Battle Of Midway Research Paper

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Many historians consider the Battle of Midway as one of the most decisive battles that effectively shaped the overall outcome of World War II. Military intelligence played an integral role in determining the outcome of the Battle of Midway between the United States and Japanese Naval Forces. As the Japanese sought to gain control over the Pacific, American intelligence assets gained knowledge of the Japanese intent, planned courses of action, and means of execution. The events that took place on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor were a pre-cursor to the planned attack on the Battle of Midway. In fact, Japanese naval forces engaged American forces at Midway two hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor in an attempt to decrease the American military …show more content…

This led to the Japanese identifying their specific target as they reported the intelligence information using their code. American naval intelligence continued to monitor Japanese communications closely. As the false intelligence was discovered and relayed by the Japanese, “AF” was confirmed to be Midway Island. The crypto-analysts’ efforts, ingenuity of Jasper Holmes, and Admiral Nimitz’s trust in his intelligence assets led to an American victory that turned the tides in the Pacific Campaign during World War …show more content…

“Nimitz was aware, for example, that the vast numerical superiority of the Japanese fleet had been divided into no less than four task forces, and the escort for the main Carrier Striking Force was limited to just a few fast ships. For this reason, they knew the anti-aircraft guns protecting the carriers would be limited. Knowing the strength he faced, Nimitz calculated three carrier decks, plus Midway, to Yamamoto's four gave him rough parity” (Battle of Midway, 2016). One of the assets re-tasked to Midway was the Yorktown, an aircraft carrier that required significant repair prior to being reallocated from Pearl Harbor to Midway. The Yorktown underwent restoration and repair for only 72 hours before heading to Midway. On May 4, 1942, the Japanese engaged American forces at Midway and were defeated because they were ill-prepared to handle the combat force the Americans had been reinforced with