The battle of Midway (1942) was fought between Japan and America during WWII. The Americans, following many defeats delivered by the elite if not legendary Japanese fleet managed to break the Japanese code and score an upset victory at Midway.
The battle of Midway destroyed the Japanese Combined fleet. Japan lost Four aircraft carries, that was around half of all carriers Japan had in operation at the time. Also the pilots and aircraft Japan lost was tremendous: 248 aircraft were destroyed. The pilots of these planes were well trained after years of training and countless victories under their belts. So while yes, more planes could be built, they wouldn't have the same caliber of the elite flyers from before.
Effectively it ended Japanese offensive power in the Pacific. The war turned from Japan on the offense to Japan on the defense. With their carriers sunk and their best pilots gone, the war was effectively decided. While the war dragged on for three more years in Island fighting, everyone knew Japan no longer even had a shadow of a hope for victory. Up until Midway, Japan knew only victory: Pearl Harbor, Philippines, Malaya, Burma, Ceylon,
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Their only chance was if their fleet commander, Yamamoto, was able to destroy the American fleet and win a quick victory. He almost managed to do that at Pearl Harbor, and tried to finish the job at Midway, but in the end he just came too short. The United States had suffered continuous set backs since the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. We had lost Wake Island, and Guam early in the war, and finally Corregidor was forced to surrender in May 1942. Only the Doolittle bombing raid on Japan in April 1942 had produced any positive action for Americans and this was largely A token raid to boost American morale, which it did. However Admiral Nimitz, victor at Midway, had also been victorious at the battle of the Coral Sea, and this was also a boost to