Things were going bad for the United States. Pearl Harbor was just two days earlier and that was extremely devastating for people. Japan figured out America’s code, so they knew what our plans were. You might be wondering how, so I will tell you. Japan sent spies to learn our language and culture, then decrypt…
By any ordinary standard, they were hopelessly outclassed. They had no battleships, the enemy eleven. They had eight cruisers, the enemy twenty-three. They had three carriers (one of them crippled), the enemy had eight. Their shore defences included guns from the turn of the century. They knew little of war. None of the Navy pilots on one of the carriers had ever been in combat, nor had any of the army fliers of the marines. Seventeen of twenty new pilots were just out of flight school, some with less than four hours flying time. Some of their dive-bombers could not dive-the fabric came off the wings. Their torpedoes were slow and unreliable, the torpedo planes even worse. Yet they were up against the finest fighting plane in the world. Their enemy was brilliant, experienced and all conquering. They took crushing losses – 15 out of 15 in one torpedo squadron…….. 21 out of 27 in a group of fighters …… many, many more.…
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…
On midnight on February 9th, 1904, Admiral Togo Heihachiro ordered an attack on the Russian “Arthur” squadron anchored in port.2 “At Port Arthur ten small Japanese destroyers, using a new weapon, the Whitehead torpedo, played havoc with the equally unprepared Russian fleet.”3 The Empire of Japan then declared formal war against Russia on February 10th. The first “Pearl Harbor” sneak attack was underway. History has a habit of repeating itself and thirty-seven years later another Japanese surprise attack occurred (ironically once again before a formal declaration of war was announced) but this time it was against the sleeping American armed forces stationed at Pearl Harbor. Surprise was the enabling factor once again but instead of naval gunfire from ships it occurred from naval aviators of the Rising Sun. “Commander Fuchida Mitsuo, who led the Japanese attack on the unready American fleet, was amazed to see the perfect target waiting below. “Had these Americans never heard of Port Arthur?”4 Declaring war against the United States and the British Empire on December 8, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces (IAF) sought to duplicate their success against Russia in 1904. However, there were major differences in Japan’s planning and conduct of the War in the Pacific in 1941 as opposed to their war against Russia in 1904. Specifically, Japan’s land mass battle space was larger and more complex than its regional focus against Russia in 1904, Japan’s IAF were not superior to America’s war producing machine and carrier effectiveness, and Japan…
and it happened in 1942. During this time the perceptions of the Japanese military was demolished by the Doolittle raid. They thought that their homeland was immune from air attack and in order to protect Japan they had to extend their defensive perimeter eastward to a tiny island called Midway. Midway was thousands of miles from Hawaii and it was where the U.S. aircraft stationed was located. The Japanese really wanted to get control of this island to protect Japan from air attack so they threw most of the imperial fleet into this battle but the Americans had intercepted the Japanese code and knew something was about to happen.…
A force of 109 Japanese aircraft tore into the base at Midway decimating anything and everything in sight. These 109 aircraft were a calculated risk made by Admiral Yamamoto as he believed that the U.S. forces were well east of the island of Midway and would have no way of counter attacking the Japanese battle group. By sending out so many fighters to Midway, Yamamoto seemed to ignore his primary objective which was to destroy the U.S. carriers, while also preserving and protecting his own. Nonetheless, Yamamoto’s force of 109 Japanese Zeroes and bombers bombarded the Marines stationed on Midway destroying the remaining land based aircraft there and taking countless lives. While it was a slaughter, in a lot of ways it may have been a necessary sacrifice in order for the rest of the battle to happen the way it did. Furthermore, the attack was extremely effective for the Japanese, but would require another wave as there were still central components in place on the atoll. This bought more time for U.S. forces to launch their own offensive on the Japanese…
