. Go Ahead, as Davy Crockett declared. I like it.

[@jeffsr8300]

Hope your pup has a speedy recovery. Thank you to everyone involved.👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@chetcalhoun613]

Interesting video Ryan, thanks!

[@JetsMakeWoosh]

Never knew why the Leyte gulf attacks were so ineffective till video brought to light Formosa

[@bobbenson6825]

I hope your puppers heals fully and quickly! I saw the title and for some odd reason, thought I had a new Drachinifel video to watch. This action was never much on my radar when I was a WWII buff so I appreciate this overview.

[@charlestuozzolo7283]

outstanding description of the Battle for Formosa. Nimitz had wanted to invade Formosa instead of the Philippines but JCS picked the Philippines. Imagine the size of 3rd / 5th Fleet at the compared to the entire size of the Navy today. Its a WOW.

[@JetsMakeWoosh]

Love hearing trooper in the background

[@silvermikeGA]

Hoping your pup makes a speedy recovery.

[@bobshalvoy2973]

I was reading about the modifications that Halsey had made to the USS New Jersey prior to it becoming his flag ship. Has Ryan ever done a video about those conversions?

[@1300BlueStar]

I remember him touching on the subject a time or two but I don't believe he ever did an in depth video on them. I'd be interested as well. If he has could someone please post a link?

[@Decrepit_biker]

Get well soon, little pupper!

[@mrbear133]

Hope your pup gets well soon!

[@emoishguy08]

I hope your pup feels better and gets lots of treats

[@douglasharley2440]

i am *loving* these videos on the battle of leyte gulf, much thanks! lol, i ain't no historian, but imo japan never had any chance. bold and brave acts, and a fighting spirit _seem_ like the keys to victory, but industrial might and logistics actually win wars. we could not even be approached in those spheres once we got rolling, and we were much too big and too far away to ever have a chance of being killed-off quickly.

[@jamessimms415]

Hope your buddy gets well soon. Lost two previous buddies (had three) & the third passed away this past mid May while being boarded as I had my first of two knee replacements (other knee was in late July this year..two w/in three months). I was in a rehab facility when he passed. As I knew I was getting the other knee done, it wouldn’t have been fair to adopt a dog from the shelter, then board it almost immediately. It’s been a too quiet five months & Im ready for more ‘buddies’ in the house.

[@mrbear133]

This is really great stuff!

[@NGC-gu6dz]

Greetings from Taiwan (ROC), fka Takasago-koku (Japanese), fka Tayouan (Dutch), fka Terranova (Spanish), fka Formosa (Portuguese), fka Dongfan (Ming dynasty). We have been "visited" by quite a few empires; some might say we still are. We don't have the airforce we used to from the Japanese era, although we do have some (US) submarines from that era still in service. The Japanese did not refer to Taiwan as Formosa, that was the allies. During Japanese occupation, Taiwan was just referred to as Taiwan by the Japanese. Colloquially we nickname Taiwan digua in Chinese, which means sweet potato, cuz it looks like a sweet potato. Good luck with the doggo.

[@bebo4374]

Give that little bean some ham or roast beef. He’s your most loyal friend.

[@stevea9604]

That ship wall is a significant upgrade 👍🏻😁🧐

[@edmoore1661]

Nice overview, Thank you!

[@robertkelley3437]

Would it be possible to have a tour of your wall of ships. Please.

[@matthewguerra5410]

USS Enterprise was also setup for night fighting, and conducted night raids operations during the Formosa Campaign

[@kospencer1]

I visited USS Iowa museum this June and was wondering what that little dot on the map on Formosa (Taiwan) is about, thank you for this video.

[@douglasharley2440]

lol, haven't gotten past the first few seconds, but just had to say that blinking light from your microphone shining onto your neck makes you look like a very humanlike robot. 🤣

[@Plaprad]

Shh. No one is to know of the "Curator 2000 series" yet.

[@douglasharley2440]

@@Plaprad *i'll be back!* ...to talk more about leyte gulf, and the battleship new jersey... 🤣

[@bigsarge2085]

Interesting!

