Battle of Leyte Gulf: A Conversation with Drachinifel

[@Drachinifel]

Hello!

[@johnmclaughlin4292]

I'm a big fan. Thank you for laying out what would have happened had Kurita gone after the Ampib force. But had he done so, what would the effect have been on future operations? When would enough troop lift be available for Downfall?

[@caninedrill_instructor5861]

Hello Drach

[@darrellsmith4204]

That name sounds familiar..

[@Vito_Tuxedo]

Drach: Great job moderating the panel discussion downstairs! 😎

[@benjaminepstein5856]

Ahoyhoy! Can we please get a Five Minute Guide on Floppy? And maybe the armored cruiser Rurik?

[@v.mwilliams1101]

So glad to see Drach being recognized for all the great work he does bringing history alive. Thank you.

[@corey3301]

Agreed! I've been a fan of his since the beginning.

[@Arbiter099]

Excellent interview. Drachinfel has done invaluable work in bringing naval history to the public.

[@billbrockman779]

I’ve been watching Drach since I wondered if we’d ever hear his real voice or see him. Great progress; well deserved.

[@kyle_mk17]

Honestly he posts his face somewhat often in some of the more longer format vids of him going around the boats

[@Swellington_]

He’s been showing his face for years,or what’s your point?

[@exharkhun5605]

@@kyle_mk17 He started off kind of like an internet reclusive. At the start he had a text-to-voice narrator, he did a face reveal at Tankfest after a year or 2, he told us we'd probably never know where his username came from. He may have dropped his real name earlier but has been going by "Alex" in collaborations for only a few years now. I've only heard his last name on his current USNI videos.

[@hanslenk9603]

@@Swellington_ His point is that he has been watching Drachinifel for quite a long time?

[@shaunprice3922]

​@@hanslenk9603not long enough to see a Live apparently...

It shows how far Drach has come. In this Video he is interviewed about a US Battle as a Brit. That shows some Respect :)

[@falcorusticolus4360]

The first show by Drach I watched was "The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?". I usually like serious documentaries but the little bit of ironic humor he added was a nice touch.

[@dawnfallon6812]

That's also one of my favorites. Running is boring. His 'matter of fact' take combined with the dry wit makes the whole event so much more relatable.

[@seanbigay1042]

​​@@dawnfallon6812Oh dear, yes, that dry wit. "Faced with an enemy one of whose main gun turrets weighed as much as the entire ship, USS Johnston decides running is boring." Golden.

[@augustosolari7721]

Someone should make a compilation of all of his drachims.

[@philipmunger2556]

His episodes are the most error-free of any naval history KZbin channel. His commentary is always delivered in a narrative-based presentation that it quite interesting. Even his episodes devoted to one naval technology or another avoid being tedious, which is remarkable.

[@wilsonj4705]

And he is quite open to people pointing out errors and he will acknowledge them and will issue corrections when he can. Unlike a certain British history channel that I won't name at this moment.

[@johnmoore8599]

Nice to see Drac be a guest panelist at the US Naval Institute. Kudos!

[@DiggingForFacts]

The idea that Drachinifel's road to where he is now started with a frustrated grandmother going "That's it you little twerp. I'll make you eat crow: we're going to Portsmouth to see Victory" is all kinds of amazing to me. (I presume that in actuality she was a lot nicer about it, but that doesn't make for as hilarious an image upstairs).

[@kennethdeanmiller7324]

