The Battle of Midway in World War II is considered by many historians to be one of the most important battles of the Pacific Theater of the war. The Battle of Midway occurred from June 3rd to the 7th in 1942 and was a major naval battle fought between Japan and the United States near the Midway Atoll in the Northern Pacific Ocean.
BATTLE OF MIDWAY IN WORLD WAR II – BACKGROUND
The Battle of Midway was a major event in World War II. The Second World War began on September 1st, 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded the country of Poland. In the years that followed, Europe underwent a series of significant battles, including: Battle of France, Battle of Britain and Operation Barbarossa. During this time, though, the United States remained out of the direct fighting in the war. Instead, the United States, under the leadership of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, practiced a policy of isolationism. This saw the United States limit its involvement in international affairs. As such, when World War II began in Europe in 1939, the United States remained on the sidelines, expect for its supplies shipments under the Lend-Lease Act.
At the same time, the United States opposed Japan’s expansionism, and viewed Japan as a legitimate threat in the Pacific Ocean. In response to this perceived threat, the United States imposed economic sanctions against Japan and stopped all oil exports to Japan in 1941. This was devastating to the Japanese Empire, because Japan lacked the necessary oil reserves to continue its expansion in the Pacific. As such, Japan viewed these sanctions as a direct threat to its national survival and economic stability. This ultimately was one of several factors that pushed Japan to surprise attack the United States at Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 was the event that ultimately brought the United States into the fighting of World War II. As well, it essentially launched the Pacific Theater of World War II. Furthermore, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan rapidly expanded across the Pacific, capturing key territories including the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, and parts of New Guinea. In fact, by mid-1942, Japanese forces threatened to isolate Australia and dominate the entire Pacific.
BATTLE OF MIDWAY IN WORLD WAR II – SUMMARY
With the success that Japan saw in its early battles of the Pacific theater, the Japanese military leadership sought to lure the Americans into a trap. In fact, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, devised a plan to destroy the United States Pacific Fleet of aircraft carriers, which had escaped destruction during the earlier attack on Pearl Harbor. As well, Yamamoto wanted to capture Midway Atoll, which was a strategically important island about 1,300 miles northwest of Hawaii.
However, American codebreakers, led by Commander Joseph Rochefort, famously broke the Japanese naval code. This was an important breakthrough, because it allowed the Americans the ability to decipher the Japanese battle plans before they could be hatched. As a result, the American leaders were able to devise their own surprise attack against Japan at Midway. As such, while the Japanese believed that they were going to carry out a surprise attack against the American Pacific Fleet, instead the United States decoded the Japanese plans and ordered their own surprise attack against the Japanese Imperial Navy. Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Chester W. Nimitz used the decoded Japanese plans to order the use of American aircraft carriers to counter the Japanese attack at Midway and unleash their own surprise attack on the Japanese fleet.
The effective American attack at Midway devastated the Japanese fleet in the Pacific. As such, the Battle of Midway was an important American victory in the Pacific Theater of World War II. In all, the naval battle saw significant loses for both sides. For instance, Japanese losses included: 4 aircraft carriers, nearly 250 aircraft, and over 3,000 soldiers. For their part, the Americans lost: 1 aircraft carrier (Yorktown) and 1 destroyer, approximately 150 aircraft and 300 soldiers.
BATTLE OF MIDWAY IN WORLD WAR II – SIGNIFICANCE
Just as in its earlier attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan went into the Battle of Midway with the goal of destroying the United States’ Pacific Fleet and removing the United States as a threat in the war in the Pacific. The Japanese Navy hoped that it could draw the United States’ Pacific Fleet into a battle near Midway Atoll and surprise attack the American ships, thus delivering the final blow to the United States in the Pacific. Instead, the Battle of Midway was a decisive victory for the United States and dramatically changed the rest of the war in the Pacific. The victory at Midway was mostly caused by the United States’ ability to decode Japanese communications.
The strategic loss of four carriers and their experienced aircrews was a devastating blow to Japanese naval power during the rest of World War II. In fact, many historians now view the Battle of Midway as the turning point of the war because the American victory was so decisive. Japan suffered huge losses and was ultimately unable to rebuild its fleet to counter the United States as they pushed their way towards to Japanese home islands. For instance, over 3000 Japanese soldiers died in the battle while just over 300 American soldiers died. As well, Japan suffered the loss of almost 250 aircraft, while the United States lost approximately 150.
