Midway, Battle of

MIDWAY, BATTLE OF

MIDWAY, BATTLE OF (4–6 June 1942), a major engagement of aircraft carriers that reversed Japan's initial tactical successes in the Pacific during World War II. After ravaging the U.S. Battle Fleet at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese steamed unimpeded across the western Pacific, their progress delayed only briefly by the indecisive Battle of the Coral Sea (3–8 May 1942). Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of Japan's Combined Fleet, resolved to take Midway Island and force Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, to commit his weakened forces to a final clashat sea.

At Nimitz's disposal were the carriers Enterprise and Hornet and their support ships under Rear Adm. Raymond A. Spruance, and a task force built around the carrier Yorktown. In overall sea command was Rear Adm. Frank J. Fletcher, who flew his flag from the Yorktown.

Late in May, Yamamoto's great fleet of 185 battle-ships, carriers, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and auxiliary vessels steamed eastward from various Japanese bases, while a diversionary assault fleet steamed toward the Aleutians in a bid to draw the Americans away from the Midway area. Yamamoto planned to shatter Midway's

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defenses with aircraft from the carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and Soryu under Vice Adm. Chuichi Nagumo and clear the way for an invasion force of some 5,000 troops. Yamamoto steamed toward Midway, convinced through intelligence reports that there were no American carriers in the area of Midway.

Nimitz anticipated Yamamoto's battle plans precisely. He sent a few warships northward to cover the Aleutians, stationed his three carriers 350 miles northeast of Midway, and waited. On 3 June the Japanese mounted their deceptive strike at the Aleutians, and on 4 June the first wave of Japanese aircraft hit Midway. Shortly after 7 a.m., Spruance launched his air strike on the zigzagging Japanese fleet. Meanwhile, the flight leader of the returning Japanese air strike radioed Nagumo that one more bombing attack on Midway was needed. Accordingly, the Japanese admiral ordered his torpedo-laden reserve aircraft to re-arm with bombs for another strike at the island. This was the first fatal decision of the battle. When a scout plane sighted the U.S. naval force, Nagumo halted the re-arming operation and ordered part of his second wave to attack the American ships with torpedoes, the rest to hit Midway again with bombs. However, before launching these attacks, he decided to recover the planes of his returning first Midway strike. This was his second fatal decision. Shortly after recovery was made, Nagumo had to dodge U.S. torpedo attacks; the torpedo aircraft were massacred, but behind them came U.S. dive-bombers that struck the Japanese carriers while their flight decks were loaded with fueled and armed aircraft. The Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu burst into flame and sank with their planes.

On 5 June, Yamamoto canceled the invasion of Midway. Spruance pressed further his attack on the retreating Japanese fleet and sank the cruiser Mikuma. The American naval triumph was flawed when a lurking Japanese submarine torpedoed the listing and vulnerable Yorktown, along with a lone ministering destroyer. On 7 June, the Yorktown succumbed to its many wounds and the Battle of Midway was over. The U.S. Navy, having inflicted enormous and irreparable damage on a vastly superior fleet, effectively turned the tide of the naval war in the Pacific.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Levite, Ariel. Intelligence and Strategic Surprises. New York: Columbia University Press, 1987.

Lord, Walter. Incredible Victory. New York: Harper and Row, 1967; 1969; Short Hills, N.J.: Burford Books, 1997.

Morison, Samuel Eliot. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. 4: Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions. Edison, N.J.: Castle Books, 2001.

Prange, Gordon W., Donald M. Goldstein, and Katherine V. Dillon. Miracle at Midway. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1982; Norwalk, Conn.: Easton Press, 1990.

Spectre, Ronald H. Eagle Against the Sun: The American War with Japan. New York: Vintage Books, 1985.

Thaddeus V. Tuleja / a. r.

See also Coral Sea, Battle of the ; Navy, United States ; Pearl Harbor ; World War II, Navy in .