It's been, I think, about 4 years now that I've been listening to Drach. For me it all started with an interest in WW2. And that was how I found Drach's KZbin Channel. And I enjoy Drach not only because of the Naval Battles that he recreates for us in his own words but also he goes into great detail about different engineering aspects of these great ships. And although I had already heard the story about his Grandma taking him to see HMS Victory when he was 4 years old, I'd never heard him talking about his amazement that something made from wood could actually be so old. And, like he has said on many occasions, ships-of-the-line were a major testament to a countries technology. And that the more & more countries built there own ships, the more that technology grew & became better & better. And for the British Empire, they became so big not just because they had the best warships but because of the training their crews went through to make sure they were firing as twice as fast as their enemies. And also because of tactics as well. If an enemy ship saw a British ship about to rake them from the stern or bow, they were smart to surrender rather than let half their crew get murdered by the carnage of such a tactic. And all of this is stuff I learned from Drach. He has more interesting content in such a vast array of topics that it's incredible! He not only teaches us about the things that happened but how these great warships are made & all the different things that they use & need to be effective. And all the different types of ships & why they were built to do a certain task. And how they evolve into doing other things instead of the original task they were designed to do. Before too long he's going to have to do a show on Fleet Oilers. Cuz although they may not have fought many battles, a lot of ships wouldn't have had the fuel to fight if it weren't for those Oilers. And think about how many mines would still be washing ashore if it weren't for mine-sweepers. Once the war was over, those mine-sweepers still had a daunting task of making shipping lanes safe to travel! AND I would also like to say that it's really AWESOME to see Drach getting the recognition that he deserves. Cuz these programs that he has put on KZbin is major WEALTH of knowledge & in my eyes are truly a treasure! From the 5 minute guide on Dreadnought to the special on Able Seaman Just Nuisance & everything in between. Still my favorite is about HMS Revenge pulling off the "first Stealth Battleship" attack. And there were a LOT of stuff during WW2 that the British used for "misinformation" against the enemies. And that was a big lesson that the USA learned from the Brits. They employed that same concept before Normandy to make the Germans think that the BIG landing would be at Calais. And they had Patton carrying out that rouse. The Germans were totally convinced we had 75 divisions that were going to land at Calais.

[@dhjoe2966]

Drach always has great insight expecially into the mind of Kurita's withdrawal, possibly Lee's trapping the Center Force, tec.

[@ph89787]

Yay Drach! also love the painting of Enterprise in the background.

[@kennethraysealsphotography3513]

I felt that the panel did not give enough credit to the US air attacks that Kurita was experiencing as the reason for his withdrawal.

[@karlr750]

Adding to Drachinifel's comments about "a death by 1,000 cuts" and the effects of unsuccessful torpedo runs: It's my understanding that the escort carriers launched more sorties against Kurita's force than the 3rd fleet did the previous day in Sibuyan Sea (when they sank Musashi). Moreover, even when planes had nothing to attack the Japanese with, they would line up on a ship and "pretend" to do a torpedo run, forcing the ships to perform evasive maneuvers and disrupting their progress toward the transports. By overwhelming the Japanese (and therefore Kurita) with a blizzard of attacks and distractions, Kurita never had the space to think about the overall shape of the battle.

[@marknelson8724]

I think the escort carriers put something like 400 planes into the air. Not sure, but it was a lot. I seem to recall that one escort carrier said they had planes from eight different carriers land on their deck for a re-load. That must have been one of the closer escort carriers to the battle. When the wildcat fighters were replaced by the hellcats, the wildcats could be found on escort carriers as I believe they mostly looked for submarines and also aided ground forces.

[@kevinalkire]

@Drachinifel I can hear Ms. Drachinifel telling you the same thing my wife told me at our wedding, "When you sit down, for the love of God, unbutton your blazer!"

[@skeeterd5150]

Commented before I saw yours. Yep definitely

[@Drachinifel]

Is that a thing? 😂

[@Malorn0]

Yup.

[@revbagregg]

In the States apparently not in Britain. Great seeing you... You have been my go to for excellent and hilarious insight and the Drydocks were used by me to go to sleep. No offense. But triple expansion horsepower coefficients are the perfect stuff that dreams are made of!

[@kennethdeanmiller7324]

I agree! It's never been something that I had to personally. I don't ever wear dress clothes! And I think it may be rare for Drach as well! I know I usually see him wearing a t-shirt & jeans & aa far as I see it that is fine with me. I'd rather him be comfortable wearing whatever than dressing up and being distracted by how uncomfortable his clothes are! And to me, that is a thing.

[@73Trident]

Drach is my guy for Naval history in my time frame. Which is what he does. Nothing past early1950's. All the ships and battles previous of that time. I watch him all of his podcasts but the Drydocks are my favorite. Sunday mornings, coffee and a southwestern omlette make my day. Drach is respected and a guest on almost every WWI and WWII podcast. Thank you U S Naval Institute for having him for this presentation and thanks Drach for crossing the pond to to it.