They lost four aircraft carriers, a large cruiser, and over 300 fighter aircraft. With their sizeable fleet consisting of over 200 ships, including carriers, destroyers, two dozen submarines, and cruisers, Japanese commanders expected to pull off an another Pearl Harbor. Like their sneak strike in Hawaii, the Japanese attacked Midway Island with substantial force. With faulty tactics and Asian smugness, their initial ill-conceived battle plan was to invade a key…
The Second Battle of Guam was the American recapture of the Japanese captured island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Mariana Islands captured by the Japanese from the U.S. in the First Battle of Guam in 1941. The countries involved were the U.S. and Japan. It took a week for the Americans to link their two beachheads, but by then much of the Japanese strength had been dissipated and Takashina had been killed. The surviving Japanese units fought for another two weeks. The Second Battle of Guam took place on the island of Guam. The battle was important because the U.S. regained a previously owned island from the Japanese.…
After my reading of Robert Ferrell’s America’s Deadliest Battle, I was capable of grasping an understanding of the American Expeditionary Force’s preparation for their battle against Germany in 1918, in addition to assessing the quality of some of the officers and men within the AEF, and some of the actions that displayed the weaknesses and strengths of the AEF as well. Additionally, I will be touching basis on other measures that gave the battle at the Meuse-Argonne its name as “America’s deadliest battle,” and discussing my overall opinion on America’s fighting ability in World War I.…
June 3 the U.S bombers began to strike Japans Carries force. Japan lost four carriers and hundreds of their aircraft. Thanks to the breaking of the code the U.S were able to pin point every move the Japanese made. Military Historian John Keegan called the battle “the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of the navel warfare.” The defeat of Japan signaled that the Unites States could defeat the Japanese empire. The Battle of Midway was important to the U.S because they destroyed the Japanese Imperial Navy and this gave the USA complete control of the Pacific Ocean.…
Admiral Nimitz knew about Japan's plan to attack Midway. He knew that they needed to defend Midway, which was a location of a key American airfield. Admiral Nimitz allowed the Japanese planes to begin their attack on Midway. Then, the American forces launched their hidden planes to begin to defend Midway. The American planes bombed the Japanese planes and ships. At the end of the battle, Japan lost 332 planes, four aircraft carriers and one support ship. The Americans won the battle in only three days and turned the tide of the war in favor of the Allies.…
Not only did the success of Pearl Harbour depend completely on the strategic element of surprise, the Japanese attack was formulated for Pearl Harbour to surprise the enemy and expose the vulnerability of the West, thus portraying Japan’s notions of nationalism and superiority. The Japanese implemented the element of surprise by deceiving the US government. They achieved this by convincing the US government that Japan would not attack, whilst the Japanese Navy steamed towards Hawaii. Although most officials believed this peace claim, others were hesitant. There was also no warning of the attack because the…
The bombardment of Pearl Harbor is seen as significant not solely because of its level of catastrophe, but also considering the fact that it caused Americans to join together in a war effort. Before, Pearl Harbor, the country was divided due to the fact that not all Americans wanted to be a part of World War II; however, after Pearl Harbor, the decision to go to war became unanimous. Pearl Harbor motivated Americans to fight for what they believed in, even after World War I debilitated them of most of their supplies. The tenderness Americans felt can be best explained by the words of fleet Chaplain William A. Macguire "Don't say we buried our dead with sorrow. They died manfully.…
Sept. 24: The "bomb plot" message from Japanese naval intelligence to Japan's consul general in Honolulu requesting a grid of exact locations of ships in Pearl Harbor is deciphered. The information is not shared with the Hawaii's Adm. Kimmel and Gen. Short.…
When studying the War of 1812, it is usually a 10 minute discussion is most history classes. It’s not discussed like any other war in American history. This is because the ending results are irrelevant compared to The Revolutionary War or The Civil War. Most people agree, why would we celebrate a war that did not even have a definite winner? However, the blur of this war in American history should not be overlooked. The war a turning point in American history. It should be studied as in depth as any other war.…