Battle Of Midway Essay

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The Battle of Midway Where would we be if we did not defeat the Japanese in World War II? During World War II, the Battle of Midway was the turning point: it was where America took back its authority in the Pacific. Midway was the turning point of the war because: the U.S. permanently crippled the Japanese Imperial Navy, the U.S. also ended all hopes of further expansion for the Japanese and it set the stage for how the U.S. would fight the rest of the war. Midway is a small island chain consisting of three islands Sand, Eastern and Spit. Midway was under American possession from 1897 to 1996 and American companies helped built most of Midway’s infrastructure (National Park Service). Actually, Midway part of the Hawaiian islands, midway between Tokyo and San Francisco, hence the name “Midway”. Although, it is part of the Hawaiian islands, it has never actually been part of the Hawaiian state (National Park Service). Because of its location, Midway would be a valuable position to have. With multiple runways already built and pretty well developed, Midway needed very little to become a very valuable and well needed resource for either the Americans or the Japanese. Either party who had control of Midway would turn it into, basically, a stationary aircraft carrier. Because of this the Battle of Midway was crucial so this lead to an intense air battle, in which the United States crippled the Japanese Imperial Navy. “The Japanese force that had dominated the Pacific for six months was in ruins, extinguishing the hopes of an empire. Midway was that rarest of engagements - a truly decisive battle” (BBC History). Midway, to the Japanese, was a stab back at America after the Doolittle Raids of Tokyo. The Doolittle Raids wer... ... middle of paper ... ...no other option than to fall back. Without a Navy the Japanese had no way to expand. Japan’s greatest weapon was its Navy and without it they were a much less threatening and much less effective enemy. Since Japan is an island there are two ways on and off boats and planes and in one battle Japan had lost almost all of their boats and planes. For the Japanese a Navy was crucial, it was an integral part of their Pacific “domination” and without it they would be unable to expand their empire. Also, the Japanese empire had stretched over many, many miles of open ocean, and without a Navy the Japanese would have a hard time stopping the Americans from taking away the Japanese Empire. The Japanese unlike the U.S. did not have basically unlimited resources to rebuild their Navy. Also, with the huge loss at Midway the morale of the Japanese as a whole was at a low.

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