Admiral Halsey was a loud mouth, hot tempered hollow leader. He was almost relieved 3 times. Once when he fell for the Japanese decoy fleet and left the small task force Taffy 3 on its own; then twice when he ignored his weather officers and steered his entire fleet into a monster typhoon, losing several ships and thousands of sailors. The press liked him and sold him to the American public. So the CNO did not relieve him, but it was close.
Yes, he messed but badly in the Philippines, and the day was saved only by the sacrifice of the brave men of the USS Johnston and Samuel B Roberts. But wars are typically won not by the side that fights perfectly but by the side that makes fewer mistakes.
Here’s a good video on the typhoon https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0CckJZPImtg (Pretty good channel, IMO) Actually, there were 2. In the case of the 2nd, he set course to avoid it, but then it changed course and nailed him.
Apparently those incidents inspired the military to do a mych better job of weather forecasting.
Halsey committed the cardinal sin of working closely with Douglas MacArthur to the point the two became friends during the Solomons/New Guinea phase of the war which made him a marked man. BTW If he hadn't gone after Northern Force and they showed up with enough ships, who would have caught the blame?
When your enemy lives and dies by Bushito, they don't leave your men on the ground or water much choice. As an admiral, he had more sophisticated options, like island hopping.
When my father, a 30-year career Air Force officer, was stationed in Hawaii in the late 1950's, we often vacationed on the windward side of Oahu at Wheeler Air Force Base. There were nice cabins for us to stay and a beautiful beach to swim. One day, my dad looked out the window to check on my younger sister who was playing in the surf. He exclaimed, "There is 'Bull' Halsey playing with Susan!" And sure enough, Admiral Halsey was sitting in the surf with my little sister acting like a 10-year-old kid!!! May he rest in peace.
Admiral Halsey was a loud mouth, hot tempered hollow leader. He was almost relieved 3 times. Once when he fell for the Japanese decoy fleet and left the small task force Taffy 3 on its own; then twice when he ignored his weather officers and steered his entire fleet into a monster typhoon, losing several ships and thousands of sailors. The press liked him and sold him to the American public. So the CNO did not relieve him, but it was close.
ReplyDeleteYes, he messed but badly in the Philippines, and the day was saved only by the sacrifice of the brave men of the USS Johnston and Samuel B Roberts. But wars are typically won not by the side that fights perfectly but by the side that makes fewer mistakes.
DeleteOr by the side that produces more war material. Kinda like Ukraine.
DeleteHere’s a good video on the typhoon
Deletehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0CckJZPImtg
(Pretty good channel, IMO)
Actually, there were 2. In the case of the 2nd, he set course to avoid it, but then it changed course and nailed him.
Apparently those incidents inspired the military to do a mych better job of weather forecasting.
Halsey committed the cardinal sin of working closely with Douglas MacArthur to the point the two became friends during the Solomons/New Guinea phase of the war which made him a marked man. BTW If he hadn't gone after Northern Force and they showed up with enough ships, who would have caught the blame?
DeleteWhen your enemy lives and dies by Bushito, they don't leave your men on the ground or water much choice. As an admiral, he had more sophisticated options, like island hopping.
ReplyDeleteWhen my father, a 30-year career Air Force officer, was stationed in Hawaii in the late 1950's, we often vacationed on the windward side of Oahu at Wheeler Air Force Base. There were nice cabins for us to stay and a beautiful beach to swim. One day, my dad looked out the window to check on my younger sister who was playing in the surf. He exclaimed, "There is 'Bull' Halsey playing with Susan!" And sure enough, Admiral Halsey was sitting in the surf with my little sister acting like a 10-year-old kid!!! May he rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteI don't ever remember reading that Halsey said there should be a cease fire to allow aid for the Japanese to get thru.
ReplyDeleteWhen we get through with them, the only place the Japanese language will be spoken is going to be Hell.
ReplyDeleteWilliam F Halsey, 12/7/41
His carrier 'raids' and the Solomon Islands campaign in the early part of the war earned him his place in history.
ReplyDelete