The Battle of Coral Sea

The Battle of Coral Sea was the first major sea battle between allied fleet forces, including those of the United States and Australian Navies, and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Pivotal in terms of allied naval fleet operations during the war, the Battle of Coral Sea was also the first naval battle that featured opposing air craft carriers in close proximity to each other, resulting in air battles initiated by sea, rather than from traditional land bases. The following provides relevant details.

The plan calling for expansion of Japanese forces throughout the Pacific theater was developed by the IJN and Japanese Army. As detailed by Stille, “This called for a series of sequenced operations designed to bring key areas under Japanese control in order to construct the ‘Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.” (6) It was ultimately felt by the Japanese military that once their goals of solidification had been achieved, they would be far better poised to negotiate a peace settlement with allied forces, but primarily with the United States (Stille 6). Initial portions of this plan achieved positive results for the Japanese “In the first ship action of the war at the battle of the Java Sea, an Allied naval force was shattered by a Japanese force of similar size demonstrating the superiority of the IJN’s destroyer and cruiser forces.” (Stille 7). Subsequent responses by the U.S. Navy had little effect on diminishing Japanese naval forces after these initial skirmishes until an attack was launched on March 10, 1942, when aircraft from the carriers Yorktown and Lexington attacked Japanese ships surrounding New Guinea. These would cause the IJN to postpone further operations on allied operations until efforts were...

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...ty of naval operations, as well as their strategic capabilities. As the first sea battle in World War II to pit carrier forces against each other, and as such, the Battle of Coral Sea would be pivotal in terms of naval strategies on both sides. More significantly, it would be viewed as a major step in the deterrence of the Japanese ware effort, and put the Japanese Navy on the defensive throughout the remainder of World War II.

Works Cited

"Battle of the Coral Sea." Royal Australian Navy. Royal Australian Navy, n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2011.

Henry, Chris. The battle of the Coral Sea. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press, 2003. Print.

Trueman , Chris. "The Battle of Coral Sea." History Learning Site. Chris Trueman, n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. .