0
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was fought from June 4 to June 7, 1942 between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was part of the World War II Pacific Campaign, and was fought at the Midway Atoll.
540 Questions
Why was the Battle of Midway a turning point for the war in the Pacific theatre?
The simple fact that the US emerged as victor from the battle of Midway is not the reason for it being the turning point of the war in the Pacific.
The carriers Kaga, Akagi, Hiryū and Sōryū were lost by Japan while only managing to sink one American carrier, the Yorktown. The two large carriers that Japan had left after Midway, Zuikaku and Shōkaku were not enough to provide enough support for offensive action. Although Yamamoto still had a good number of surface ships including the battleships Yamato and Musashi, the largest and most powerfull ships deployed in WW2, he new he could accomplish nothing without air support and thus avoided conventional offensive after Midway.
More InformationJapan entered the war with a navy that in conventional terms was the equal of its US counterpart, and in naval aviation somewhat superior. The Japanese, who had just one ocean to worry about, could field huge battleships and numerous aircraft carriers to any location in the Pacific. They used four of their large carriers -- Hiryu, Soryu, Akagi, and Kaga -- at Pearl Harbor. At that time, the US Navy's Pacific Fleet possessed only three carriers; all three were at sea and not at Pearl on December 7.Somehow, the paradox of attacking battleships with aircraft carriers was lost for a while, especially with the Japanese. Pearl Harbor was the first of a completely new type of naval battle, a type that would come to be measured by the numbers of aircraft and aircraft carriers applied to the fight. In spite of their masterful demonstration of this principle at Pearl Harbor, Japanese Naval planners continued to lust for that one big slugfest, the battleship-to-battleship exchange of high-explosive naval artillery that would permanently destroy the US Pacific Fleet. Until nearly the end of the war, Japanese strategists sought that "big battle." It never happened.
At Midway, thanks mostly to code-breakers and excellent planning, US forces ambushed a Japanese attack/invasion force that featured the same four aircraft carriers that had launched the attack on Pearl Harbor six months earlier. In the end, Hiryu, Soryu, Akaki, and Kaga were all sunk, with the loss of thousands of Japanese seamen and, most importantly, the loss of hundreds of Japanese aircraft and pilots. On the American side, the USS Yorktown was sunk.
Japan, a relatively small island nation with practically no domestic natural resources, was unable to recover from the losses at Midway. While the US was able to launch dozens of new aircraft carriers and support ships during the war years, Japanese ship production was unable to even maintain the 1941 navy.
AnswerTo summarize some of the above, and place more emphasis where it belongs:
The Battle of Midway was a turning point NOT because of where it was fought, or even over possession of the area. That is, in real strategic terms, it was insignificant who actually owned Midway Island. While Japanese ownership of Midway would have been an annoyance to the US, the islands themselves were not of great strategy significance.
Rather, the important "turning point" result of the Battle of Midway revolves around the material losses that both sides sustained there.
Firstly, due to organization and industry, Japan was in a situation that it would not be easy to replace any losses it sustained in any fight. That is, while the IJN (Imperial Japanese Navy) was superior to any other country's at that point in time, Japan could generally only provide few replacements for any losses, and replacements (both in ships and men) would be inferior in quality to any lost.
The United States was in an opposite position - the US Navy was smaller, less experience, and had inferior equipment to the IJN. However, it could reasonably expect to receive better and more replacements than the IJN, and could look forward to having both superior numbers and superior quality in a year or so.
Thus, the goal of the IJN was to take advantage of their temporary superiority in numbers and quality, to inflict a crippling loss on the current USN, forcing the US into a strategic corner, from where its material and manpower advantage could be nullified. Destroying the USN at Midway would likely lead to the loss of the Hawaiian Islands to the IJN in the near future, before the USN's replacements could arrive in mid-1943. A Japanese occupation of Hawaii would effectively prevent ANY US assault from the mainland, and cut off Australia from aid.
In effect, the IJN's strategy was "kick them while they're down, so they stay down, since if they get back up, they're bigger than we are".
The USN, on the other hand, was essentially fighting a holding action, trying to do just enough to keep the IJN at bay, while they waited for the US shipbuilding industry to kick into high gear. The US Pacific strategy was effectively a single line item: Hold the Hawaiian Islands at any cost for their strategic value. If opportunity presents itself, nibble down the IJN's strength, but don't go looking for a fight.
To summarize the USN position: "Just Hold 'em off, reinforcements will be here next year."
The reason why Midway became a turning point was that the US came out of the battle in far better shape than a "rational" assessment would have them achieve, while the IJN came out in practically a "worst-case scenario" condition.
