Battle Of Midway Research Papers

During June 4th thru 7th of 1942, the Battle of Midway was one of the most decisive battles in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. The US Navy was able to defeat the superior Imperial Japanese Navy due to multiple assumptions made by the Japanese about the strength and capabilities of the US Navy. One assumption that Admiral Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy made is that he would be able to catch the US Navy by surprise. Another assumption he made was he would be able to destroy the US Navy Fleet in the Pacific. Using battle analysis this paper will examine what the Japanese could have done differently during the course of the Battle of Midway, and how the Japanese that could have changed the course of World War II in the Pacific

The initial Japanese bombing strike was not as successful as planned on Midway, and another round of aerial bombing is ordered. The US launched a counter attack from USS Yorktown, USS Enterprise, and USS Hornet with their fighter planes and bombers. While the Japanese fighter planes and bombers were refueling and rearming, US planes bombed and disabled three of the Japanese carriers Kaga, Soryu, and Akagi. The Kaga and Soryu sank on 4 June and Akagi sank on 5 June, this left the Japanese with only one function carrier, Hiryu, in the battle. It was during this attack by the US that the Japanese realized that the US had carriers in the area. A Japanese scout plane was only able to locate the USS Yorktown, once located Japanese bombers successfully targeted and disabled USS Yorktown and eventually sank her on 6 June 1942 with a submarine strike, while being towed back to Pearl Harbor (Kelly, 2013). By the end of the battle on 7 June 1942, the US had maintained control of Midway Island and defeated the Japanese Navy by sinking the four Japanese carriers involved in the operation against midway. The US although winning the battle, lost one carrier during the battle. This crippling blow to the Imperial Japanese Nay was a defeat they were never able to recover from during World

Their scout planes eventually located the US aircraft carriers, but the Japanese were not in a position to target them, based on how dispersed the Japanese naval groups were. If more scout planes were moved to the Carrier Group from the Battle Group, they would have had a more effective coverage area. They would have been in a position to identify the actual size of the US Fleet involved in the defense of Midway and been able to realize that the ships that the Japanese scouts were reporting were actually a threat and they needed to be targeted in a higher priority than Midway. Yamamoto sending scouts from the Battle Group to the Carrier Group could have accomplished this. Scouts were initially sent out on the early in the morning of 4 Jun 1942, if the Japanese had sent the scouts out a few days earlier, they would have been able to identify the disposition of US Naval assets. After determining the disposition of US Naval forces, the Japanese could have reprioritized their efforts, focusing on the US Carriers and the redirecting back to