Political science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Political science - Essay Example The U.S. victory can be attributed to their decisive plans for naval control on the western pacific wing during the World War II. This operation was carried out with little knowledge of modern operational ideas. It is for this reason that both sides experienced tactical shortcomings that halted the entire mission and objective of the operation. This paper shall analyze the battle for Leyte Gulf with its main focus on the principles and art of military operation by the U.S. and Japan. In this regard the paper will focus on command decisions by the U.S. and Japanese naval commanders with a view of coming up with modern principles that can be applied in future operations. Principles of operation The success of any warfare mission depends solely on the ability of the commander to identify the aim, decipher the strategic factors of his operation, select and organize his forces and design a plan to achieve the objective of the operation. Normally, the commander’s role involves integ ration and coordination of an operation in a way as to inflict shock, disrupt and defeat the enemy. This is possible when the entire operation injects force on a totally different measure. In so doing, the commander ought to choose the correct course of action as dictated by ground factors by selecting factors pertinent to operations guided by the philosophy of operational art. The planning, synchronization and the conduct of operational functions have some impacts on the belligerents. This paper intends to discuss the aftereffects of the operational functions of the military in relation to planning, synchronization and execution. To achieve this aim, the impacts of the operational functions to belligerents in the Leyte Gulf operation will be discussed. The Leyte Gulf operation, also termed as the battles for Leyte Gulf, was a battle that occurred during the Second World War, from the 23rd to the 25th of October 1944. It aimed at the liberation of Philippines. Allied forces of the U .S.A and Australia and the Imperial Japanese Navy were the protagonists in the battle (Adamsky, 2010). The battle started with the invasion of Leyte’s island by the ground forces of the allied forces led by general Douglas Mac Arthur. The Japanese fleet took up the battle to defeat the invasion, but got defeated by the U.S. seventh fleet led by Vice Admiral Thomas Kinkaid and the fleet led by Admiral William. The battle got divided into four engagements which were the battle of Samar, the battle of cape Engano, the battle of Surigao strait, and the battle of the Sibuyan Sea. Preparation and Planning The main objective of the operation was to capture Leyte Gulf. The U.S. naval forces approached the attack using two axes, one under the leadership of Admiral Nimitz. This was designed to advance its operations towards a westerly strategic axis with the sole purpose of capturing the Marianas, Palau, Gilbert and Marshall Islands. The second set of forces, the southwest pacific forc es, under the command of General Douglas followed a northwesterly tactical axis all the way through Guinea and Morotai. The two axes were expected to intersect at Leyte. According to the leading commanders, the intersection would act as a stepping stone for effective takeover of Philippines. This was a strategic move in the heart of the operation as this was designed to cut off communication of Japanese sea lines disadvantaging their retaliation. In