Analysis Of The Battle Of Midway

World War II was a treacherous and horrifying occurrence, with the loss of an estimated total of 48,231,700, including both civilians and military. There were numerous battles that led to the conclusion of the war, the Battle of Midway being one of the most pertinent. Through ignorance, trickery, and strict strategy, the Battle of Midway is said to be a most decisive battle of World War II.

The Battle of Midway came about when the Japanese wished to extend their Pacific control, broaching the idea to initiate a battle against the U.S. Navy. After the Japanese success at Pearl Harbor and their success coming to a standstill at Coral Sea one month earlier, Japanese commander, Admiral Yamamoto, had belief that it was necessary to hold a full battle at Midway as a deciding engagement. He thought that the Japanese had an increased chance of success, being that the U.S. had a certain disadvantage, only having two carriers since they had sunk U.S.S. Yorktown at Coral Sea, compared to the Japanese's 6 carriers, but the ship had been repaired. He also wanted to get revenge for the Doolittle Raid, an air attack on Tokyo performed by U.S. forces. To receive the Pacific gain Yamamoto so desired, he wanted to first attract a large portion of the U.S. fleet away from Midway, where they would attack, bringing the American Navy a fatal surprise. Yamamoto attempted to pull this idea through by launching an attack on the Alaskan Coast to drag the Americans North, then proceeding to attack on Midway. The Alaskan trap was just a waste of resources, the submarines sent to attack the U.S. were too late, the U.S. already knew of their plans. To the Japanese's surprise, U.S. forces were awaiting the Japanese arrival on June 4, 1942. Yamamoto had to con...

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...e U.S. fleet away from Midway a secret. They should have taken more careful precautions to prevent the U.S. from learning of their intentions. Since Yamamoto did not use certain safety measures and follow Sun Tzu's tactics properly, his entire plan became nothing.

The U.S. carried through all of the vital actions necessary with much intelligence. They practiced the tactics in The Art of War by Sun Tzu, furthering the probability of their success. With the Japanese's lack of executing their plans with efficiency and their failure to follow those guidelines that Sun Tzu had set, there was much disappointment from the unsuccessful attempts to defeat the U.S. Navy. The Battle of Midway was a very decisive battle in World War II, as it stopped the Japanese advances in the Pacific and prevented further expansion. American forces had conquered the invincible Japanese Navy.