World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, is considered the largest armed conflict in human history. This war was fought over six different continents, in every ocean, and ultimately resulted in fifty million military and civilian deaths; including the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Within the course of the seven-year span of fighting in the war, two decisive battles changed the tide of the war in each theater: The D-Day landings and the Battle of Midway. The invasion of Normandy occurred in the Atlantic theater whereas the Battle of Midway took place in the Pacific Theater of the war. Although these battles happened in different theaters of the war, the Allied victories sent both the Japanese and the Germans marching …show more content…
This attack, if successful would be every beneficial for the Japanese. It would not only allow them to enter Hawaiian water with a base in the eastern Pacific, but more significantly, it would strike fear into the American people. Because this attack was so important to Japan and they depended heavily on it, the Emperor assembled the largest force ever to be assigned in Japanese Naval history. This force consisted of eight carriers and eleven battleships and the Japanese looked to achieve their naval attack on Midway through the use of surprise and stealth. What they did not know is United States cryptanalysts in Hawaii had already decoded bits and pieces of their messages. They were able to decode that a large attack was going to take place but they were unsure of where this strike would take place. All they knew is the location was titled “AF.” They believed this location to be Midway Island, so through a secure telegraph, the United States told the island to radio message stating that they were low on water. As a result of intercepting these messages and obtaining this important information, the United States were able to prepare for the attacks. As Admiral Chester Nimitz in Honolulu stated:
Had we lacked early information of the Japanese movements, and had we been caught with carrier forces dispersed… the Battle of Midway would have ended differently.
Beginning his preparations, Admiral Nimitz ordered for sweeping
On the Japanese side of intelligence, Yamamoto believed to have the element of surprise at Midway, which was thought to draw the Americans out of Pearl Harbor. Yamamoto had numerical naval superiority in the Pacific to defeat the Americans at sea but remained unaware that the code breakers ascertained its operational and strategic plan to attack at Midway. Spector argues that Japanese submarines knew the American forces were planning something at Pearl Harbor, but the intelligence was never passed on to Yamamoto. Additionally, Yamamoto believed that two of the American carriers were sunk at Coral Sea, which the Yorktown was hastily being repaired in Pearl Harbor. In reality, the Japanese had no idea where the American fleet or carriers were leading up to the Battle of Midway.
Japanese Admiral, Isoroku Yamamoto, had planned to execute a surprise attack on Midway. The idea was that when the United States went for a counter-attack, the Japanese fleet would be waiting to destroy any aircraft carriers that were not destroyed in the bombing of Pearl
The Japanese planned to take out the coasts and island that the American Navy had. The Japanese Navy would try a mainland invasion of the United States if they could take the Midway Island. First they would probably take Hawaii then they would take the Panama Canal and then after that the Japanese would invade San Fransisco Bay then there would be a negotiation between the United States and Japan would gain all the land gained by the Japanese during the Pacific Campaign.
The critical victory at Midway, which crippled Japan’s naval force was the turning point in the Pacific. The U.S. was finally able to stop the growth of the Japanese Empire and started to push back. Over the next three years the U.S. continued to decipher the JN-25 messages and by 02 September 1945 the Japanese surrendered ending World War II. Deciphering the Japanese code gave the United States the upper hand in the Pacific and without the efforts of the men at Station HYPO the war may have been much
Nimitz was able to crack the Japanese secret code of communication and he was able to prepare his military for the surprise attack on Midway planned by the Japanese. Along with this, other strategies used were American submarine patrolling (Mcgowen 26). The submarines would gauge the enemy's attack and shoot torpedoes to sink the enemies ships. It would also help in sending secret codes that would help the United States military to prepare for the attack in addition to also protect their battleships. The United States were also advantageous on their land.
Despite all the success Japan had early in the war, they did not do as much damage to the United States Pacific fleet as they would have like to have done. This gave America a false sense of security at the time when Japan was preparing to take stronger action. Rear Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s plan was to draw in the remaining American ships into an area where they could be attacked and destroyed by a much greater number of Japanese vessels. Admiral Yamamoto thought that if Japan captured valuable territory like the Midway Islands that the United States could not afford to give up, he could destroy the remaining American ships with ease because the Americans would have no supply chain.
……….The Battle of Midway was one of the most important battles of World War II. It was the turning point of the war in the Pacific between the United States and Japan. One of Japan’s main goals during WWII was to remove the United States as a Pacific power in order to gain territory in East Asia. The Japanese formulated a plan to sneak up on the U.S. forces. However, American code breakers had intercepted a number of Japanese transmissions.
