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
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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