Board Thread:Game Updates/@comment-3502824-20171207155334/@comment-33547210-20180130182853

"He believed strongly in concentration as indicated by his writings before World War II." Considering the forces at his disposal, this was silly. Halsey's 3rd Fleet had more firepower at the time of his decision than the entire Japanese Navy. It was his responsibility to cover the San Bernardino Strait. Nimitz deserves part of the blame as well, as he gave Halsey the leeway to abandon the Army and the 7th Fleet. There are tons of people who bear a small portion of the blame, but as commander of the 3rd Fleet Halsey bears the ultimate responsibility. My judgment of Halsey isn't harsh because of what happened, but because what could have happened. Had Kurita correctly identified Taffy 3, loaded HE, and formed a battle line, he would have decimated Taffy 3, Taffy 2, and done massive damage to the 7th Fleet. He might have even gone on to massacre the landing force, which was larger than the D-day landing force. None of this would have changed the course of the war, but it would have resulted in a massive loss of life.