This Day In History | World War II - 1942 The Battle of Midway begins

http://www.historychannel.com ^ | June 4

[mainepatsfan]

This Day In History | World War II

June 4

1942 The Battle of Midway begins

On this day in 1942, Japanese Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, commander of the fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor, launches a raid on Midway Island with almost the entirety of the Japanese navy.

As part of a strategy to widen its sphere of influence and conquest, the Japanese set their sights on an island group in the central Pacific, Midway, as well as the Aleutians, off the coast of Alaska. They were also hoping to draw the badly wounded U.S. navy into a battle, determined to finish it off.

The American naval forces were depleted: The damaged carrier Yorktown had to be repaired in a mere three days, to be used along with the Enterprise and Hornet, all that was left in the way of aircraft carriers after the bombing at Pearl Harbor.

On the morning of June 4, Admiral Nagumo launched his first strike with 108 aircraft, and did significant damage to U.S. installations at Midway. The Americans struck back time and again at Japanese ships, but accomplished little real damage, losing 65 of their own aircraft in their initial attempts. But Nagumo underestimated the tenacity of both Admiral Chester Nimitz and Admiral Raymond Spruance, commanders of the American forces. He also miscalculated tactically by ordering a second wave of bombers to finish off what he thought was only a remnant of American resistance (the U.S. forces had been able to conceal their position because of reconnaissance that anticipated the Midway strike) before his first wave had sufficient opportunity to rearm.

[SunkenCiv]

:'D

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I have a genuine Japanese Imperial War Bond, sold in 1942. It features 3.5 percent interest coupons, worth 50 Yen each. The last coupon could be redeemed December 1, 1959.

[glorgau]

The USS Lexington was lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea. The USS Saratoga was in drydock in San Diego.

And a whole lot more were abuildin' in yards all over the US. The Japs were going to be ground into dust, they just didn't know it yet.

[Dilbert56]

For fun, here's an article first posted on FR that's been picked up elsewhere: If Today's Media Reported the Battle of Midway

When I wrote it, my intent was to show how a completely factual account can distort the essence of an event. Just as today's media hide behind the "factual"-ness of their one-sided reporting on Iraq.

[Cheburashka]

It was but a Japanese victory on that scale (the destruction of the American carriers) would have changed all that.
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There was very little that could have been done. The Essex and Independence Class carriers would not start to be ready until 1943. If the American carriers at Midway had been sunk, there would have been nothing to do but wait.
You would have had to wait for ships to work their way through the pipeline.
As it was, with the change in fortunes that resulted allowed the U.S. to oppose the Japanese advance in the Solomons, probably a year earlier than otherwise.