[@tomhenry897]

Best wishes

[@titan941234]

As a Taiwanese, seems I have to watch this video to the end, even I just barely woke up.

[@davidvavra9113]

All the best to the beast!

[@joselitostotomas8114]

Vice Admiral Fukodome clapped his hands at the sight of planes falling out of the sky, saying, "Well done!" Later, he found that his planes were falling down. The pilots had no idea also what type of ships they're going to be encountering.

[@MinhNguyen-cn8kx]

Fantastico formosa... Respect from Vietnam.. Allahu akhbar

[@LRiper]

Have you thought of interviewing the last captains of the battleship? It would be a great video. Or at least other officers who are still alive

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zmq2ZKqDl9iKmMk

[@LRiper]

@@BattleshipNewJersey that’s great! Thanks!

[@ut000bs]

It was pretty wild how the _Canberra_ and _Houston_ were both totally incapacitated by only one torpedo. I think _Canberra_ might have suffered a lucky hit below that shaft that caused additional flooding. _Houston,_ though. I don't know. Her crew allowed her to survive the torpedo she got on the way home.

[@9OClockRant]

“Formosa” was a term used by Taiwan’s natives based on the ONLY local kingdom/government ever formed. It was short lived, but existed as an independent government for once.

[@FREDOGISFUUN]

I have a question, I noticed most battleships built in the 30`s have port holes in the hull. I heard that sometimes in wartime whey where covered and welded shut? I never seen any evidence as I know the Iowa`s had portholes ever? What where they designed for have and besides common sense as I would know? Maybe you already had made a video of this, let me know. Thanks

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

The Iowas never had portholes in the hull.

[@seanbigay1042]

Ryan: "I'm doing this from home because I just brought my dog Trooper home from the vet." Trooper: "How could you do this to me?" 😅

[@seanbigay1042]

"Have you heard? The Army and Navy are working together." "What? ... Oh, shit. We're dead." 😢

[@stephenhoward4471]

Not battleship related but I'd love to see a video on the collision of the Frank E Evans and hmas Melbourne from American point of view.

[@CSSVirginia]

Alied cruisers took a beating in the Pacific.

[@nathangottschalk1049]

Is c span going to be there. American history tv likes to cover things like that symposium. That would be awesome

[@akdonlh9924]

Hope doggy doing good

[@nancpatterson5178]

Healing wishes for your sweet canine.

[@mykofreder1682]

They not only eliminated the air force but the faint to Okinawa and Formosa may have had intent of having Japan prepare for the last defense of the island instead of the more distant Philippines. Japan being surprised and do nothing for a while may have been greater, as the invasion occurred, they were not ready but trying to figure out what happened. The landing location was near perfect location, a large island but not the main island, at least 400-mile round trip to Manila, backed by the open Pacific. There was a lot of territory compared to the small islands, the surprise and amount to defend it appears by the lopsided dead (Wikipedia says 20:1) the Japanese were not dug in and were almost incompetent.

[@tomhenry897]

Other then early warning couldn’t much to resupply the Philippines Didn’t have it or couldn’t get it there Taking out the Formosa planes was smart as that’s were the planes that caught McArthur off guard came from there and could threaten the American fleet

[@johnjones5354]

Is the symposium on Oct 26 going to be recorded for later streaming? Many of us that can't be there would love to see it.

[@MrTScolaro]

In addition to Independence, by this time many of the Essex class had a couple of night fighters each.

[@Tyrius8]

I love this ship, Ryan, If you play World of Warships Legends Its finally available again. Its the "AL New Jersey" Not the USS New Jersey. But I took that. Its the main reason i got the game. Now i just have to save up 3 more years for the Missouri and wait paitiently for Wisconsin. lol

[@Saiphes]

Last time at brunch the wife and mother had a battle of mimosa and it was not pretty.

[@BalshazzarWastebasket]

things every man should have at home: a box of tools, a medium-rare steak AND A WALL OF SHIPS!!!

[@petershen6924]

Japanese Joke: Rokuyō (a fortune-telling calendar in Japan) was more truthful than General Headquarter's Announcements.

