During June 4th thru 7th of 1942, the Battle of Midway was one of the most decisive battles in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. The US Navy was able to defeat the superior Imperial Japanese Navy due to multiple assumptions made by the Japanese about the strength and capabilities of the US Navy. One assumption that Admiral Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy made is that he would be able to catch the US Navy by surprise. Another assumption he made was he would be able to destroy the US Navy Fleet in the Pacific. Using battle analysis this paper will examine what the Japanese could have done differently during the course of the Battle of Midway, and how the Japanese that could have changed the course of World War II in the Pacific …show more content…
The initial Japanese bombing strike was not as successful as planned on Midway, and another round of aerial bombing is ordered. The US launched a counter attack from USS Yorktown, USS Enterprise, and USS Hornet with their fighter planes and bombers. While the Japanese fighter planes and bombers were refueling and rearming, US planes bombed and disabled three of the Japanese carriers Kaga, Soryu, and Akagi. The Kaga and Soryu sank on 4 June and Akagi sank on 5 June, this left the Japanese with only one function carrier, Hiryu, in the battle. It was during this attack by the US that the Japanese realized that the US had carriers in the area. A Japanese scout plane was only able to locate the USS Yorktown, once located Japanese bombers successfully targeted and disabled USS Yorktown and eventually sank her on 6 June 1942 with a submarine strike, while being towed back to Pearl Harbor (Kelly, 2013). By the end of the battle on 7 June 1942, the US had maintained control of Midway Island and defeated the Japanese Navy by sinking the four Japanese carriers involved in the operation against midway. The US although winning the battle, lost one carrier during the battle. This crippling blow to the Imperial Japanese Nay was a defeat they were never able to recover from during World …show more content…
Their scout planes eventually located the US aircraft carriers, but the Japanese were not in a position to target them, based on how dispersed the Japanese naval groups were. If more scout planes were moved to the Carrier Group from the Battle Group, they would have had a more effective coverage area. They would have been in a position to identify the actual size of the US Fleet involved in the defense of Midway and been able to realize that the ships that the Japanese scouts were reporting were actually a threat and they needed to be targeted in a higher priority than Midway. Yamamoto sending scouts from the Battle Group to the Carrier Group could have accomplished this. Scouts were initially sent out on the early in the morning of 4 Jun 1942, if the Japanese had sent the scouts out a few days earlier, they would have been able to identify the disposition of US Naval assets. After determining the disposition of US Naval forces, the Japanese could have reprioritized their efforts, focusing on the US Carriers and the redirecting back to
But yet they still failed. “First, the Japanese missed their prime targets:the aircraft carriers Lexington and Enterprise (both of which were at sea), and Saratoga. Second, the Japanese failed to destroy the huge oil storage facilities, without which the Pacific Fleet would have been forced to retire to the West Coast.” Many historians argue if they should have attacked us. It was only a matter of time before the U.S was going to be sent into World war II it was a great reason to start early.
The battle of Midway (1942) was fought between Japan and America during WWII. The Americans, following many defeats delivered by the elite if not legendary Japanese fleet managed to break the Japanese code and score an upset victory at Midway. The battle of Midway destroyed the Japanese Combined fleet. Japan lost Four aircraft carries, that was around half of all carriers Japan had in operation at the time. Also the pilots and aircraft Japan lost was tremendous: 248 aircraft were destroyed.
On December 7, 1941 the japanese made a surprise attack on the US naval base in Hawaii, which caused the US to enter into WWII. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, the japanese had been taking island by island. So the US used code breakers to find out about japan invasion. The Battle at Midway was the beginning of the end for japan and the US considered this payback for Pearl Harbor. 3 years later, 20,000 japanese his in tunnels on the island of Iwo Jima waiting for american soldiers.
Jeffrey Burkhart Mrs.Shandera / Mr.Pelletier English 11 pd.2 / History pd.6 9 February 2018 Battle of Midway There were many battles during WWII but there none as important as important as the Battle of Midway. The battle started on June 4th, 1942 and lasted until June, 7th 1942 (“Battle of Midway”). the battle changes the whole course of the Pacific Theater. The Battle of Midway was able to show how powerful the United States Navy was. A small inexperienced navy was able to destroy a much larger and powerful navy.
