The Fate of WW2 Rested on the Last Battleship vs Battleship Engagement in History

The fate of the Pacific Theater of War had nearly been sealed in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. US forces had done the impossible. They had taken down over 600 Japanese warplanes leaving Japan's carrier forces crippled. Only about 100 aircraft remained to be split among the Japanese aircraft carriers that were still afloat.

Yet, the Empire wasn't defeated. Japan still commanded some of the most powerful battleships in the world, and they were gearing up for a desperate move to prevent America from seizing the Philippines. For Japan, losing this territory was synonymous with losing the war—an inconceivable prospect.

On October 25, 1944, Japan's "Southern Force," anchored by the veteran battleships Yamashiro and Fusō, charged into the Surigao Strait as a component of the "Sho-Go" defense strategy. However, they unwittingly sailed straight into an ambush orchestrated by the US Seventh Fleet.

The Japanese found themselves ensnared in the perilous and constricted waters, confronting six aging US battleships. Many of these ships had been resurrected after being sunk in Japan's assault on Pearl Harbor, and they were now primed for revenge.

With neither fleet benefiting from carrier support, sailors on both sides braced for the impending collision. History was on the cusp of recording the last battleship-versus-battleship engagement and it could seal the fate of the war…