[@kellyschram5486]

Last I checked the big e and Sarah where both trained to fight at night

[@saberace2213]

How good are you at Battleship the tabletop game Ryan?

[@pdxyadayada]

Is that a beagle? We had a beagle for 15 years…we miss Leo!

[@johnforgy4075]

it's odd that no one yet has written a full-length, scholarly account of this battle. John Prados, in his book Storm Over Leyte, pondered why the Japanese High Command decided to commit so much of their air power into this battle, rather than saving the air power for the moment when the fleet would initiate the Sho plan. It doesn't seem that there is any clear answer to the question, since the Japanese commanders apparently left no detailed record of their thinking at the time. I have wondered whether there are Japanese archival records that could provide more detail on this and other battels, but that have not been reviewed by Japanese historians, much less translated into English and other languages. Are there large numbers of Japanese histories and memoirs of the war that have not been yet been translated into English? I don't know, but I doubt it. I have heard that the Japanese after the war had a very negative view of the military figures who led them into war, and therefore few Japanese tended to write hstories and memoirs. It seems that much less is known about the war from the Japanese perspective than from the German perspective.

[@petestorz172]

Seth Paridon and Bill Toti did an almost 2 hour video about this battle, with guest Jon Parshall, kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2Gud5qdgq1lepI . Well worth it for those who have the time. This battle is the reason Ozawa's carrier force had very few planes.

[@scottl9660]

12:50 and that is why I argue that Pearl Harbor was the decisive battle of the Pacific War.

[@kevinpresley3136]

Wasn't the USS Houston a heavy cruiser?CA- 30.

[@billcattell5520]

Ryan was referring to the USS Houston (CL-81), a Cleveland Class light cruiser. It was named in honor of the heavy cruiser USS Houston after it was sunk during the Battle of Sunda Strait March 1, 1942.

[@kevinpresley3136]

@@billcattell5520 Thanks for the info.I did not know there was a light cruiser named Houston.:)

[@gregkarkowsky967]

OH NO! whats the doggie's name?

[@titanscerw]

Trooper, he is lovely.

[@pablononescobar]

You know things are getting bad when the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy actually work toegether!

[@ramal5708]

Second air massacre of the Japanese air forces, first it was the Philippine Sea. Also the Japanese overstated their combat casualties on the American sides, iirc the Japanese sunk 4 US battleships, 6 aircraft carriers and 2 cruisers. Which was false

[@rogerlevasseur397]

The crazy thing is that Japanese reconnaissance afterwards saw that the damage was minimal, but the exaggerated claims became news fed to the Japanese public.

[@hazchemel]

There are only six of the five battles of Leyte.

[@whatever8282828]

"Versus" is not plural and shouldn't be modified to singular

[@penultimateh766]

Except the entire American effort was a pointless failure, because by December the Japanese had completed operation Ichi-go which established a land bridge from Manchuria to Indochina and they could ship as much Indonesian oil as they wanted by rail.

[@alexwood5425]

So, it was just Americans there????

[@merlinwizard1000]

1st, 6 September 2024

[@Johnnyblash123]

Who tf cares

[@Yungefrau]

Congratulations, l am 131st........❤❤❤😂

[@charlesmaurer6214]

Family leave for the pet now? Glad your taking care of the little guy but seriously?

[@blacksquirrel4008]

Flex days

[@GeneCash]

He's not taking a complete day off work, he's doing a video. And yes, I get time off for pets and other stuff. OTOH, I'm fully willing to work a weekend for the company if they need me. Edit: I also work 10 hour days and get Fridays off, because I need uninterrupted time to write my stuff.

[@shawnhuk]

Absolutely! When you spend $1000+ on a purebred dog, you do what’s necessary to take care of them. We have insurance on our dogs (3 shepherds, & Siberian husky)… and we’ve gotten our moneys worth out of it over the last 12 years, certainly.

[@wa33785]

youtube.com/@user-zb8hk8nk4w?si=lgc3AVPzQabgCGSb #大本營發表 #大本営発表

[@petershen6924]

yep. After WW2,「大本営発表」(General Headquarter's Announcement) means lying with official standing.

[@tomhenry897]

Best wishes