Battle of Midway | World War IIBattle of Midway, Midway, Battle of. National Archives, Washington, D. C.(June 3–6, 1. 94. World War II naval battle, fought almost entirely with aircraft, in which the United States destroyed Japan’s first- line carrier strength and most of its best trained naval pilots. Together with the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Battle of Midway ended the threat of further Japanese invasion in the Pacific. Battle of Midway: Japanese aircraft carrier. U. S. Air Force. Despite a setback in May 1. Battle of the Coral Sea, the Japanese had continued with plans to seize Midway Island and bases in the Aleutians. Seeking a naval showdown with the numerically inferior U. Battle of Midway; Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II: U.S. Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers from the USS Hornet about to attack the burning Japanese. The Battle of Midway was a naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. It took place from June 4, 1942 to June 7, 1942, approximately one month after the. S. Pacific Fleet, Adm. Yamamoto Isoroku sent out the bulk of .. Battle of Midway - World War IIThis fleet engagement between U. S. and Japanese navies in the north- central Pacific Ocean resulted from Japan’s desire to sink the American aircraft carriers that had escaped destruction at Pearl Harbor. Find out more about the history of Battle of Midway, including videos, interesting articles, pictures, historical features and more. Get all the facts on.Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, Japanese fleet commander, chose to invade a target relatively close to Pearl Harbor to draw out the American fleet, calculating that when the United States began its counterattack, the Japanese would be prepared to crush them. Instead, an American intelligence breakthrough–the solving of the Japanese fleet codes–enabled Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to understand the exact Japanese plans. Nimitz placed available U. The Battle of Midway, directed by John Ford, provides a relatively brief account of the Japanese attack of American ships at Midway atoll. The film is. Battle of Midway, Midway, Battle of National Archives, Washington, D.C. (June 3–6, 1942), World War II naval battle, fought almost entirely with aircraft, in which. S. carriers in position to surprise the Japanese moving up for their preparatory air strikes on Midway Island itself. Did You Know? Six months before the Battle of Midway, the islands were attacked on December 7, 1. Pearl Harbor. The intelligence interplay would be critical to the outcome of the battle and began many weeks before the clash of arms. American radio nets in the Pacific picked up various orders Yamamoto had dispatched to prepare his forces for the operation. As early as May 2, messages that were intercepted began to indicate some forthcoming operation, and a key fact, the planned day- of- battle position of the Japanese carriers, would be divulged in a notice sent on May 1. By the time Nimitz had to make final decisions, the Japanese plans and order of battle had been reconstructed in considerable detail. American combat forces took over where intelligence efforts left off. Scouts found the Japanese early in the morning of June 4. Although initial strikes by Midway- based planes were not successful, American carrier- based planes turned the tide. Torpedo bombers became separated from the American dive- bombers and were slaughtered (3. Japanese defenses just in time for the dive- bombers to arrive; some of them had become lost, and now by luck they found the Japanese. The Japanese carriers were caught while refueling and rearming their planes, making them especially vulnerable. The Americans sank four fleet carriers–the entire strength of the task force–Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu, with 3. The Japanese also lost the heavy cruiser Mikuma. American losses included 1. Analysts often point to Japanese aircraft losses at Midway as eliminating the power of the Imperial Navy’s air arm, but in fact about two- thirds of air crews survived. More devastating was the loss of trained mechanics and aircraft ground crews who went down with the ships. Some historians see Midway as the turning point in the Pacific theater of the war, after which Americans rode straight to Tokyo; others view it as a cusp in the war, after which initiative hung in the balance, to swing toward the Allies in the Guadalcanal campaign. Either way, Midway ranks as a truly decisive battle. JOHN PRADOSThe Reader’s Companion to Military History. Edited by Robert Cowley and Geoffrey Parker. Copyright © 1. 99. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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