The forgotten history of the major naval operations conducted in the Philippines by the US Navy and Japan after the Battle of Leyte Gulf until the American invasion of Luzon in January 1945.

The events that took place after the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944 are often overlooked by military historians. An impressive series of naval operations continued in the Philippines until January 1945, including (from the Japanese side) the largest troop transports to a contested island during the war, the first kamikaze campaign and the second largest surface operation of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the conflict's last nine months. On the American side, US forces engaged in efforts to isolate Leyte from enemy reinforcements, in a massive amphibious invasion of Luzon, and in extensive operations by the Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38).

Naval historian Mark Stille sheds new light on this often forgotten phase of the naval war in the Pacific. Among the actions covered are the battles for Ormoc Bay, the invasion of Mindoro, the kamikaze attacks, and the campaign of the US Third Fleet in the South China Sea between January 10 and 20, 1945. Exceptional artistic depictions of battles bring the war at sea and in the air to life, while maps and diagrams guide readers through a series of actions with clear, step-by-step detail.