Battle of Midway Within six minutes after American bombers had spotted three Japanese carriers, all 3 had been critically damaged and doomed to sink to the bottom of the ocean (Battle of Midway at a Glance). The Battle of Midway was meant to be a critical base to launch aircraft from for attacks against Pearl Harbor (Battle of Midway at a Glance). Although the Japanese had a very well devised plan that probably would have succeeded, they were caught by an ambush that would wipe out most of their Pacific Fleet. The Battle of Midway proved to be a decisive victory for the U.S. and a critical defeat for Japan. In Hawaii, a Japanese coded message was intercepted by station Hypo. Station Hypo is the U.S. headquarters for all code breaking in the Pacific (Battle of Midway at a Glance). The broken code clearly stated that there was going to be an attack. Commander Joseph P. Rochefort, the …show more content…
They wanted to destroy the U.S. fleet. Midway was also thought of as a guard for Hawaii (Battle of Midway). If Japan captured Midway they could use it to attack Pearl Harbor. It could also lead to peace negotiations. Peace was Japan's Pacific War exit strategy (Battle of Midway). On June fourth, 1942, at 4:30 Japan launched its first wave of attackers (Battle of Midway). This force consisted of one-hundred eight planes sent from Japan's four carriers, Hiryu, Akagi, Kaga and Soryu (Battle of Midway). These planes started the attack at 6:30 (Battle of Midway). Although they did manage to destroy fuel tanks, hospitals, and seaplane facilities, the airfield at Midway was not put out of action (Stopping the Tide). After about twenty minutes the attack was over (Battle of Midway). On their way to Midway, the Japanese were met by a patrol of six F4F Wildcats (Budiansky). Although they shot down four enemy bombers it was not enough to completely protect Midway (Battle of Midway). Because of anti-aircraft fire more Japanese planes were
This put the US on the offensive attack while the Japanese were forced to retreat back and be on the defensive. The US was able to take back the Philippines from the Japanese while being led by the two man show of the Pacific fleet with General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz. This would all lead to Guadalcanal, Operation Cartwheel, the advancement through the multiple small islands of the Pacific, Iwo Jima, and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. All of this would not have been possible without the Battle of Midway. Despite the Japanese having the advantage in numbers it was their poor planning that ultimately led to their defeat.
The war in the Pacific against Japan was fought largely by carrier and
Japan had noticed they were unprepared for the United States’ firepower. The battle that led the U.S. to control the war with Japan was the Battle of the Midway. In the Battle of the Midway, Japan had lost most of their main navy forces, allowing the United States to obtain complete ownership of the skies in the remainder of the war. Although the Japanese army would not surrender and more troops started sacrificing their own life to kill many others, also known as kamikazes, this represents that the Japanese army were already weak and they could not fight a strategic war. Because Japan was already on verge of complete defeat, the atomic bomb was obviously not needed to win the war.
However, this conflicted relationship prevented a solidified military strategic vision, with both leaders working against each other to sway the Emperor. By the spring of 1942, Japan had attacked the US bases in Hawaii and in the Philippines, controlled the Dutch Indies, Wake Island, Guam, Thailand, and Burma. The Japanese intended to establish control over the Pacific region and were successful in the execution of their offensive through the late winter of 1942. During the operational pause in early 1942, there were several options the Japanese could have taken to avoid the defeats suffered over the remainder of the war.
Starting to advance with a Japanese fleet on November 26th, they would launch a total of 360 planes about 275 miles (440 km) north of Hawaii. By 7:55, the first wave of 200 aircraft started, which included torpedo planes, bombers, and fighters. The second wave was mainly to attack carriers first, cruisers second, and save the battleships for last. No one expected a reconnaissance attack until it was too late. A U.S. Private detected on his radar a massive amount of planes, but was told to simply ignore it because it was a group of B-17’s that they were expecting.
Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941. In response, the United States declared war on Japan. America gained victory in the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The Japanese suffered a lot of losses. In early 1945, American forces suffered heavy losses during the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
The Battle of Midway was fought almost entirely with aircrafts. The battle began on June 3, 1942, when U.S. bombers from Midway Island struck at the Japanese invasion force about 220 miles southwest of the U.S. fleet. The U.S. planes quickly sank three of the heavy Japanese carriers and one heavy cruiser. Analysts often point to Japanese aircraft losses at Midway as eliminating the power of the Imperial Navy’s air arm, but in fact about two-thirds of air crews survived. The Battle of Midway brought the Pacific naval forces of Japan and the United States to approximate parity and marked a turning point of the military struggle between the two
”The Japanese government may be searching for some opportunity which they could use as a medium of surrender. Doc 7)” The Japanese people worshiped their emperor like a god, and at the thought of him losing control made them not want to consider surrendering. They wanted to find a way out of the war without sacrificing Hirohito's control. “Our B-29s had destroyed most of the Japanese industries and, with the laying of mines, which prevented the arrival of incoming cargoes of critical items, had made it impossible for Japan to carry on a large-scale war (Doc 9)”
They sent hundreds of fighter planes just before 8 am to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japan managed to cause a ton of damage to America finally forcing us to join the war against Hitler and Japan. “In all, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled or destroyed nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. Dry docks and airfields were likewise destroyed. Most important, 2,403 sailors, soldiers and civilians were killed and about 1,000 people were wounded.”
Pearl Harbor ignited the fury of the United State’s entrance into WW2. Pearl Harbor was just as ordinary as any other harbor. You can see right through the beautiful blue water. At the beginning of the battle, Japanese signed a neutrality treaty. Japanese military was asked to devise a war plan.
“From December of 1941 to the spring of 1942, Japanese forces advanced virtually unimpeded throughout the Pacific and southeastern Asia while handing the Allies a string of humiliating defeats, first at Pearl Harbor, then at Guam, Wake Island, Singapore, and in the Philippines. By the spring of 1942, the outcome of the war was very much in doubt as Americans began to think that the Japanese military was invincible. "The Pacific situation is now very grave," cabled President Roosevelt to Winston Churchill in March of 1942, after the Japanese conquest of Java.”
There wasn 't much of a battle considering the fact that it was very unexpected and Franklin D. Roosevelt had just spoke to the Japanese and they seemed to be on good terms. The event only lasted around two hours and in that short amount of time 20 American naval vessels were destroyed, 8 battleships, and 200 airplanes. There were around 2,000 American casualties while 1,000 others were only wounded. The day after this attack the president of the United States declared war on
The main deficiency with Japan’s war plan for Midway, as Symonds pointed out, came from the assumption that the Americans would react and behave in the way that the Japanese wanted, enough for them to strangle and beat down U.S. forces enough to drag them to the negotiation table as they had done with the Russians in the Russo – Japanese War. One mistake that Symonds pointed made on the part of the Japanese regarding their Midway plan was that attacking the island itself provided no advantage for them but everything for the Americans. Japan did not have the resources to both take over Midway and maintain the island, but it boosted all the benefits for the Americans because Midway provided land-based air cover, shorter logistic lines and was close enough to repair facilities that the U.S. forces did not have to stress. Essentially by picking this island, the Japanese had lost another step in the overall battle. Midway was closer to the U.S. bases which were crawling with American submarines and therefore easier to protect instead of the geographical location of Japan were trying to provide resources to Japanese on the would be occupied island would stretch out Japan’s already depleting sources as pointed out by Commander Miyo.
Throughout all of the Pacific Theatre the Allies use a myriad of tactics to defeat the Japanese. Japan’s naval mistakes were beyond costly in the entire Pacific Theatre. First, was Japan’s failure at the battle of Midway. Admiral Yamamoto was awfully uninformed about the US Pacific Fleet’s position. Yamamoto believed he could eliminate the US at Midway and move down the Aleutian chain to Hawaii and have FDR sue for peace.
Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf is also known as the Battles of Leyte Gulf and was fought October 23-26, 1944 between The Japanese Imperial Navy and the US Navy near the islands of Leyte, Samar and Luzon. This battle is known as one of the greatest battles of all times as well as the largest naval battle fought in modern history due to 200,000 soldiers involved. In 1942 General Douglas MacArthur had promised the Filipinos that he would return to liberate them. On October 20, 1944 - a few days before the Battle of Leyte Gulf began- General MacArthur kept his promised and arrived in Leyte with the Allied Forces and the US Navy’s Third and Seventh Fleets as support for his invasion (8 Facts About the Battle...that will blow your mind).