Nishimura's "Southern Force" left Brunei at 15:30 on 22 October 1944, heading east into the Sulu Sea and then to the northeast into the Mindanao Sea.
Intending to join Vice-Admiral Takeo Kurita's force in Leyte Gulf, they passed west of Mindanao Island into Surigao Strait, where they met a large force of battleships, cruisers and destroyers lying in wait.
The Battle of Surigao Strait would become the southernmost action in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

At 09:08 on 24 October, Yamashiro, Fusō and the heavy cruiser Mogami spotted a group of 27 planes, including Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bombers escorted by Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, that had been launched from the carrier Enterprise.
Around 20 sailors on Yamashiro were killed by strafing and rocket attacks.
Fusō's catapult and both floatplanes were destroyed, and another bomb hit the ship near Turret No.
2 and penetrated the decks, killing everyone in No.
1 secondary battery.

Nishimura issued a telegram to Admiral Soemu Toyoda at 20:13: "It is my plan to charge into Leyte Gulf to [reach] a point off Dulag at 04:00 hours on the 25th."
At 22:52, his force spotted three or four Motor Torpedo Boats and opened fire, damaging PT-130 and PT-152 and forcing all of them to retreat before they could launch their torpedoes.

One or two torpedoes, possibly fired by the destroyer Melvin, hit Fusō amidships on the starboard side at 03:09 on the 25th; she listed to starboard, slowed down, and fell out of formation.
Some Japanese and American eyewitnesses later claimed that Fusō broke in half, and that both halves remained afloat and burning for an hour, but they specifically mentioned only the size of the fire on the water, and not any details of the ship.
Historian John Toland agreed in 1970 that Fusō had broken in two, but according to historian Anthony Tully in 2009, "Fuso was torpedoed, and as a result of progressive flooding, upended and capsized within forty minutes."
She sank between 03:38 and 03:50; only a few dozen men survived her rapid descent and massive oil fire, and only ten reached shore.

At 03:52, Yamashiro was attacked by a large formation to the north commanded by Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf.
First came 6- and 8-inch (200 mm) shells from a line of eight cruisers, then 14-inch (360 mm) and 16-inch (410 mm) shells from a line of six battleships.
The main bombardment lasted 18 minutes, and Yamashiro was the only target for seven minutes.
The first rounds hit the forecastle and pagoda mast, and soon the entire battleship appeared to be ablaze.
Yamashiro's two forward turrets targeted her assailants, and the secondary armament targeted the American destroyers plaguing Mogami and the destroyer Asagumo.
There was a big explosion at 04:04, possibly from one of the middle turrets.
She was hit between 04:03 and 04:09 near the starboard engine room by a torpedo, and Nishimura wired to Kurita: "We proceed till totally annihilated.
I have definitely accomplished my mission as pre-arranged.
Please rest assured."
At the same time, Oldendorf issued a cease-fire order to the entire formation after hearing that the destroyer Albert W. Grant was taking friendly fire, and the Japanese ships also ceased fire.

Yamashiro increased speed, but she had been hit by two to four torpedoes, and after two more torpedo hits near the starboard engine room, she was listing 45 degrees to port.
Shinoda gave the command to abandon ship, but neither he nor Nishimura made any attempt to leave the conning tower as the ship capsized within five minutes and quickly sank, stern first, vanishing from radar between 04:19 and 04:21.
Only 10 crewmembers of the estimated 1,636 officers and crew on board survived.
Nishimura's "Southern Force" left Brunei at 15:30 on 22 October 1944, heading east into the Sulu Sea and then to the northeast into the Mindanao Sea. Intending to join Vice-Admiral Takeo Kurita's force in Leyte Gulf, they passed west of Mindanao Island into Surigao Strait, where they met a large force of battleships, cruisers and destroyers lying in wait. The Battle of Surigao Strait would become the southernmost action in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
At 09:08 on 24 October, Yamashiro, Fusō and the heavy cruiser Mogami spotted a group of 27 planes, including Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bombers escorted by Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, that had been launched from the carrier Enterprise. Around 20 sailors on Yamashiro were killed by strafing and rocket attacks. Fusō's catapult and both floatplanes were destroyed, and another bomb hit the ship near Turret No. 2 and penetrated the decks, killing everyone in No. 1 secondary battery.
Nishimura issued a telegram to Admiral Soemu Toyoda at 20:13: "It is my plan to charge into Leyte Gulf to [reach] a point off Dulag at 04:00 hours on the 25th." At 22:52, his force spotted three or four Motor Torpedo Boats and opened fire, damaging PT-130 and PT-152 and forcing all of them to retreat before they could launch their torpedoes.
One or two torpedoes, possibly fired by the destroyer Melvin, hit Fusō amidships on the starboard side at 03:09 on the 25th; she listed to starboard, slowed down, and fell out of formation. Some Japanese and American eyewitnesses later claimed that Fusō broke in half, and that both halves remained afloat and burning for an hour, but they specifically mentioned only the size of the fire on the water, and not any details of the ship. Historian John Toland agreed in 1970 that Fusō had broken in two, but according to historian Anthony Tully in 2009, "Fuso was torpedoed, and as a result of progressive flooding, upended and capsized within forty minutes." She sank between 03:38 and 03:50; only a few dozen men survived her rapid descent and massive oil fire, and only ten reached shore.
At 03:52, Yamashiro was attacked by a large formation to the north commanded by Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf. First came 6- and 8-inch (200 mm) shells from a line of eight cruisers, then 14-inch (360 mm) and 16-inch (410 mm) shells from a line of six battleships. The main bombardment lasted 18 minutes, and Yamashiro was the only target for seven minutes. The first rounds hit the forecastle and pagoda mast, and soon the entire battleship appeared to be ablaze. Yamashiro's two forward turrets targeted her assailants, and the secondary armament targeted the American destroyers plaguing Mogami and the destroyer Asagumo. There was a big explosion at 04:04, possibly from one of the middle turrets. She was hit between 04:03 and 04:09 near the starboard engine room by a torpedo, and Nishimura wired to Kurita: "We proceed till totally annihilated. I have definitely accomplished my mission as pre-arranged. Please rest assured." At the same time, Oldendorf issued a cease-fire order to the entire formation after hearing that the destroyer Albert W. Grant was taking friendly fire, and the Japanese ships also ceased fire.
Yamashiro increased speed, but she had been hit by two to four torpedoes, and after two more torpedo hits near the starboard engine room, she was listing 45 degrees to port. Shinoda gave the command to abandon ship, but neither he nor Nishimura made any attempt to leave the conning tower as the ship capsized within five minutes and quickly sank, stern first, vanishing from radar between 04:19 and 04:21. Only 10 crewmembers of the estimated 1,636 officers and crew on board survived.
Fusō-class battleship