The
Battle of Midway, fought in
World War II, took place on June 4, 1942. The United States fended off
a Japanese attack on its fleet, marking a turning point in the war in the
Pacific theatre.
Fought just a month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, Midway was the
classic carrier battle, in which skill, daring, and luck all played a part.
The attack on the island of Midway, which also included a feint to Alaska
by a smaller fleet, was a ploy by the Japanese to draw the American carrier
fleet into a trap. With the American carriers destroyed, the Japanese hoped
to invade Hawaii.
At dawn on June 4, Japanese carrier aircraft bombed and heavily damaged
the base on Midway. U.S. carrier forces had the advantage of knowing, through
decryption of Japanese communications, what the enemy was up to. When the
Japanese aircraft returned to their carriers, Admiral Chuichi Nagumo decided
to re-arm them with bombs for a second strike at Midway. They were to attack
Admiral Raymond Spruance's carrier group, which had at last been detected
and was rapidly approaching. With torpedoes and bombs stacked and fuel
hoses snaked across their decks, the Japanese carriers made vulnerable
and highly volatile targets. The Japanese had no chance by this time.
Spruance immediately launched an attack from the carriers USS Enterprise
and USS Hornet. Anti-aircraft fire and fighters shot down 35 of 41 torpedo
bombers, but this action brought the Zeros down so low that the American
dive-bombers could attack almost without opposition. Five minutes later
three Japanese carriers, the Akagi, Kaga and Soryu, were ablaze, abandoned,
or crippled.
Aircraft from the Japanese carrier Hiryu struck the USS Yorktown, which
survived this and a second attack, only to be sunk by a Japanese submarine
on June 7, and the same submarine sank the destroyer USS Hammann. Aircraft
from the Enterprise in turn attacked the Hiryu and set her ablaze, and
damaged the destroyer Isokaze. After this, Spruance, in concert with the
forces on Midway, launched attacks that crippled and destroyed the Japanese
cruisers Mogami and Mikuma. Having scored a decisive victory, American
forces retired. The loss of four carriers stopped the expansion of the
Japanese empire in the Pacific and put Japan on the defensive. It had been
six months to the day since the attack on Pearl Harbor, vindicating Admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto in a way he cannot have welcomed. Yamamoto had predicted
that Japan could prevail for only six months to a year against the Allies.
Order of Battle
Japan
Advance Expeditionary Force
Carrier Striking Force
-
Cardiv 1
-
Cardiv 2
-
Batdiv 3, 2nd section
-
Crudiv 1
-
Desdiv 4 - Arashi, Nowaki, Hagikaze, Maikaze
-
Desdiv 10 - Kazagumo, Yugumo, Makigumo, Akigumo
-
Desdiv 17 - Isokaze, Urakaze, Hamakaze, Tanikaze
-
Supply Unit - Kyokuto Maru, etc
Midway Occupation Force
-
Batdiv 3, 1st section
-
Crudiv 4, 1st section
-
Crudiv 5
-
Desdiv 2
-
Desdiv 9
-
Supply Unit
Main Body
-
Batdiv 1
-
Desdiv 11
-
Desdiv 19
-
Desdiv 20
Northern Area Force
United States
Task Force 17
-
Task Group 17.5 (Carrier Group)
-
Task Group 17.2 (Cruiser Group)
-
Task Group 17.4 (Destroyer Screen)
-
Hammann (sunk), Anderson, Gwin, Hughes, Morris,
Russell
Task Force 16
-
Task Group 16.5 (Carrier Group)
-
Enterprise (CV-6)
-
Hornet (CV-8)
-
Task Group 16.2 (Cruiser Group)
-
Atlanta
-
Minneapolis
-
New Orleans
-
Northampton
-
Pensacola
-
Vincennes
-
Task Group 16.4 (Destroyer Screen)
-
Oilers
Submarines
-
Task Group 7.1
-
Task Group 7.2
-
Task Group 7.3