On November 26, 1941, the Japanese Task Force comprised of six aircraft carriers. A support force, which included two battleships, three cruisers, nine destroyers, three submarines, escorted it and eight oil supply ships, began their trek to Hawaii. They must travel four thousand miles across open sea and remain undetected by the UNITED STATES Forces. (Wisniewski 20) The UNITED STATES Military knew a surprise attack by Japan was possible and they thought they were prepared. Adm. Husband E. Kimmel and Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short, the commanders of the UNITED STATES Naval and Army forces in Hawaii, respectively, had regularly scheduled training exercises and had taken many precautions to avert disaster. (Pearl Harbor’s History, Filmstrip)
Yamamoto had a complex invasion plan that included a second operation against the Aleutian Islands near Alaska, however, because of the damages sustained at the Battle of Coral Sea, his Carrier Strike Force consisted of only four aircraft carriers defended by only a handful of cruisers and destroyers (“HIGH NOON ON THE HIGH SEAS”). Even with the depleted fleet, the Japanese remained confident that the upcoming battle would be a swift victory for their advancement into the Pacific. Little did the Japanese know that U.S Intelligence was hard at work gathering intel to thwart an offensive on Midway.
Japan’s wanted to attack Midway to gain power in the Pacific Ocean and to eliminate the United States Navy for a long time. Since the U.S. suffered a major defeat at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, felt he could take advantage of the U.S. since they were weak in his mind (Hone). Japan was fixated on settling their differences with the U.S., so they began risking large naval units in Pacific battles. An article posted in the Los Angeles Time, “Japs Risk Large Naval Units in Blows at U.S.” says, “For the sixth time in six months Japan made a deadly bid to capture the mastery of the Pacific, and for the sixth time she has failed after paying a price that is fast becoming prohibitive,” (Symonds). Posted just after the Battle of Midway it showed that the Japanese had been planning this.
With few and damaged troops, it seemed all but futile for the puny American fleet. But, one key factor of this war was that the Americans had figured out the Japanese code and knew something was up. This gave them the element of surprise. By June 4, the American fleet had located the Japanese fleet, just northeast of Midway.
suffered a major defeat at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, took advantage of the situation the U.S. was put in after its losses during Pearl Harbor (“Japs Risk Large Naval Units...”). With the backbone of U.S. Pacific Fleet torn out, Japan made several attempts to dominate the Pacific. Japan was anxious to settle their differences with the U.S., so they began risking large naval units in Pacific battles. An article posted in the Los Angeles Time, “Japs Risk Large Naval Units in Blows at U.S.” says, “For the sixth time in six months Japan made a deadly bid to capture the mastery of the Pacific, and for the sixth time she has failed after paying a price that is fast becoming prohibitive,” (“Japs Risk Large Naval Units...”). This article was posted days after the Battle of Midway, on June 7th, 1942 reflecting the actions of the Japanese Navy in the previous months. The Japanese were anxious to pounce on the weakened U.S. after Pearl Harbor, backing their attacks with large naval units. The Japanese felt that they needed to take over Midway Island in order to claim dominance over the U.S. in the Pacific.
The United States code broke the Japanese planned ambush, and were able to figure it out before it happened, which prevented them from potentially loosing this fight. On 4th June, the Americans found the Japanese fleet. While the Japanese were re-fuelling, they were quite venerable. This meant that the Americans ambushed the Japanese and destroyed 4 fleet carriers. The Japanese had 322 aircrafts and 5 thousand soldiers on board while these carriers were being destroyed. Japan had major losses on this day, but America didn’t go un injured either. With 147 aircrafts and more than 300 sea men were also taken down. After Japan had their Navy destroyed, it was impossible to recover from. Ever since this incident had accrued, japan was on the defensive side. After all this Japan still wanted to take over the
The Battle of Midway, one of the most important battles of World War II, took place from June 4, 1942 to June 7, 1942. The battle occurred about five months after the Japanese capture of Wake Island, and exactly six months after the Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Before the Battle of Midway, the Japanese were on the offensive through South-East Asia and the Pacific. The Japanese attacked Wake Island Pearl Harbor and other atolls, which strengthened their empire and severely damaged the U.S. Navy. During the Battle of Midway, the Imperial Japanese Navy lost four carriers: Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and the Soryu. After the Battle of Midway, the U.S. Navy was able to make their first offensive move at the Battle of Guadalcanal. Before the Battle of Midway, U.S. morale was low because the Japanese were rampaging through the Pacific, but after the Battle of Midway, the Kido Butai was permanently damaged which meant the U.S. Navy was able to take back the Pacific using General MacArthur’s “Island Hopping” strategy.
On May 10, 1942, the United States intercepted and broke a code to the Japanese. This code was a signal for the Japanese to invade and take control over the island. When the U.S. finished deciphering the code, immediate action was taken. The attack on Midway was planned to begin on June 4, 1942. The U.S. sent out over 66 ships, including carriers, destroyers and submarines. In sending naval power to Midway less than a month earlier, the United States planned to ambush the Japanese. (Prados)