History

The Japanese military perception that they were immune from any attack changed after the Doolittle attack. This created the need to improve their defense perimeters and extend eastwards. Midway, which is a small island became their target. The island was about six hundred miles away from the American island, Hawaii and therefore the approaching Japanese military attracted the attention of the American military officials. While the Japanese were determined to win the battle at Midway and threw all their military resources into the battle, the United States military intelligence was aware of their plans. In the tiny island, the United States military had little military hardware. They had three aircraft carriers and 14 destroyers as compared to the approaching Japanese fleet which had six aircraft carriers and over fifty destroyers.

The United States military intelligence was lucky to have discovered the approaching fleet and take necessary measures before the Japanese attacked. The United States military arranged for backups and air attacks quickly enough before the Japanese fleet reached Midway Island. The United States military bombed the fleet in the midmorning hours of 4th June 1942 and within a very short time, they had destroyed three of the six carriers. One of the carriers, Hiryu, was able to resist the attack and managed to sink the Yorktown. However, the carrier was traced in the afternoon by the American aircrafts and was significantly damaged. The next day, the United States aircraft and carriers went after the retreating Japanese fleets. They were able to damage two cruisers seriously although they were not destroyed completely.  

The United States commanders had acted swiftly to defend the island by increasing the number of men and military hardware because a defeat at Midway threatened the Americans especially Hawaii Island. On the other hand, the Japanese commanders were planning the biggest attack since the beginning of the war. The Japanese believed that if they were able to defeat the Americans in the pacific and possible sink all their fleets, the fate of the war would be decided.

Despite the big gains to the Japanese and their allies in the war, if they were able to defeat the Americans in the pacific, the Japanese were not aware that the United States military intelligence was breaking their codes as they planned to invade Midway. Although the US naval intelligence was aware of the planned invasion since the Pearl Harbor attack, they had limited information on the attack and did not know the target. The defeat of the Japanese at the Midway was a big step backwards in their bid to control the pacific waters. The commander Yamamito admitted that he had made a big mistake in planning the attack and assigning a lot of resources to the operation. He apologized to the Japanese government through the Emperor and resigned from his duties. However, the defeat was kept as a secret by the government and the public had no idea of the battle. The injured soldiers were secretly sneaked into the military hospitals.

The Japanese plan to gain control over the pacific by defeating the Americans is considered by many historian as a major cause of failure in the Second World War. The battle of Midway Island is one of the most significant attempts by the Japanese to undermine the United States powers in the pacific.