The fun was temporary though as the most decisive air and sea battle of World War II was about to take place. On October 20, 1944 and insidious is all on the central Philippine island of Leyte occurred. The Japanese answered with Sho-Go (Victory Operation), a plan to decoy the U.S. 3
rd fleet north away from the San Bernardino Strait, while deploying a three-prong attack with the 1
st and 2
nd Attack Force and the C Force on the Leyte Gulf. Submarines of the U.S. 7
th fleet discovered the 1
st Attack Force and sank two cruisers as the Japanese forces were moving into position. A continuous series of surface and air clashes followed while the 3
rd U.S Fleet chased the Japanese decoy. On October 25, three major of the battle were fought at about the same time. At the Southern tip of Leyte in the Surigao Strait, battleships and cruisers from the 7
th Fleet destroyed C Force and forced the 2
nd Attack Force to withdraw. The San Bernardino Strait was left unguarded which allowed the Japanese 1
st Attack Force to inflict heavy damage to the 7
th Fleet carriers off Samar. The Japanese surprisingly withdrew as they were nearing an assault on the landing operations. Meanwhile, the 3
rd Fleet sank Japanese decoy carriers in the north off Cape Engano, while another part moved south to attack and pursue the 1
st Attack Force.