Battle Of Midway Research Paper

Walker 1“The Decisive Battle of Midway”Circumstances can change rapidly. These changes that occur rapidly may not be fullyunderstood until years later, if at all. The same can be said of the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Midway was June 4-7, 1942 and was a pivotal naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II(Crisman). Momentum can change due to any set of factors.The Japanese objective of the Pacific Theater was to dominate the Pacific Ocean and theIndian Ocean (Crisman). If the Japanese were able to dominate the Pacific Ocean and IndianOcean, the Japanese clearly would have had much more territory in order to do what they saw fit.Clearly they could have moved men and goods across that water instead of having to move thesame things
across the Asian mainland. Crisman goes on to say that if the Japanese military powers were able to annihilate the American military power, namely the American Navy, from thePacific, the Japanese would been able to completely dominate both the Pacific Ocean and theIndian Ocean (Crisman). One has to remember that before these two battles that Japan had beenundefeated militarily for 350 years (Crisman). When a country has been undefeated for 350 years,the country starts to feel invincible. They really cannot be blamed for feeling this way. However,no country is invincible. A country can be defeated for any number of reasons.The Battle of Midway was essentially shaped by intelligence gathering by the United Statesintelligence services and the Japanese intelligence services (“Battle of Midway”). One does notwant to fight one’s enemies blindly. Therefore, each combatant country would want to know asmuch as possible about their enemies so that they can have the advantage in combat. No countrythat is rationally acting in war would want to lose in the war that they are fighting.The Japanese thought that they would catch the Americans completely off guard whenattacking Midway (Crisman). The element of surprise can be an invaluable asset because the Walker 2enemy would know that their enemy is approaching. To add to that, the equipment that theAmericans used to battle the Japanese at Midway was not as good as what the Japanese were usingat the Battle (Crisman). One would think that with the United States using inferior equipment atthe Battle of Midway that the United States would lose the Battle. One can see from history thatthe United States won the Battle of Midway (Crisman). Better war equipment clearly does notequate to victory over one’s enemies.On the American side of intelligence, the United States military complimented what therest of America’s intelligence services had gathered by monitoring Japanese troop movementsthroughout the Pacific Ocean (“Battle of Midway”). The United States utilized their military presence in the Pacific Ocean while using intelligence that had been gathered to defeat theJapanese at the Battle of Midway.At the Battle of Midway, American airplanes that were based off of carriers helped to turnthe momentum to America’s momentum instead of the Japanese having the positive momentum(“Battle of Midway”). When in an airplane, one should be able to see for long distances if theweather conditions permit (such as clear weather, etc.). This means that the enemies do not haveto get very close to one another to see one another. During the Battle, the United States was ablesunk four of Japan’s carriers (the Akagi, Kaga, Sory and Hiryu) and 322 of their fighter aircraft(“Battle of Midway”). By making the Japanese lose many planes and ships, along with their trained, specialized crew, the United States was able to send an essentially devastating blow to theJapanese military.At the Battle of Midway, the United States lost 147 of its soldiers; whereas at this sameBattle, the Japanese lost about one third of its pilots and other Air Force personnel (“Battle of Midway”). Losing 147 American soldiers was tough for the United States; however, Japan lost Walker 3more men.
Therefore, the United States had more men ready and capable to fight. What wasworse for Japan than losing these pilots and other Air Force personnel was losing several trainedmechanics and other airplane technicians (“Battle of Midway”). Losing specially trained men incombat is a tremendous blow to one’s war effort. Training takes time. Having to train new menfor these roles would take time to do.At the Battle of Midway, the United States Navy “soundly” defeated the Japanese military(Crisman). Due to the United States “soundly defeating” the Japanese at the Battle of Midway,Japan lost its initiative to defeat the United States after this battle (Crisman). When one is stronglydefeated at something, one does not often have the energy to rebound and fight as hard as before.Therefore, one may still continue to fight after a “sound defeat,” but one’s positive momentum willhave shifted toward one’s enemy. At the Battle of Midway, the United States was able to shiftfrom being on defense against the Japanese to being on offense against eh Japanese (“Battle of Midway”). By being on offense, the United States clearly did not just have to think aboutdefending what it already had. The United States clearly could go after what the Japanese had dueto their weaker position after the Battle of Midway.From what Mr. Crisman said in the interview, the United States should not have won theBattle of Midway. However, the United States did win there. People are welcome to debate whyand how the Americans won the Battle at Midway; however, this improbable victory at Midwayseems as if that it helped America to win the war against the Japanese in the Pacific.Crisman believes that the Lord’s Providence is what saved the Americans at the Battle of Midway and helped them to win at the Battle of Midway (Crisman). When one something seemsimpossible to man, God can make a way. When one can clearly see that the United States was notready to successfully fight at the Battle of
Midway that one can make a convincing argument that Walker 4the Lord’s Providence helped the Americans at the Battle of Midway. Things might have looked bleak for the Americans at the Battle of Midway, but the American military won this decisive battle