[@larryneuhaus3705]

My Grandfather was at Leyte Gulf. His ship was the USS ASHLAND LSD 1, a landing craft transport ship. The landing dates for troops were 20 Oct 1944, 31 Oct - 9 Nov, 13-21 Nov 1944 for his ship. Many Kamakazi bombers flew their planes directly into many naval ships during this battle. He was also at Imo Jima. There is a photo of the ASHLAND with Mt. Saribachi in the background that I found in Naval records.

[@davidknight2220]

Certainly the best naval history KZbin channel the commentary is delivered in an informative way that makes it really interesting.

[@markmclaughlin2690]

My Father Kenneth McLaughlin served on USS Gambier Bay

[@charlesjames1442]

My favorite is the essay on the Russian Second Pacific squadron.

[@VladimirPutin-p3t]

Classic!

[@kingleech16]

There’s a book “The Tsar’s Last Armada” that goes into it as well. It looks into Russian Intelligence at the time as well as the politics that contributed to the whole mess.

[@FrankBarnwell-xi8my]

5 minutes is nice. The 8 minutes is better. 6 hour drydock is wonderful

[@devobronc]

The Drach Fans look forward to the Drydocks...and especially the Patreon Drydocks.

[@ceberskie119]

It's fascinating to listen to Drach a civilian historian who speaks with brevity outlining an event as a piece of history very well. Vs. A man who's very clearly worked in or with the military using military command jargon to present the same information from a different angle

[@therealniksongs]

Drach brings his engineer's perspective to naval history. Always entertaining and informative.

[@edroosa2958]

Nice video. Good to get more insights about Drach

[@USNavalInstitute]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Hearing Drach’s real name still feels a little weird. Is this what it was like for The Justice League when everyone learned that Batman was Bruce Wayne?

[@mkaustralia7136]

Nice analysis by Drach of why the IJN did not have their Kantai Kessen decisive battle moment. Contrast with the panel discussion which nominated Philippine Sea and Leyte as the decisive battle. I think Drach’s analysis is better.

[@whatsoperadoc7050]

I love Drach! Glad to see him here!

[@kennethraysealsphotography3513]

Thanks Drach and great job! What a great coincidence. I just finished the YT Channel WW2 Tales series on the battles related to Leyte Gulf. This program really added to my understanding of those events. As grandfather two USNA cadets, class of 2028, I have a new motivation to learn more US Navy history. I have been enjoying this YT channel for years, though!

[@TomFynn]

The US NI Five Minutes Guide to Drachinifel 😁

[@therealniksongs]

And appropriately longer than five minutes!

[@Kwolfx]

Good to see Drach here. The more I’ve read about Leyte Gulf, the more I’m convinced that the actual if unstated goal of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff; the people who did the planning for IJN operations, was to give the Imperial Japanese Navy a chance to die with honor. (Their concept of what would be an honorable death.). Even though Force A (Center Force) official goal was to attack the transports off Leyte, to do this would have put all of Center Force ships in a place where it would have been virtually impossible to escape from. To stop or seriously disrupt the landings at Leyte, the American invasion force would have had to have been spotted two or three gays before the actual invasion to give Center Force a chance to intercept the landings or fall upon it within a day after it arrived. The invasion of Leyte began on October 20, 1944 and Center Force didn’t even sail from Brunei until October 22. By that time the troops and their initial supplies had been landed. By the time the Battle off Samar took place on October 25th, there were not as many transport ships left and the U.S. 6th Army probably had the bulk of what they needed ashore for the next thirty days. The Japanese command staff weren’t stupid. Crazy by Western standards but they could “run the numbers” and make a reasonable guess when their forces needed to arrive to actually achieve their stated goal. The entire operation became a suicide mission without it officially being called one. Whatever mistakes Admiral Kurita may have made, he wasn’t a willing kamikaze and he wasn’t going to throw his men’s lives away as well as his own. For that reason, I respect his final decision to turn away from Leyte Gulf. (To be clear, this was separate from his decision to break off the action Off Samar.)

[@Mugdorna]

Drachs episodes on the Russian Baltic fleet sailing to Japan is required watching

[@crazypetec-130fe7]

His expose on the Mark 14 torpedo is priceless.

[@jmack7615]

Fantastic program. Drach's channel is incredibly informative and well done. Thanks!

