The United States was engaged in a naval battle with Japan from June 4-7 1942, 6 months after Pearl Harbor (Carson) (Interview). This engagement was The Battle of Midway and the most important naval battle of WWII. The United States was able to take control of the Pacific after the victory. This battle not only determined naval superiority in the Pacific but also was a turning point for the entire World War. (Interview)
The Battle of Midway took place around the Islands of Midway. These islands are the farthest west of the Hawaiian chain of islands. These islands were important in the U.S. defense of the Hawaiian Islands. The U.S. force’s included 3 aircraft carriers (Yorktown, Enterprise, Hornet), 234 aircraft, 110 bombers, fighters and patrol planes, along with a fleet of 25 submariners. Admiral Chester Nimitz led the Americans. The American troops had been depleted by the attack on Pearl Harbor and the battle of Coral Sea. 6 large aircraft carriers and 400 aircraft highlighted the Japanese troops. Isoroku Yamamoto led the Japan forces. The Battle of Coral Sea was the battle before the Battle of Midway. At Coral Sea, Japan didn’t finish its goal of the mission, which was to invade Port Moresby in New Guinea in order for its planes to dominate the skies over northern Australia. Even though the mission failed the naval power was still with the Japanese. (Cragg) (Lambert) (Hone)
Japan’s goal during the Battle of Midway was to destroy the American aircraft carriers and take over the islands of midway, which would then led to their capture of Pearl Harbor. Confident in their advantage in numbers, Japan wanted to finish off the American fleet at Midway (Lambert). On the night before the battle, U.S. forces decoded...
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...2004 Joseph Mitchell updated Sir Edward Creasy’s 1851 study to rank Midway among the 20 most influential clashes. (Tillman)
Without a doubt the Battle of Midway is the most important battle of WWII. The battle marked the end of Japan’s dominant reign over the pacific and began the start of the U.S.’s campaign to Tokyo (Prados). Midway was the end of Japan’s strategic initiative, enabling the America to take the offensive two months later at Guadalcanal. Without a U.S. victory in June 1942, The U.S. warships still would have dropped anchor in Tokyo Bay, but at a greater cost (Tillman). The Battle of Midway saved American and allied troops not only in the Pacific but also on the European front. For the reasons of giving The United States control in the Pacific and saving the life’s of Americans and our allies, Midway was the most important naval battle of WWII.
In May of 1942, Japanese Admiral Isorosku Yamamoto devised a plan to draw the US Pacific fleet into battle where he could completely destroy it. To accomplish this master plan of his, he sought out the invasion of Midway Island which would provide a base for the Japan troops to attack Hawaii. Unfortunately for Yamamoto, America decrypted Japanese radio transmissions and Admiral Chester Nimitz was able to establish a counter attack against this offensive. Nimitz sent three aircraft carriers, The USS Enterprise, The USS Hornet and The USS Yorktown to destroy the Japanese. This is just a short overview of The Battle of Midway, or as commonly referred to as, the battle that changed the war. People argue that it had no affect on the war, but those critics couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Battle of Midway was the turning point of the war because it fully enters America into the war, it kicked off the Pacific Campaign, and it had Japan on the defensive, thus preventing them from helping The Axis Forces.
Shortly after the Japanese suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Midway, the Imperial Army started to rethink their offensive strategy and started to plan to consolidate forces and begin to focus on defending what they had already captured. Within this strategy they realized that having an airfield built on Guadalcanal would give them the ability to secure their flanks as they continued to push on through the Pacific Ocean as well as allow them to severe the supply and communication lines between the United States and Australia. Guadalc...
The Battle of Pearl Harbor was one of the most atrocious events that happened in U.S. history. On December 7, 1941, Japan made a surprise aerial attack on the United States naval base and airfields at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than two thousand Americans died and a thousand two hundred were wounded. Eighteen ships were badly damaged, including five battleships. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt with the support of the Congress, declared war on Japan.
World War II, along with its numerous battles, brought great tension between two of the strongest countries during the 1940s: the United States and Japan. Conflict between these two countries started with Japan’s push past Chinese borders into Manchuria in search of the natural resources Japan lacks. At first, the United States avoided military action with Japan by waging economic warfare on them. This economic pressure included the passing of the Neutrality Act, which prohibited the sale of weapons to nations at war (Nash 513). Additionally, the United States placed oil embargoes on Japan hoping it would force Japan to shut down military operations in China. Japan, at a critical decision point, decided to bomb the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. On December 7th, 1941 at 6 a.m., Japan pilots bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor, taking out the United States’ strongest battleships, killing thousands of people, and destroying hundreds of planes (Sherman). The day after Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan. Over the next few years, the United States and Japan fought fierce battles for dominance in the Pacific Ocean. One of the most important battles during the United States and Japanese war was the Battle of Midway. Japan was destroying the United States at sea, until the Battle of Midway gave the United States Pacific Fleet an edge on Japanese forces. The Battle of Midway was the most important naval engagement of World War II: it was a decisive battle that allowed the United States to be the dominant naval power in the Pacific and it marked a turning point in World War II for the United States.
A decisive US victory on the island of Iwo Jima later played a pivotal role in the overarching defeat of the Japanese Empire and its Armed Forces (Morison, 1945). On 9 July 1944, 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith, defeated the 43rd Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito, capturing the Saipan (Moore, 2002), a 44.55 sq. mile island located in the Northern Mariana Islands, approximately 1,465 miles south of Tokyo, Japan. The capture of Saipan was strategically important for U.S. and Allied Forces, as it was logistically relevant, due to its location from Tokyo. "It was the decisive battle of the Pacific offensive [.]
