The Battle for Leyte Gulf: Symbolic Mathematics

On October 20, 1944, the United States began its invasion of the Philippines. The ensuing seven-week Battle for Leyte Gulf was the largest naval engagement in history. The United States committed 216 combat ships to the battle, but the Japanese could muster only 64. Knowing that the U.S. had superior naval power in the theater, the Japanese fleet split into three forces and employed a series of feints. The plan was to use one of the forces to draw the bulk of the U.S. fleet out of position. On October 24 this strategy worked when the U.S. Third Fleet was drawn away.