MIDWAY
KEY COUNTRIES/PEOPLE:
- Occurred about 6 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, on June 4th, 1942.
- Japan wanted to sink the American aircraft carriers that hadn't been destroyed at Pearl Harbor.
- The Commander-in-Chief Pacific had received information that the Japanese was out for a decisive battle against the American Navy, due to Japan's failure at Coral Sea.
- The US wanted to capture Midway Island to further extend their control of the Pacific, while Japan wanted to eliminate America as a strategic power in the Pacific.
- Japan's plan for the Midway attack was complex and there had to be perfect timing and specific tactics to lure parts of the American force away from the main Japanese battle fleet.
- This plan also required four out of Japan's eight aircraft carriers to be present.
Image from: http://www.usmilitary.com/3363/naval-battle-of-midway/
LOCATION:
Midway Island, on the western extremity of the Hawaiian islands.
Image from: http://www.warfaremagazine.co.uk/articles/The-Battle-of-Midway/41
EVENTS/SIGNIFICANCE:
- The Battle of Midway destroyed Japan’s naval strength
- Japan's navy never fully recovered]
- There were two major flaws in Japan's plan of attack.
- First, Yamamoto, the Japanese Commander in Chief of the combined fleet, believed in battleship fighting. He didn't realize that an aircraft carrier could deliver a massive blow to the enemy at a much greater distance than a battleship could.
- Yamamoto thought the aircraft carrier should support the battleship, rather than the other way round.
- Second, and worse, The US had broken into the main Japanese naval code. The Americans knew Yamamoto's course of action. Two Admirals had their ships waiting for an attack.
- The plan to lure American ships away clearly wouldn't work if the Americans knew what he was trying to do.\
- Yamamoto thought that his battleships wouldn't be discovered until the battle began.
Image from: http://historywarsweapons.com/battle-of-midway/
VICTORY?
US VICTORY! ALLIES WIN!
Cites used for information:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/battle_midway_01.shtml#top
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_midway.htm
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_midway.htm