Battle of Midway

Battle of Midway
Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II
U.S. Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers from the USS Hornet about to attack the burning Japanese cruiser Mikuma for the third time on 6 June 1942.
Date 4–7 June 1942 Location Midway Atoll 28°12′N 177°21′W Result Decisive American victory
Belligerents
United States	Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Chester W. Nimitz Frank J. Fletcher Raymond A. Spruance Elliot Buckmaster George D. Murray	Isoroku Yamamoto Nobutake Kondo Chūichi Nagumo Tamon Yamaguchi   † Ryusaku Yanagimoto   †
Strength
3 carriers, ~25 support ships, 233 carrier aircraft, 127 land-based aircraft	4 carriers, 2 battleships, ~15 support ships (heavy and light cruisers, destroyers), 248p90 carrier aircraft, 16 floatplanes Did not participate in battle: 2 light carriers, 5 battleships, ~41 support ships (Yamamoto "Main Body", Kondo "Strike Force" plus "Escort" and "Occupation Support Force")
Casualties and losses
1 carrier sunk, 1 destroyer sunk, 150 aircraft destroyed[source?], 307 killed	4 carriers sunk, 1 cruiser sunk, 248 carrier aircraft destroyed,p524 3,057 killed.

The Battle of Midway was an important naval battle of World War II, between the United States and the Empire of Japan. It took place from June 4, 1942 to June 7, 1942, more or less one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, and about six months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that had made war break between the United States and Japan. During the battle, the United States Navy defeated a Japanese attack against Midway Atoll (northwest of Hawaii) and destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser, and losing a carrier and a destroyer.

The battle was a clear victory for the Americans, and usually considered the most important naval battle of World War II. The battle weakened the Imperial Japanese Navy for the rest of the war, mostly because Japan lost more than 200 pilots.

Both nations suffered losses in the battle, but Japan could not build up its forces again. The Japanese industry had little resources and was very poor compared to the American industry. For this reason, the United States replaced their lost ships and planes with better ones, very quickly; but Japan could only make few, and of poor quality.

The Japanese plan of attack was to bring America's carriers into a trap and sink them. The Japanese also tried to take Midway Atoll, to build Japan's defenses as far away from their homeland as possible. This operation was considered a previous step before attacking Fiji and Samoa, as well as an invasion of Hawaii.^p43

The Midway operation, like the attack on Pearl Harbor, was not part of a campaign for the conquest of the United States, but was made by the Empire of Japan to destroy the American strength in the Pacific Ocean. This way, Japan could become the biggest power in the area and create a great government of Asia, under its rule. It was also hoped that another defeat would force the U.S. to ask for peace soon, with good terms for Japan.^p33

After the clear victory, the Japanese forces retired. Japan's loss of four out of their six carriers, plus many number of their best air pilots, stopped the expansion of the Japanese Empire in the Pacific, and the Americans slowly began to advance towards Japan.

Other sites

• WW2DB: Battle of Midway
• The course to Midway: turning point in the Pacific
• After Midway: the fates of the U.S. and Japanese warships by Bryan J. Dickerson
• Animated history of The Battle of Midway