He Crushed an Empire: The Story of Navy Hero Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey

Warfare History Network

History, Asia

Here's what he did.

The storm did not dampen Halsey’s aggressive spirit. Once his ships were mended, he requested permission to raid the enemy in the South China Sea. This he did throughout December 1944 and January 1945. His planes ranged far and wide, destroying what was left of Japanese commercial shipping and land-based planes from Saigon to Formosa.

Just before dawn, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise turned into the wind to launch her planes. Nervous and excited pilots roared into the darkness of the vast Pacific toward the unsuspecting Japanese. The “Big E” would repeat this scene many times during the war, but this morning, January 31, 1942, in the Marshall Islands was the first time since Pearl Harbor that an American surface vessel had struck an offensive blow.
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On the flag bridge, watching the planes disappear into the gloom, stood Rear Admiral William F. Halsey, overall commander of the U.S. Navy’s Task Force 16. He would still be on the bridge, chain smoking and chewing his nails, when the last pilot returned in the early afternoon. Then he turned tail and raced back to Hawaii. Angry Japanese bombers pursued him ineffectually until dark.

The quick strike and rapid withdrawal became Halsey’s trademark in the early days of the war. Delighted sailors called his hurried retreats, “Hauling ass with Halsey.” Halsey struck again on February 23, this time against Wake Island, and again on March 4 at Marcus Island (Minami-Torishima), just 900 miles from Japan.

For his encore in April, Halsey would command the naval force that carried Colonel Jimmy Doolittle’s strike group for their attack against Tokyo. When the Doolittle task force was discovered, it was Halsey who made the decision to launch the planes early.