Japan planned to invade Midway Island to get a base to attack Hawaii. The Battle of Midway destroyed the naval strength of Japan. The navy of Japan never recovered from its loss at Midway. After this battle Japan was on the defensive. Midway is one of WWII’s most significant
A long-standing debate in American history is when the United states gained the upper hand against Japan in World War. Some say it happened at the Battle of Midway, while others claim it to be Guadalcanal. Both had their significances and contributions to the American victory, but the victory at Guadalcanal is likely to not have occurred had Japan won the Battle of Midway. The American victory at Midway did several things for them, firstly they gained morale and momentum in the pacific, they essentially destroyed the Japanese navy’s surface fleet, and they secured Midway Atoll. When combined, the resulting outcome spells out the start of Japan’s failure to when the war.
The Japanese succeed in destroying almost 20 American naval vessels, which included eight giant battleships, and more than 300 airplanes. The USS Arizona was docked in this harbor, and it was badly struck and damaged by the Japanese enemy. Since this event happened on a Sunday,
(Source L) It was 8:00am and the US had no answer to the Japanese attack and had not yet sent up their squadron of aircraft. This gave the Japanese chance to attack ground targets using their fighter planes. They then turned their attention to the battleships moored in the harbour. The US were able to respond with anti-aircraft fire coming from ships and land, but this did not hinder the attack.
• Leaving the harbor pretty much clear due to all of the diversions placed before the United States set in place for the Japanese to attack while also minimalizing their losses. • By the time the Americans had picked up the Japanese bombers on their radar, it was too late. • The first wave was led by torpedo bombers which exposed the American’s defense and left them vulnerable • The first strike by the Japanese accounts for approximately ninety percent of the total devastation on Peal
After the bombing, the United State troops approached the island. At their first sight, the troops thought that they had wiped out all of the Japanese troops. This is because the Japanese had dug a tremendous amount of underground tunnels and hideouts (Chen). This is why the United States had a very limited amount of success with the bombing. The Japanese Imperial Navy was instructed to stay in their positions until all of the beaches around Iwo Jima were full.
Instead of ships using their limited storage space and adding valuable pounds carrying extra fuel, they could make a stop in Hawaii and refuel for the second part of the journey. Hawaii came with Pearl Harbor, but with the acquisition of this new military base, where the United States stationed over one hundred ships, came a new military strike. On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces targeted the Hawaiian naval base of Pearl Harbor, sinking or severely damaging five battleships, three destroyers, seven other boats, and wrecking more than 200 planes. The United States retaliated, going into World War II, which then resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of
Rough Draft #1 Battle of the Coral Sea was an air and naval engagement between the U.S. fleet and Japanese invasion force. “It was the world’s first all-carrier battle, and the first sea battle which neither side could see each other” (Pacific Aviation). The Battle of the Coral Sea helped the Battle of Midway (occurred on the following month)by destroying 2 Japanese carrier ships (Shokaku and Zuikaku.) The battle thwarted the invasion of Port Moresby to July 3 1942 (until the Battle of Midway settle the invasion). Japanese forces had been planning to invade Port Moresby in New Guinea.
Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort and the U.S.’s overall superior strategies of Nimitz and Fletcher was the true reason for why the U.S.’s seemingly impossible victory became possible. The two key themes that I will focus analysis on is the failures in the Japanese strategic planning and execution at Midway and U.S. determination and resilience to keep pushing on even after things, especially with USS carriers leading up to and during the actual war was falling apart. Symonds begins to argue his case by dissecting Japan’s plans for conquest and domination in the Pacific. He starts with looking at the Japanese failure by several of their military philosophies.
Joint Planning for Operation Anaconda SFC Spurlock, Matthew MLC Class 005-18 Joint Planning for Operation Anaconda Since the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism, there have been numerous battles. One of the most important battles that shaped future joint planning of operations was Operation Anaconda. The outcome of this operation was ultimately successful, however, the original intent from the commanders were not met due to errors in the joint planning process. Joint planning during Operation Anaconda proved ineffective because of inaccurate intelligence about the terrain and weather, the exemption of Air Force and Navy during the initial planning phase, and false assumptions about the enemy. Intelligence Intelligence Preparation
“When first spotted by our screening ships and combat air control, they were still not visible from the carriers, but they soon appeared as tiny dark specks in the blue sky, little above the horizon...” Mitsuo Fuchida, a Japanese captain in the Japanese Navy during World War 2 recalled about the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Midway took place on the island of Midway Atoll on June 4 - June 7, 1942, and was a conflict between Japan and United States of America. The Japanese Navy tried to take over the Midway Atoll, but unbeknownst to them, the U.S cracked the code and surprised them at the Midway Atoll with their navy. The code the U.S received on plans the Japanese Navy had made to siege the island of Midway Atoll caused the Battle of Midway and