[@therealniksongs]

Big fan of Drach and love when he collaborates with other content creators I enjoy like Ryan from Battleship New Jersey, Chris from Rex's Hangar and Seth and Bill from The Unauthorized History Of The Pacific War.

[@Waltham1892]

When was an Army Officer I used to reed Proceedings. Drove the West Pointers nuts.

[@joechang8696]

The separate commands between Kincaid and Halsey would not have been a proper had MacArthur not mandated that 7th fleet was not to communicate directly with 3rd fleet

[@stevefolta]

Edit fail at 22:00. (Also the left and right audio channels were backwards; it should've been mixed in mono anyway.)

[@peterkoch3777]

It is Drachenfels... one of the 7 mountains (actually hills😂) visible from Cologne in the south. There is an old castle and a lovely palace on that mountain and a small gauge train going up🎉❤

[@darrellsmith4204]

It's only "THE" decisive battle if you win it..

[@wmjdyer]

I would argue the opposite: The paradigm for Japanese doctrine, supposedly inspired by Mahon, became the Battle of Tsushima, which was quite decisive (although in opposite ways) for both the Japanese and Russian navies.

[@hoihoi4126]

Drachifinel continue your mission! Your voice and exploitation of the matter. Combiend whit the héroïque deeds of those that came before us. I enjoy à lot of old vidéos of you, when i was down on my life and perpuse in life. Your voice helpt me to sleep. I got it back togheter now after à long time. I am in the french foreign legion ( 2 REI à Nîmes) thanks for all the vidéos end thé historie, your voice helpt me go à sleep(!!!!!!)for those in your vidéos à lot of times the ods where non existing the guys overwent hell to see victory.(and the history behind construction and simple thoughts of those who where at the top) I respect you for what you do and for what you represend and please continue for the next person to hzlp him up

[@jaredray7034]

Wow. I didn’t realize how much Drach and I had in common. I was in elementary school when I got hooked on Naval history. I loved to check out the library books for kids regarding steel warships. Everything from frigates to battleships of the 20th century. I suppose it helped that my dad was a naval aviator during the Reagan era. His obsession was the airplanes, rather than the ships they flew off of. 😊

[@skeeterd5150]

Drach will learn how to sit in a suit one of these days! Unbutton dude

[@poilkjmnb3814]

Woah Drach! The ladybird series on Nelson was the same book which hooked me on tall ships as well halfway on the other side of the world.

[@ronstewtsaw]

Are my speakers backwards, or is it the mix?

[@lewis7315]

My Dad was driving a landing craft at the Leyte invasion, as he had done across New Guinea. I likely could see his landing craft at Leyte on the great Ww2 series of combat cameraman footage "Victory at Sea! Also plugging the great Hollywood war series "The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance"

[@davidnewman8470]

My favourite Drachinfal esisode is Chokai v Godzilla

[@davemehelas5053]

All the questions we wanted to hear answered

[@cabin4999]

My right ear loved this lecture

[@Yrthwrym]

A history podcaster that I like frequently (sometimes very frequently) uses "the lady bird book of kings and queens of England" as a source. I can't think of an ubiquitous US equivalent. He's also quite fond of "1066 and all that" which I purchased and read, but apparently installed wrong because I can't find the part that is funny or insightful. Maybe it's just not meant for me.

[@Taz_XE076]

My right speaker loved this video...

[@hughstewart6318]

Nothing wrong with the contents (which I watched to the end), but I was very irritated by the fact that the left-hand speaker was in the right channel and vice-versa -- i.e. the stereo was transposed. Oops.

[@michaelhanson3739]

Found Dranch on a rando search about Guadalcanal and I’ve watched mostly all his videos about WW2. Pacific and Atlantic theaters. Extremely interesting. But turning 40 its part of the American DNA to become a WW2 encyclopedia.

[@michaelmcneil4168]

It was a mistake to hold this either side of the audio reflector.

[@mykofreder1682]

MacArthur was in charge of the operation and let the navy do what they want. He was so detached from navel operation he did not order certain most likely battleships, old or new, to be stationed on the flanks and will not leave for some chase or enemy spotted. The Guadalcanal night operations should have told him his landing would be a target and at least at night anything can happen regardless of scouting reports.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

Drach rules supreme. 🌊👑⛵

[@exharkhun5605]

Would there have been a Halsey class of ships if he hadn't let himself be distracted by the carriers? If not, were the typhoons also to blame?

