Comments by "Admiral Tiberius" (@admiraltiberius1989) on "The Drydock - Episode 094" video.

Fantastic video as always Drach. The Spruance/Cunningham debate is always a good one. Cunningham was the perfect Admiral in the perfect situation with imperfect assets and resources. Spruance only really gave into his passions once. He personally led a gun line into bombardment range of Truk. He was a black shoe after all. But on the same coin he did deploy his battleships as a trip line during the Marianas island campaign. They chewed up and broke up the main Japanese attacks. He also kept his aggressive and determined carrier officers on a very short leash and reminded them their job was to protect the Marines and Army. I'm still waiting on my etsy print. I'll let you know when it comes in.
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@John-ru5ud that's why I said he was a Black shoe, black shoes being the foot wear worn by surface officers. Spruance never tried to extend battles, he'd hammer the opposition in his time allotted and thats it.
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@bkjeong4302 Truk was the inner black shoe coming out, as far as Okinawa, well if the Yamato survived the rain of bombs and torpedoes what else was he to do ?? Forming a gun line is your last option. And that's one minor black spot on a stellar career. Mitchsner also fully supported Spruance. At the Marianas he rebuked his subordinates who tried to argue for a more aggressive approach. Once Spruance handed down the plan, Mitchsner was happy with it.
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@John-ru5ud well the black shoes comment was mainly for people who don't know but I should have clarified that. I'm not a Halsey fan once you get past the Solomons campaign. The two typhoons and Samar leave a bad taste in my mouth.
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@bkjeong4302 I've never read or seen anything that his first choice was to form a gun line as the primary method of stopping Yamato. He most certainly did order it but that wasn't going to be the primary option. It was also was the easiest first step to take.
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@bkjeong4302 Halsey and his unnecessary aggression almost caused a disaster, he should have learned from Spruance and let the Japanese come to him. His job was to protect the landings.
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@bkjeong4302 you really need to check your history, losing 12 escort carriers. 30 plus escorts and hundreds if not thousands of troops ashore would indeed qualify as a disaster. Not to mention all the supply ships that were needed to support the troops ashore. You can keep arguing this but basically anyone who matters agrees that Halsey acted foolishly and recklessly.
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@bkjeong4302 ummm you do know that troops ashore require constant supplies and reinforcements right ?? I dont think you have a firm grasp of tactics or strategies. And if the Japanese eliminate Taffy 3, how long before the other escort groups are found ? They can't really run, Halsey couldn't save them.
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@kemarisite I'm not sure, I believe I read it in one of Hornfischers books, I know I just butchered the guys name.
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@John-ru5ud I'm just not sure, Halseys aggression becomes a problem when the nature of the war shifts. At the Marianas the US Navy let's the Japanese throw the kitchen sink at them and they basically annihilate it without breaking a sweat. Spruance sat back and let the battle unfold then when he was absolutely confident of victory he throws a hail mary of a strike as the Japanese are attempting to retreat. Halsey would have gunned for the Japanese right away and I don't know if that would have worked out as well.
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