The Battle of Coral Sea Essay

This intelligence allowed Nimitz to avoid a secondary naval battle and concentrate a surprise attack unforeseen by the Japanese at Midway. Nimitz was able to position the fleet out of the Japanese carrier’s striking range and hide fall under the protection of land based air at Midway. Aligning the three carriers and land-based air power was instrumental in matching and defeating the larger and more competent Japanese fleet.

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.

Sections 2: Investigation The Battle of Midway was a drastic war between the United States and Japan on the small island of Midway, Atoll. In the hot, bright summer of June, 1942 had become a grim, dark period. A battle that brought tides of the attack on both sides due to their past actions such as, when Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor and now wanted to get more territorial land. And on the other hand America’s attack on Tokyo.

By the end of 1941 Japan had control of most of the Pacific theater. It was not until after the attack on Pearl Harbor that the United States formally declared war on the Axis Powers. By the beginning of 1942, the United States Navy, switched from being in a defensive position to an offensive position and took the fight to the Japanese military in the Pacific. The Battle of Midway is considered the turning point in the Pacific Theater during WWII. However, the Battle of Midway may not have happened as it did if it were not for the men who tirelessly worked to break the Japanese JN-25 code. The ability to decipher the encrypted Japanese messages gave the United States Navy the upper hand in the Pacific theater and by the end of the war the Japanese

The Battle of the Philippine Sea was the end of Japanese competiveness in the air. This Battle gave way to the United States’ ability to project its military power further into the heart of Japan with little to no resistance from the Japanese Fleet in the form of aerial warfare. It also left the Japanese desperate to find new ways of fighting American naval forces in ways other than the standard convention. The Battle of the Philippine Sea was “not the decisive battle in World War II”7; however, it did help accelerate the United States’ takeover of the auxiliary islands with the destruction of Japanese conventional air warfare.

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)

In order for the defense to be a success support was needed from the air and sea, which the Japanese Imperial Navy did not have. However, other military branches demanded that Kuribayashi see to it, pillboxes were being built at

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.

(Morison, 2002) Being able to establish bomber in the Marianas allow the US to begin Operation Scavenger conducting bombing runs on mainland Japan. (Morison, 2002) The start of these mission greatly increased the strategic value of Iwo Jima as it served as the early detection position for the mainland Japan air defense system radioing any approaching US bombers. These early warnings and the amassing of near 21,000 men to bolsters Japan inner line of defense made Iwo Jima a must have the planners by February 1944. (Morison, 2002) Before the planners could develop an amphibious assault they had to understand the island of Iwo Jima.

Before their attack on Midway Island, the Japanese had to take over Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in early May of 1942. Yamamoto planned the Battle of the Coral Sea with hopes of gaining new islands in the Pacific Ocean that would aid the Japanese during its attack on Midway

Battle of Midway was a major naval battle, widely regarded as the most important one of the Pacific Campaign of World War II.[3] It took place from June 4 to 7, 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, five months after the Japanese capture of Wake Island, and exactly six months to the day after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States Navy decisively defeated a Japanese attack against Midway Atoll.

Since the A.S. base of operations was on a land surrounded by water, they are bound to have a dangerous and versatile Navy to defend themselves. Japan and the United States agreed to a treaty to help the success in becoming victorious in the water, calling it “Treaty of the Pacific”. The Japanese made Kanmusu or “Ship Girls” while the Americans lend their aircraft carriers and jets. The Japanese have recreated remnants of past WWII ships and embodied them into humanoid beings to show that the Japanese Navy is a force to be reckoned with. In exchange, the US have dedicated most of their Air Force in the hands of the Japanese for the time being until the war ends. But money and materials going into the war effort and especially this project was making a huge hole in their wallets.

The hopes for the effect this battle fleet would cause were mostly about America’s image. Roosevelt’s plan was to use this fleet to show the world how powerful we had become, as well as demonstrate our navy capability. It was impressive to many, displayed great influence and showcased great naval power from our country. Roosevelt used this tactic in order to intimidate Japan by showing them the fleet could sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, prompting the fleet to sail across the world.