[@nowthenzen]

Alex Pocklington? I'm keeping with Drach.

[@williestyle35]

Yep. "the man, the myth, the legend..." Drachinifel himself at the UNI

[@jacksh-t1023]

EXCELLENT !!!

[@miamijules2149]

We get Drach and we get Drach in a suit?! Ballin’ out of control. Lolol P.S. Hardest working man on KZbin…. for sure….

[@davidpitchford6510]

Drach is just great.

[@aaronseet2738]

Not sure if the stereo was necessary.

[@davidhatton583]

lol… reading since age 4… not surprised in the least!… definitely a smart guy and an astute historian… not given to hero worship or black and white discussions of history

[@carlrossi7989]

Fantastic.

[@TrappedinSLC]

How many Drach 5 minute guides are *actually* 5 minutes?

[@michaelholt8590]

If I'm ever the captain of a warship that is going into battle. The ship will have a large stereo and speakers and we will ride into battle blaring the song from Wednesday Warships.

[@Pylon360MeteorMissles]

A Recommendation,Carroll Quigley's Book "Tragedy And Hope-A History Of The World In Our Time".

[@seanbigay1042]

Question: Why "Drachinifel?"

[@seanbigay1042]

He's half Bolivian, and on a visit there found a clan of German Mennonites living in the Andes who call the place where they live "Neue Drachinfel," a name which mutated into "Drachinifel." Did I get that right?

[@takeohtyme]

Are my ears broken, or does drachs voice come fromthe right and the lost from the left?

[@jrdougan]

Yes, either they got the microphones backwards or flipped the stereo channels in processing. I'm just wearing my headphones backwards to fix, some audio systems have a LR flip switch that could be used, or a mono switch.

[@alitlweird]

My Grandfather fought at Leyte. 🇺🇸

[@shaunprice3922]

This whole "interview" struck me that the host had little or no idea what he was asking about, and Drach basically salvaged it by taking control of the questions. Salute to Drach, this other guy...hard pass

[@1982nsu]

I consider myself as a naval history buff but if I were to be seated next to Drach I would start stuttering in recognition of Drach's immense knowledge and command of naval history.

[@shaunprice3922]

@@1982nsu huh...I would be impressed, amazed, and be myself. Drach is himself, he doesn't come off as overpowering. Technically he's a civil engineer, we just all respect him as an historian (for good reason). But if I were a professional in that field, I'd not be intimidated (as a fan probably quite the opposite, but as Dr. Clark would say, let's leave that to one side). I'd welcome the views, but this interviewer started looking awkward a few minutes in and never stopped

[@merlindorfman6570]

Probably would have been better to have the editor of Naval History magazine (Eric Mills?) do the interview rather than the editor of Proceedings.

[@ferallion3546]

Drac!

[@oceanmariner]

When the USS Frank E. Evans DD-753 was sunk buy the HMAS Melbourne the 3 Sage brothers were killed in 1969.

[@dcimedic]

Drach people wonder why I’m full of so much interesting but useless information and my long commute is exactly that reason 😂

[@logicbomb2614]

