Pacific Warfare: The Battle of Midway

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Pacific Warfare

World War II was a horrific time in not only in the United States, but throughout the entire world. There were horrendous things going on in Europe at this time. World War II began in 1939. The Battle of Midway had a great impact on World War II. The Battle of Midway was a battle between America and Japan; Germany was not involved in this. By examining why Japan attempted to take control over Midway, Japan’s plan, and the battle itself, a connection can be made to The Battle of Midway and its effects on World War II. The Battle of Midway was a huge part in World War II.

The Battle of Midway began because of the Japanese. Japan wanted to gain more land in the 1930s. The Japanese needed to overpower lands and countries close to Japan to do this. But to overpower these countries, natural resources became a necessity to the Japanese. Japan needed a strong military to gain the natural resource, and they did not want the United States knowing or intruding in on their plan. Because of this, the Japanese believed that they needed to put an end to the U.S. Navy. Japan then bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 (White 4). This attack did a large amount of damage, but the Japanese did not succeed in what they wanted to do, they wanted to destroy the American aricraft carriers. These aircraft carriers were not being stored in Pearl Harbor at that time. Just days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded two more significant stations in the Pacific Ocean. Many Americans were frustrated and discouraged because they thought the Japanese were impossible to defeat, but something surprising happened on April 18, 1942. Japan was attacked by the United States. The U.S. sent out sixteen B-25 bombers to attack...

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... world at this time, did not believe that the U.S. had a very strong military. A third effect the Battle of Midway had on World War II was that it stopped the Japanese from expanding their land. It could have been horrific if Japan became larger. Again, Japan attacked Midway because of an airplane attack that came from and aircraft carrier. The plan the Japanese came up with was simple but difficult to execute and did not work. Lastly American forces took out four aircraft carriers and won the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Midway was a large part in U.S. history and World War II.

Works Cited

Chrisp, Peter. The War in the Pacific. Austin: Steck-Vaughn Company, 2004. Print.

McGowen, Tom. The Battle of Midway. Danbury: Children's Press, 2001. Print.

White, Steve. The Battle of Midway. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2007. Print.

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