The Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway was a major naval battle, widely regarded as the most important one of the Pacific Campaign of World War II.[3] It took place from June 4 to 7, 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, five months after the Japanese capture of Wake Island, and exactly six months to the day after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States Navy decisively defeated a Japanese attack against Midway Atoll.
Both sides sustained significant losses. Four Japanese aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser were sunk in exchange for one American aircraft carrier and a destroyer. The heavy losses permanently weakened the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), in particular the four fleet carriers and over 200 experienced naval aviators.[4] Japan was unable to keep pace with American shipbuilding and aircrew training programs in providing replacements. By 1942, the United States was three years into a massive ship building program intended to make the navy larger than Japan's.[5] As a result of Midway, strategically, the U.S. Navy was able to seize the initiative in the Pacific and go on the offensive.
The Japanese plan was to lure America's few remaining carriers into a trap and sink them.[6] The Japanese also intended to occupy Midway Atoll to extend their defensive perimeter. This operation was considered preparatory for further attacks against Fiji and Samoa, as well as an invasion of Hawaii.[7]
The Midway operation, like the attack on Pearl Harbor, was not part of a campaign for the conquest of the United States, but was aimed at its elimination as a strategic Pacific power, thereby giving Japan a free hand in establishing its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It was also hoped another defeat would force the U.S. to negotiate an end to the Pacific War with conditions favorable for Japan.[8]
Japan had been highly successful in rapidly securing its initial war goals, including the takeover of the Philippines, capture of Malaya and Singapore, and
Both sides sustained significant losses. Four Japanese aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser were sunk in exchange for one American aircraft carrier and a destroyer. The heavy losses permanently weakened the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), in particular the four fleet carriers and over 200 experienced naval aviators.[4] Japan was unable to keep pace with American shipbuilding and aircrew training programs in providing replacements. By 1942, the United States was three years into a massive ship building program intended to make the navy larger than Japan's.[5] As a result of Midway, strategically, the U.S. Navy was able to seize the initiative in the Pacific and go on the offensive.
The Japanese plan was to lure America's few remaining carriers into a trap and sink them.[6] The Japanese also intended to occupy Midway Atoll to extend their defensive perimeter. This operation was considered preparatory for further attacks against Fiji and Samoa, as well as an invasion of Hawaii.[7]
The Midway operation, like the attack on Pearl Harbor, was not part of a campaign for the conquest of the United States, but was aimed at its elimination as a strategic Pacific power, thereby giving Japan a free hand in establishing its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It was also hoped another defeat would force the U.S. to negotiate an end to the Pacific War with conditions favorable for Japan.[8]
Japan had been highly successful in rapidly securing its initial war goals, including the takeover of the Philippines, capture of Malaya and Singapore, and