The IJN lost 50% of its Fleet Carriers (4 of 8), and about 30% of its experienced flight crews. Neither would have any replacements - they were gone for good. The US lost 25% of its current carrier force (1 of 4), and would receive bigger, better replacements in less than a year. In addition, the USN lost only about 5% of its flight crews, and they were quickly replaced (in less than a month).
This loss imbalance meant that even at the current (mid 1942) time frame, IJN had lost the ability to dominate the USN. Which meant, that Japan would only be able to conduct defensive operations - it did not have the strength to continue to operate offensively anymore. Indeed, the change in strategy is huge - post-Midway, the IJN staff spends all its time trying to figure out how to lure the US into a defensive trap (which is the only place now where the IJN can win), while the US now moves into pretty much solely an offensive mindset.
Midway took out the IJN's cream of the crop in airmen and flight-deck crewmen.
The US Navy was able to sink or heavily damage 4 Japanese carriers while losing only one of our own. Japan was unable to achieve air superiority after Midway. I think some admiral said "it wasn't the beginning of the end of the war but it was the end of the beginning".
What happened in the Battle of Midway?
The Japanese were trying to capture the island for use as an air base supporting operations against Hawaii. They also hoped to draw the U.S. Pacific fleet into a battle where it could be destroyed. The U.S. had broken their codes though, so they knew they were coming but they didn't know the U.S. knew. So The U.S. were able to deploy three aircraft carriers against their four (they also had battleships and a large invasion fleet) but they didn't know the U.S. was there. Thus, after they bombed the island, when their planes were sitting on their decks being refueled and reloaded, US planes found them and attacked. All four of their carriers wewr sunk. They attacked the USS Yorktown twice, thinking it was two different ships, and she had to be scuttled after the battle. It proved that the Japanese could be defeated in the Pacific Campaign, Turning the tide of war to the Japanese. Here are some particular facts about the Battle of Midway: * The first attack on 4 June, took place when the four night-flying PBYs attacked the Japanese transports northwest of Midway with one PBY torpedoing fleet tanker Akebono Maru. * During the battle, Japanese destroyers had picked up three U.S. naval aviators from the water. After interrogation, however, all three Americans were executed. * The last air attacks of the battle took place on 6 June when dive-bombers from Enterprise and Hornet bombed and sank heavy cruiser Mikuma. * It ended Japan's dominant naval power over the U.S. The balance of sea power in the Pacific shifted from the Japan to equity between America and Japan, and soon after the U.S. and their allies took sole control of the waters in the mid Pacific. * Although the performance of the three American carrier air groups would later be considered uneven, their pilots and crew had won the day through courage, determination, and heroic sacrifice.
How many Americans ran out of fuel in the Battle of Midway?
Of interest is that the 3 USN carriers at Midway were of the same class: The Yorktown class. The USS Enterprise, USS Hornet, and the USS Yorktown were designed to operate about 90 aircraft. Since Yorktown's flight deck was damaged during the fight, and radar indicated more IJN aircraft enroute to target (Yorktown), Yorktown launched her remaining flyable airplanes for the interception...most of which were short on fuel. USN losses during the Midway campaign was approximately 150 airplanes. With about 100 being destroyed in the torpedo and dive bombing attacks, plus the fighter interception dog-fights...both for attacking the IJN carriers and defending the Yorktown against attackers. Explosions on the sinking Yorktown accounted for some destroyed airplanes, but some, possibly about 20 were launched for an interception. An estimation of around 25 USN aircraft may have been lost to empty fuel tanks during the battle.
What was the importance of the Battle of Midway?
Midway, being, has never held much strategic importance to anyone. It happened in 1942 to be where some hundreds of US servicemen were posted, along with a couple dozen airplanes.
At that time, the Japanese were spoiling for a fight -- THE fight, the one that would pit the vaunted Imperial Japanese Navy against the US Pacific Fleet. The philosophy that guided Japanese military thinking throughout WWII held that the US could be defeated in a single massive naval battle. It seems shallow and foolish now, but belief in that "one battle" theory guided Japanese thinking nearly to the end of the war.
In early 1942, Midway was picked by the Japanese, because it was a good spot close enough to the US they could plan a land based air attack.
In the six months since Pearl Harbor, the world had learned the "new truth" about naval warfare. It's not the size of the guns, it's the number of airplanes. The ultimate paradox and the proof of that truth is the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor itself! Carrier-based Japanese aircraft were used to destroy harbor-bound battleships on a massive scale. Ultimately, the Pacific war was shortened by at least a year precisely because the Japanese carriers at Pearl Harbor failed to sink the US carriers based there.
