Exactly six months to the day that the raid on Pearl Harbor weakened the United States Pacific Fleet, the Battle of Midway was coming to an end. The American victory of the historically superior Japanese seamen is considered by many to be the most significant moment in American naval history.
In the morning hours of June 4, 1942, Japan’s Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo ordered his fleet of four Japanese attack carriers to a location just north of Midway- two small islands located approximately 1,300 miles from Hawaii. With a series of air strikes, Nagumo attempted to destroy American air power. By crippling the U.S. Pacific fleet, Japan would be free to commit further attacks on Fiji and Samoa, as well as a full invasion of Hawaii.
What the Japanese had not expected was the impressive defensive strategies of their opponents. The Japanese forces had planned the attack intending to catch the U.S. off guard; however, due to “superior communications intelligence,” The United States Pacific fleet, under the command of Admiral Chester W. Nimitiz, was able to successfully coordinate an effective ambush on the unknowing Japanese navy.
After the three day battle, Japan’s dominating presence in the Pacific theater had taken a devastating blow with the loss of four fleet carriers and over two hundred naval aviators. The U.S. only suffered the loss of one aircraft carrier and one destroyer.
Midway proved to be a turning point for not only World War II, but also for the role of the United States’ Navy. The soldiers had no idea at the time the significance roles they were playing. According to Aviation Ordnance man Pete Montalvo, “With Midway things were just getting started. The march across the Pacific had not begun. After Midway there was no feeling that we had won the war. No doubt it was the all-important turning point, but we still had a tenacious enemy to deal with and a difficult job to do,”
Midway changed not only how the Americans perceived the war, which would continue on for three years after the Battle of Midway, but perhaps even the course of history. “[T]his memorable American victory was of cordial importance, not only to the United States but to the whole Allied cause…At one stroke, the dominant position of Japan in the Pacific was reversed,” stated Winston Churchill.
Without the successful ambush and defensive strategies of the United States’ Pacific Fleet, there may never have been the 1942 invasion of Guadalcanal. In the control of Midway would have been given to the Japanese, the security of Hawaii may have been jeopardized, and the role of America in the modern era may be significantly different.
Exactly six months to the day that the raid on Pearl Harbor weakened the United States Pacific Fleet, the Battle of Midway was coming to an end. The American victory of the historically superior Japanese seamen is considered by many to be the most significant moment in American naval history.
In the morning hours of June 4, 1942, Japan’s Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo ordered his fleet of four Japanese attack carriers to a location just north of Midway- two small islands located approximately 1,300 miles from Hawaii. With a series of air strikes, Nagumo attempted to destroy American air power. By crippling the U.S. Pacific fleet, Japan would be free to commit further attacks on Fiji and Samoa, as well as a full invasion of Hawaii.
What the Japanese had not expected was the impressive defensive strategies of their opponents. The Japanese forces had planned the attack intending to catch the U.S. off guard; however, due to “superior communications intelligence,” The United States Pacific fleet, under the command of Admiral Chester W. Nimitiz, was able to successfully coordinate an effective ambush on the unknowing Japanese navy.
After the three day battle, Japan’s dominating presence in the Pacific theater had taken a devastating blow with the loss of four fleet carriers and over two hundred naval aviators. The U.S. only suffered the loss of one aircraft carrier and one destroyer.
Midway proved to be a turning point for not only World War II, but also for the role of the United States’ Navy. The soldiers had no idea at the time the significance roles they were playing. According to Aviation Ordnance man Pete Montalvo, “With Midway things were just getting started. The march across the Pacific had not begun. After Midway there was no feeling that we had won the war. No doubt it was the all-important turning point, but we still had a tenacious enemy to deal with and a difficult job to do,”
Midway changed not only how the Americans perceived the war, which would continue on for three years after the Battle of Midway, but perhaps even the course of history. “[T]his memorable American victory was of cordial importance, not only to the United States but to the whole Allied cause…At one stroke, the dominant position of Japan in the Pacific was reversed,” stated Winston Churchill.
Without the successful ambush and defensive strategies of the United States’ Pacific Fleet, there may never have been the 1942 invasion of Guadalcanal. In the control of Midway would have been given to the Japanese, the security of Hawaii may have been jeopardized, and the role of America in the modern era may be significantly different.
Comments 1
There is a book that was published a couple of years ago that has demolished most of the myths about the Battle of Midway, and is possibly the best researched book on the subject. “Shattered Sword”, by Tully and Parshall, is the story of the Japanese forces in that battle.
Posted 01 May 2008 at 2:25 pm ¶