Drach the man the legand

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

This was a good discussion but it was on an entry level. I was curious to see of Alex would refer to the The Battle *_OFF_* Samar - as the The Battle *_OF_* Samar as he had repeatedly done in the past - to the point where I'm pretty much certain he is doing it on purpose - but he didn't refer to it by name though the USNI Editor did refer to it properly. The thing I think they missed out on - was the Japanese concept of the war as the Minor Naval Power. One thing that dominated WWII in the Pacific - which the Japanese were fully aware of - was that any losses they inflicted on the Americans - the Americans could replace - whereas any losses THEY suffered could not be replaced. So - you have two occasions where the Japanese had great success in gaining potential access to the Allied Transports - and went home. At Savo Island - they had defeated the screening Allied forces and sunk 4 of their cruisers but then turned for home rather than going after the Transports. Here again - at Leyte Gulf - their over all plan - was to sacrifice their carriers to lure Halsey away for the purpose of getting access to the Allied Transports - but then when they succeeded - turning back. I think Alex's point about Kurita is well taken. The man was IN the water. So - it is not surprising that he didn't run a very good battle. First off - he ordered a General Attack - releasing his ships to engage the enemy on their own - but - then as his lighter forces were closing in on the rest of the American Carriers - he had no idea what they were doing - and recalled them to reclaim control of his ships. Here - with the basic Japanese Plan being to sacrifice their Navy to disrupt the landings in the P. I. - Kurita fell back on the idea that he had to preserve his ships. Here - I need to emphasize that the Japanese KNEW that they could not maintain a Navy. Their fuel was down in the South - but their maintenance and armament - was in Japan. Ships that had access to Oil - could not be maintained or armed. Ships that could be maintained and armed - would have no fuel. US Submarines had successfully blockaded Japan. They could not ship oil from Indonesia to Japan because the US Submarines were going to sink it. Thus - this was intended to be the Death Ride of the Japanese Navy. But - Kurita fell back on the idea that he had to preserve his ships - as they could not be replaced. Here - one of the worst things that can happen to a Naval Command - is for the Commander to be wounded - but not killed. They become impaired - their decision making is hurt - but - they won't give up command. A current example of this - is Biden. Age had impaired him - but he refused to giver up command - until his party basically forced him to do it. A similar situation was with the _Graf Spee_ where it's Commander had been injured and made some poor decisions. For Japan - only 70 years after the Meji Reformation - in 1870 - they didn't really know what they were doing. They could fight their ships - but - the way they used them strategically was mistaken. . .

[@bloodgrss]

Wow, guess you needed to vent like this today-but do you expect any of us to read it all?

[@nathangillispie51]

That is NOT the way i pronounce drachinfel in my head lol

[@hoihoi4126]

Davai drachinifel à walking histoire collection

[@hoihoi4126]

I enjoy à lot of old vidéos of you, when i was down on my life and perpuse in life. Your voice helpt me to sleep. I got it back togheter now after à long time. I am in the french foreign legion ( 2 REI à Nîmes) thanks for all the vidéos end thé historie, your voice helpt me go à sleep(!!!!!!) à lot of times and the ods the guys overwent to see victory. I respect you and please continue for the next person to hzlp him up

[@hoihoi4126]

This is not my old acount. Have this for 3 years because of the legion

[@douglasharley2440]

lol, drach is much physically bigger than i would have guessed! 😂

[@waynesworldofsci-tech]

Hi Alex!

[@Drachinifel]

Hi 😀

[@waynesworldofsci-tech]

@@Drachinifel Watched both videos. You do a great job, simplifying things, and adding the context needed. Sent you a book a couple of years ago of RN officers post-WW1. Hope it’s been useful.

[@robintaberner]

I never knew Drach’s real name…….

[@PalleRasmussen]

Drach in shirt and suit!!!

[@dukeofgibbon4043]

Clean, dry narration for excellent sleep.

[@kearnsdouglase]

Booze Allen? Kidding me?

[@Ansset0]

Collabs and advertising another channels should be punishable by week with my ex-future-mother-in-law 😜😁

[@mbryson2899]

I've been introduced to a decent number of interesting channels via collaborations and recommendations. Did your mileage vary?

[@Ansset0]

​​@@mbryson2899 If you're attending concert of Metallica and suddenly, without warning, Miley or shakira starta to perform, you'd be okay with that? Drachinifel's channel is his channel. He can do whatever he wants, that's his right, yet I'm disappointed in any and all unannounced collabs.

[@mbryson2899]

@@Ansset0 It was FAR from unannounced. Drach referred to it at least twice on his channel. Also, it's right there in the title. Lastly, _this isn't Drach's channel._ In '07 I went to a Nine Inch Nails concert, the opening acts were Peaches and Bauhaus. It was a great show, and the crowd was a wild mix of people but they were all fun. It was an unseasonably hot day so I applied electrical tape *"N I N"* pasties to my wife and our two friends so they could take their shirts off. Soon I had a spate of requests from other women who wanted the same; metalheads, goths, clubbers, hippies, I taped over twenty pairs before I ran out. At least one other fan emulated the favor, a big older biker, who gave me a bear hug and spin as we laughed. That's a collab I'll never forget.