The Battle Of Midway

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The Battle of Midway

On June 3rd, 1942, the United States declared war on Imperialistic Japan and Nazi Germany. Due to the bombing of the United States' naval base at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese the U.S. was forced to take action. The United States began their first naval battle near the Midway islands in defense of its pacific fleet and positioning. Midway was the Japanese' last goal for its western expansion in the Pacific.

Just after midnight on June 4th,1942, the United States attacked a fleet of Japanese transport ships. One American torpedo plane took out fleet tanker "Akabono Maru". Later that morning at about 6:30am, Japanese planes began bombing midway island installations, though causing minimal damage to the U.S. naval base. Between 9:30am and 10:30am the U.S. took out Japanese aircraft carrier's "Kaga, Akagi, and Soryu". During the battle the Japanese recovered three U.S. naval aviators. But after interrogating these men, the Japanese murdered them.

On June 5th, 1942, a battleship, under the command of Rear Admiral Spruance, pursued the Japanese fleet westward leaving salvage workers to repair the U.S. aircraft

carrier "Yorktown"(which was damaged a day earlier by a Japanese submarine torpedo).

The last of the air attacks of the battle took place on June 6th, 1942, with the United States beginning to emerge victorious with the sinking of 2 destroyers, 1 heavy cruiser, and 1 cruiser. Meanwhile a Japanese submarine torpedoed aircraft carrier "Yorktown" and the destroyer "USS Hammann", though it took a day for the carrier to turn over and sink. The Japanese submarine escaped with-out destruction soon after the torpedoing. (Naval Historical Center, Battle of Midway:4-7 June 1942, Department of the Navy...

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...he U.S. complete control over the Pacific Ocean. This defeat also gave the Allies an absolute victory over Japan and the remaining Axis powers. The infamous Battle of Midway officially ended on June 7th 1942.

Works Cited

Baikie, Eric. Ngo, Kevin. Collins, McKenzie. "Major Battles of WWII". Viking Press. January 2002.

Bruce, George "Sea Battles of the 20th Century", Stopping the Tide: the Battle of Midway 4th - 7th 1942, Department of the Navy, May 1990

Cressman, Robert, J. "No End Save Victory", Naval Historical Center, June 1998

Dingman, Roger, The origins of naval arms limitation,"Power In The Pacific", Naval Institute Press, 1998.

Naval Historical Center, "Battle of Midway: 4th -7th June 1942, Department of the Navy. June, 30, 2003.

Naval Historical Center, "Preparation For Battle" Department of the Navy, April 1999

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