Leyte Gulf, fought in the waters around the Northern Philippine Islands in late October 1944, was the last great fleet action, pitting the still-powerful Japanese surface fleet against the U.S. Navy’s Seventh and Third Fleets.
President Putin made three foundational assumptions in launching his war against Ukraine that should have been correct but were not. First, Putin assumed the invasion of Ukraine would be a quick and easy fight. Second, he assumed the world would denounce the invasion but tacitly allow it. Third, Putin assumed the war would deter NATO expansion.
