During World War II, William Frederick Halsey, Jr. was one of four to reach the rank of fleet admiral in the United States Navy. His aggressive campaigns and daring tactics led to many victories, however they also made him a controversial commander. Although, Halsey was praised for his accomplishments, many people had many controversial opinions on Halsey because of his failures at Leyte Gulf and “Halsey’s Typhoon.” Despite his mistakes, Halsey left an positive impact in World War II, because without him and his tactics, the U.S. may not have defeated the Japanese. Through his contributions of leading operations, commanding, and supporting U.S. territories, William Frederick Halsey, Jr. played an important role in World War II, but he made …show more content…
Specifically it was 105 high-level bombers, 135 dive-bombers and 81 battleships from Japan. In their first attack, they sunk the Arizona, Oklahoma, West Virginia and California. The second attack, was hampered by smoke and created less damage. Halsey was at sea at the time of the Japanese attack, thus he led Enterprise, the task force that attacked Japanese positions in the Gilbert Islands while serving under Admiral Chester Nimitz. Later, he helped organize the air attacks on Tokyo in April 1942 known as the Doolittle Raids, a major U.S. retaliation towards Japan for Pearl Harbor. As a result of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s determination to bomb the Japanese immediately to raise American confidence, Halsey and the Enterprise’s troops provided protection for the entire Task Force 16. At the end of the Doolittle Raid, American confidence increased due to its success and territorial …show more content…
He successfully defeated the Japanese in the Palaies, Philippines, Formosa, Okinawa and South China Sea using air strikes. He was responsible for covering U.S. land operations and finding and destroying much of the Japanese fleet in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. On October 24, 1944, Halsey fell into a Japanese trap. He headed north with all 64 ships to attack Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa. Halsey's scouts sighted Ozawa's carriers and believed Kurita's forces were defeated and retreating so Halsey chose to pursue Ozawa without properly informing Nimitz or Kinkaid of his intentions. His planes succeeded in crushing Ozawa's force, but due to his pursuit he was out of position to support the invasion fleet. Kurita had reversed course and resumed his advance towards Leyte without letting Halsey know. In the resulting Battle of Samar, Allied destroyers and escort carriers fought a valiant battle against Kurita's heavy ships Alerted to the critical situation, Halsey turned his ships south and made a high-speed run back towards Leyte. He left the San Bernardino Strait unprotected and Kurita saved the situation when he retreated of his own accord after becoming concerned about the possibility of aerial attack from Halsey's carriers. Despite the stunning Allied successes in the battles around Leyte, Halsey's failure to clearly communicate his intentions and his leaving the invasion fleet