The key at Midway was intelligence, specifically US Naval Intelligence. The Navy had long before had some success decoding Japanese Navy codes. In the days leading up to the Midway battle, the Navy's decoders were able to determine that Midway would be attacked by the Japanese. The level of detail in the decodes was such that the Navy could plan and execute an "ambush" strategy aimed at catching the Japanese.
Books have been written about the battle, but the score goes like this. US shows up with 3 aircraft carriers, loses 1. Japan shows up with 4 aircraft carriers, loses 4.
The "importance" of the battle lies in the fact that it turned the war in the Pacific in favor of the US. The loss of four aircraft carriers essentially gutted the Japanese Navy as an offensive force. After Midway, Japanese power in the Pacific declined steadily, and the Japanese were defeated in every battle until the end of the war.
In addition, victory at Midway was a serious boost to morale in the US. The early weeks and months of WWII were filled with horror stories of places like Corregidor, Bataan, Pearl Harbor. The Coral Sea battle showed that the US Navy could hold its own against the Japanese. But Midway was a clean, clear victory.
The Japanese armed forces did not win a major battle after Midway.
How many American casualties were there in the Battle of Midway?
There were about 300 American deaths. Of these, 49 of the deaths were US Marines. An additional 53 Marines were wounded. Other sources say there were 276 American casualties.
How many aircraft were lost in the Battle of Midway?
According to the International Midway Memorial Foundation, a sum total of 437 aircraft were lost. 292 aircraft were lost by the Japanese. 145 were lost by the Americans.
What did japan want in the battle of midway?
Japan attacked the Midway Islands because it wanted to prevent the US from having control of the western half of the Pacific ocean. The Battle of Midway occurred in June of 1942.
What if Japan had won the Battle of Midway?
US Naval losses would've been heavier in men and ships (and planes) thru out the war. Japan lost it's BEST airmen and flight deck crews at Midway...if they had lived; bloodier battles for the allies would have occurred.
and if they won as that would been bad lol
What did Japan bomb during the Battle of Midway?
Midway Island, and a bunch of ships in our Navy's task force.
The Battle of Midway is considered important for what reason?
Significance (importance):
1. Coral Sea-Histories first clash of aircraft carriers
2. Midway-IJN loses the cream of it's airmen and flight deck crews (and can never replace them).
Midway was a battle in which intelligence allowed the United States to spring a trap against what the Japanese had planned as their own ambush, resulting in an immediate shift in the balance of sea power in the Pacific.
When where and who won the battle of midway?
The US Navy won the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Basically a battle between aircraft carriers of the USA and Japan. The US Navy won decisively and this was the turning point of the war in the Pacific.
Was there people living on the midway island during the battle?
No they were uninhabited islands, the only people there were associated with the military.
The United States won the Battle of Midway. It was a very strategic battle with the Japanese Navy. American fighters and bombers and Japanese fighters and bombers played a game of cat and mouse until the American strategy proved effective on 6/4/42.
What ships did japan lose in the Battle of Midway?
Japan lost the aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu (which had all participated in the Pearl Harbor attack), as well as the heavy cruiser Mikuma. In addition, the heavy cruiser Mogami was so badly damaged that it was under repair for a full year.
After yhe battle of midway the allies did what?
Up through the Battle of Midway, Allied forces were clearly on the defensive side, reacting to the Japanese offensive operations.
Where did midway get its name from?
it is approximately mid way, i.e. equal distance, between the east coast of Asia and the west coast of North America.
How did General US Grant become famous during the winter of 1861-1862?
By destroying every confederate economys he came across
How many submarines were in the Battle of Midway?
We know one Japanese sub was there for certain; it sunk the carrier Yorktown and destroyer Hamman with one torpedo salvo.
Japan deployed about 13 submarines for the Midway operation, including the I-168, which sank Yorktown and Hamman as mentioned above. The U.S. had 19 submarines stationed on patrol lines around Midway but they had little direct impact on the battle.
How many Japanese soldiers fought in the battle of midway?
Quite possibly none. -The Battle of Midway was an entirely naval battle fought only between ships and aircraft.
What was a battle site in the Pacific besides Midway?
There were many. Guam, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, etc. Try doing a search on the Internet or look it up in an encyclopedia. The Battle of Coral Sea was a key one. Guadalcanal was a long campaign and bloody. The battle for Okinawa was one of the last really big campaigns.
