Midway, the Battle That Ultimately Doomed Japan in WWII By: John King Could a loss at Midway have

Why was the battle of Midway so crucial? On the 4th of June in 1942 started the victorious win of the Americans that was soon to begin World War II! It was quite an amazing battle because the Japanese should have won, but the Americans out smarted them, hacking naval codes, being ready, and being where they needed to be at the right time. The Americans took down the Japanese keeping control of Midway. The battle of Midway between the Americans and the Japanese was the most decisive naval battle in history it was the turning point because it brought the Americans into the forefront of the war that eventually helped defeat Hitler.

The Battle of Midway dealt a devastating catastrophe for the Japanese naval and air capabilities with destroying four carriers, one heavy cruiser, 248 aircraft, and 3,057 personnel. The Americans lost one aircraft carrier, one destroyer, 150 aircraft, and 307 personnel. Historically, Midway has been considered the turning point in the Pacific theater of World War II. Japan's shipbuilding and pilot training programs were unable to keep pace in replacing their losses, while the U.S. steadily increased its output in both areas that inevitably led denying Japan the ability to achieve its limited policy objective: to destroy the American carrier force in the Pacific and use the Aleutians and Midway Island as stepping stones for a Japanese

The Battle of Midway was fought with a variety of naval ships such as battleships, destroyers, aircraft carriers, as well as naval planes and submarines. Many of these ships and planes were lost during this battle especially for the Japanese.(Cressman, Robert J., "No End Save Victory", Naval Historical Center, June 1998)

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan…As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense…With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounded determination of our people, we will gain the

Nimitz was able to crack the Japanese secret code of communication and he was able to prepare his military for the surprise attack on Midway planned by the Japanese. Along with this, other strategies used were American submarine patrolling (Mcgowen 26). The submarines would gauge the enemy's attack and shoot torpedoes to sink the enemies ships. It would also help in sending secret codes that would help the United States military to prepare for the attack in addition to also protect their battleships. The United States were also advantageous on their land.

By the end of 1941 Japan had control of most of the Pacific theater. It was not until after the attack on Pearl Harbor that the United States formally declared war on the Axis Powers. By the beginning of 1942, the United States Navy, switched from being in a defensive position to an offensive position and took the fight to the Japanese military in the Pacific. The Battle of Midway is considered the turning point in the Pacific Theater during WWII. However, the Battle of Midway may not have happened as it did if it were not for the men who tirelessly worked to break the Japanese JN-25 code. The ability to decipher the encrypted Japanese messages gave the United States Navy the upper hand in the Pacific theater and by the end of the war the Japanese

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan…As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense…With confidence in our armed forces, with the

Despite all the success Japan had early in the war, they did not do as much damage to the United States Pacific fleet as they would have like to have done. This gave America a false sense of security at the time when Japan was preparing to take stronger action. Rear Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s plan was to draw in the remaining American ships into an area where they could be attacked and destroyed by a much greater number of Japanese vessels. Admiral Yamamoto thought that if Japan captured valuable territory like the Midway Islands that the United States could not afford to give up, he could destroy the remaining American ships with ease because the Americans would have no supply chain.

The Japanese decided that Pearl Harbor wasn’t enough. They decided that they would destroy the rest of America’s fleet. They decided to draw them in with an attack of Midway island and then demolish them. Japan made a huge mistake! The Battle of Midway paved the way for America and the Allies to move up on the offensive to Tokyo. If not for the Battle of Midway, the Japanese would have plowed through the entirety of World War II.

In the beginning of war, Japanese victory in Pacific terrified West Cost Americans. Partial victory for Americans appeared when Japanese capital Tokyo was bombed. It was less of a material loss but huge in terms of psychological attack. It was followed by the Battle of Coral Sea in May 1942 and after that the decisive Battle of Midway Island took place. U.S. aircraft carriers destroyed three out of four Japanese carriers that sabotaged their further plans of invasion and they adopted a defensive strategy.

suffered a major defeat at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, took advantage of the situation the U.S. was put in after its losses during Pearl Harbor (“Japs Risk Large Naval Units...”). With the backbone of U.S. Pacific Fleet torn out, Japan made several attempts to dominate the Pacific. Japan was anxious to settle their differences with the U.S., so they began risking large naval units in Pacific battles. An article posted in the Los Angeles Time, “Japs Risk Large Naval Units in Blows at U.S.” says, “For the sixth time in six months Japan made a deadly bid to capture the mastery of the Pacific, and for the sixth time she has failed after paying a price that is fast becoming prohibitive,” (“Japs Risk Large Naval Units...”). This article was posted days after the Battle of Midway, on June 7th, 1942 reflecting the actions of the Japanese Navy in the previous months. The Japanese were anxious to pounce on the weakened U.S. after Pearl Harbor, backing their attacks with large naval units. The Japanese felt that they needed to take over Midway Island in order to claim dominance over the U.S. in the Pacific.

Typical of Japanese naval planning during the Second World War, Yamamoto's battle plan was quite complex.[15] Additionally, his designs were predicated on optimistic intelligence information suggesting USS Enterprise and USS Hornet, forming Task Force 16, were the only carriers available to the U.S. Pacific Fleet at the time. USS Lexington had been sunk and USS Yorktown severely damaged (and believed by the Japanese to have been sunk) at the Battle of the Coral Sea just a month earlier. The Japanese were also aware that USS Saratoga was undergoing repairs on the West Coast after taking torpedo damage from a submarine.

Shortly before 7:55 a.m., Japanese fighter planes flew in closer and closer to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. As they reached the naval base, the Japanese began their attack. They launched thousands of rounds to the ground below destroying everything in its path. Thousands of people were lost and millions of dollars of equipment was destroyed. Bombs fell from the sky, sinking the U.S.S Arizona and the men trapped inside of it. Torpedoes caused damage to other ships including U.S.S Oklahoma, U.S.S Utah, U.S.S West Virginia, and more. On land, there were close to three hundred planes destroyed. Out of all of these loses, the 3,500 men who died or were injured struck America the hardest.

The Doolittle Raid made Japan think their perimeter security was weak (“The Battle of Midway”). They wanted to avenge the bombing of Japanese home islands, fix the hole in their Eastern defensive perimeter from the U.S. control of Midway, finish the US Pacific Fleet, and take Hawaii (Morgenthau and Tuerkheimer). Japan decided to attack Midway in order to get the U.S.A out of the Pacific and strengthen their border. At 4:30 a.m. on June 4, 36 Japanese fighter planes and bombers attacked Midway (Krasner 28). The outcome of the battle was worse for Japan than it was for the U.S.

He envisioned a task force made up primarily of aircraft carriers, cruisers, and destroyers, to deliver an annihilating aerial strike against the U.S. Fleet in Pearl Harbor. But to carry the war to the very threshold of the enemy’s power, he must catch his foe’s unaware. In a meeting between Yamamoto, Admiral Takijir Onishi, chief of staff of the Eleventh Air Fleet, and Commander Kosei Maeda, and expert on aerial torpedo warfare, Koasei Maeda made a suggestion of a torpedo attack against Pearl Harbor. This tasks seemed nearly impossible to Yamamoto and Onishi considering the fact that the base was too shallow. They believed that it would take a technical miracle to achieve a torpedo battle. Finally after close thought, it was decided that 2 merchant ships should precede the tasks force, 1 at an angle to the port, the other to starboard. These vessels would serve as the eyes of the fleet and as decoys. To increase security, they decided the route to Hawaii should be the one providing the best chance for