Prior to the Battle of Midway, American involvement in World War two was just beginning. On June 4th 1942 Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamo launched an attack on the Midway atoll, commencing one of the greatest naval battles in history. Only 6 months after its attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan’s carrier fleet was viewed as strong and nearly invincible. America’s decisive victory over the Japanese fleet swayed the momentum of the Pacific war.
The Significance of The Battle of Midway On June 4th, a legendary battle took place over the Pacific Sea. The battle of Midway was the turning point for America in World War 2. The air attacks on Japan and America would continue for many days. America won the battle and took out half of Japan's carriers. The battle was a great victory for America, considering the fact that Japan had much greater forces.
The battle of Midway took place 4-7 June 1942. The US Navy and Imperial Navy of Japan fought near the Central Pacific island of Midway. The battle of Midway was a battle that occurred during WW II Pacific Theater of operations. There were two events that led up to this battle. The first major event was the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which took place six months prior to the battle of Midway ( 7 December 1941). The second event was the Battle of the Coral Sea. The Battle of the Coral Sea took place a month prior and it gave the Japanese Commanders courage to set a new objective. The Battle of the Coral Sea was a key factor that led up to the battle of Midway. The battle of the Coral Sea was Japans attempt to strengthen their defensive positioning
On December 7th 1941, Japanese Planes and submarines attacked the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor. This event singlehandedly brought the U.S from its then neutral stance in World War Two to a fighting member of the “Allied Powers.” Pearl Harbor was the first of a long series of confrontations between the U.S and the Japanese in an effort to gain control of the Pacific. Unlike the “War in Europe” the Pacific strategy was dominated by naval and aerial battles, with the occasional land-based “Island Hopping” Campaign. As such, one of the most important factors in the war in the pacific was Fleet Size, the more ships a country could send to war, the better. Pearl Harbor was the Japanese’s way of trying to deal with the massive U.S Pacific fleet. However, Pearl Harbor was not the turning point of the war. After December 7th the United States began work on numerous technological developments which would ultimately help them in one of the most important battles of WWII, the largest naval confrontation of the war, The Battle of Midway. The battle, which took place from June 4th to June 7th , 1942 is widely considered the turning point of the Pacific Theater (James & Wells). Through the Post-Pearl Harbor desire for “Revenge” and various technological advantages including code breaking and radar, the U.S were able to outsmart the Japanese at Midway and ultimately win the battle, eventually leading to a victory in the Pacific.
Dubbed the largest battle between aircraft carriers, the World War two, Battle of the Philippine Sea was also the most lopsided modern naval victory ever. Like shooting fish in a barrel or a sitting duck the United States forces easily shot Japanese planes out of the sky and sunk their ships. The object of the battle was control of the Mariana Islands. The Japanese who had initiated the fight with us were strategically using the islands in the Philippine Sea as a defense for their homeland. The United States however also had a vested interest in these islands as they would help us project our forces into reaching distance of Japan. Though the Japanese had the upper hand in the Battle of the Philippines, the United States was able to overcome its disadvantages with superior command, equipment, and training.
In part of the island hopping campaign, the United States knew in order to invade mainland Japan, they would need the last piece of the puzzle. Okinawa was the last island needed to be taken in order to serve as a base where the Americans can launch invasions on mainland Japan. The United States assembled a great fleet including forty aircraft carriers, 18 battle ships, 200 destroyers, and 180,000 men. The force all together consisted of over 1,300 US ships. The Japanese on the other hand were outnumbered by 60,000 and did not have the massive fleet as they used to have prior to the Battle of Midway. With the European side of the war almost over, the Americans could start to concentrate their forces on the Japanese.
Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, the Okinawa campaign (April 1—June 22, 1945) involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan ("Battle of Okinawa," 1996). The Battle of Okinawa remembered more for its iconic photograph of US Marines raising the US flag on Okinawa more so than any other war or battle ever fought. Okinawa the largest of the Ryukus islands played a major role in the American forces overall strategic efforts to advance to the mainland’s of Japan. Because it was the last major battle of WWII, the battle of Okinawa used lessons learned and TTP’s from all previous battles with the Japanese to successfully employ combined striking power of the services and techniques of amphibious operations.
Many important turning points for America have occurred throughout its history. One in particular is when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In 1940, Japan had joined Germany and Italy in the Axis Powers. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor ever happened, the U.S. was in isolationism, which meant they were largely staying out of the war. The United States was unhappy with Japan’s increasingly belligerent attitude toward China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory. Therefore Japan decided to take over China’s import market, which meant Japan would declare war on China in 1937. American officials responded to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes on Japan. The United States reasoned that without access to money and goods, and especially essential supplies like oil, Japan would have to rein in its expansionism.
Thanks to RADM Moreell, this did not crush all chances of success. As Japan conquered half of the eastern world and America joined the fight, the Seabees deployed to forward operating bases to build and improve America’s foothold in the Pacific. Some of these included Midway and Wake. From these, the United States was able to reinforce its fleet and withstand Japan in a fight for control of the eastern world. If Japanese forces had seized total control of those islands, Pearl Harbor would have crippled U.S. chances of bouncing back, and Marine forces deployed to pacific islands would have faced a far stronger, more prepared and larger enemy than they did (Bingham
The attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, 1941, which is still a date we all know lives in infamy. The attack may have been unprovoked by a specific action, but tensions were still high between the United States and Japan pre-December 7th. The brutal and brilliantly drafted attack devastated the American Naval force in the Pacific, yet the consequences of the attack were unforgiving to the Japanese. The attack on Pearl Harbor, influenced by America’s interaction with the Japanese economy, was executed in such a way that exploited the American use of Mahanian ideals, and resulted in the incredible expansion of American Naval forces in the Pacific.