Short Essay: The Battle Of Midway

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Margarita Osmanoff The Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway refers to a sea battle fought near the Central Pacific Island of Midway between the Japanese and the United States. US Pacific Fleet's aircraft carrier striking forces had embarrassed the Japanese Navy in the Doolittle Raid and at the Battle of Coral Sea a few months prior to Midway. While seeking to cut Australia's base out from under them, Japan was ambushed by an American carrier task force that was breaking Japanese operating codes in the Coral Sea. This was the first naval action in history when the surface ships never sighted one another. When the smoke finally cleared, the Americans were more hurt but still won the day because the Japanese turned back. The Japanese, however,…show more content…
The fourth carrier, Hirya, was slightly out of position and remained untouched only for a brief period. After damaging US carrier Yorktown, Hirya was caught and eliminated. Once Yorktown was successfully destroyed, the Japanese fleet pulled back. Before giving up the fight, Americans caught a Japanese cruiser. Japan's loss of 4 carriers in comparison to American's loss of one meant that for the first time, Americans had emerged the clear-cut victors in a battle against the Imperial Navy and that victory was counted in the currency of aircraft carriers. Prior to this event, the Japanese possessed superiority in naval forces over the US and had the power to ultimately choose the location and time of attack. They were on the offensive and successfully claiming territory throughout Asia and the Pacific. After 2 days at Midway, however, the two fleets were essentially equals and the US did not wait long before taking the offensive. Japanese war planners, who initially assumed it would be a short war, were proven wrong and "Americans finally enjoyed a marginal superiority over the Japanese" (Stokesbury, 249). This battle effectively destroyed Japan's naval strength, which never recovered from its mauling. Japan was now on the
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