Battle+Of+Midway

= Battle of Midway =

By: Chase Parker media type="youtube" key="7OBw0r28qC0" height="315" width="420" and Walker Fisher .

The Battle of Midway, was fought near the Central Pacific island of Midway, it is considered one of the decisive battles of the war in the Pacific. Before this battle the Japanese were on the offensive, capturing territories throughout Asia and the Pacific. By their attack, the Japanese had planned to capture Midway to use as an air base, as well as to entrap and destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Because of communication intelligence successes, the U.S. Pacific Fleet surprised the Japanese forces, sinking their four Japanese carriers, that had attacked Pearl Harbor only six months before, while only losing one of our carriers. After Midway, the Americans and their Allies took the offensive in the Pacific.

On 16 April, after several months of discussion, Commander in Chief, Combined Fleet (Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto), convinced the Imperial General Staff to agree to his Midway and Aleutians strategy for the summer. In Admiral Yamamoto's view, the capture of Midway Island would allow Japan to pursue its Asian policies behind an impregnable eastern shield of defenses in the Central Pacific. The centerpiece of this plan was a feint toward Alaska followed by an invasion of Midway. When the U.S. Pacific Fleet responded to the landings on Midway, Japanese carrier and battleship task forces, waiting unseen to the west of the Midway strike Force, would fall upon and destroy the unsuspecting Americans. If successful, the plan would effectively eliminate the U.S. Pacific Fleet for at least a year and provide a forward outpost from which ample warning of any future threat by the U.S. would come. Two days later, Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle and a small number of American airmen from the U.S. Army Air Corps took off from USS //Hornet// in land based bombers to attack the Japanese home islands. As a result of this attack, which caused the Japanese to want to extend their first line of defense as far east as possible, the Japanese advanced the date of their planned attack on Midway. On 5 May, Imperial General Headquarters issued "Navy Order No. 18" directing Admiral Yamamoto to carry out the occupation of Midway Island and key points in the western Aleutians in cooperation with the Army. At the same time, Japanese Navy communication activity in the vicinity of Japan dramatically increased, reflecting naval exercises conducted in preparation for both the Midway and Aleutian operations. On 7 May, Hypo provided a translation of the agenda for a Japanese aviation conference, called by Commander in Chief, 1st Air Fleet (Vice Admiral Nagumo), scheduled for 16 May. The conference concerned tactics to be employed in obtaining air superiority over a target, assisting in amphibious landings, and bombing and strafing attacks to wipe out local resistance. On 9 May, Melbourne intercepted and translated "1st Air Fleet Striking Force Order No. 6," which confirmed the creation of a new carrier strike force and that a major Fleet movement would begin on 21 May. In response to this COMINT, American cryptanalysts supplied warning notices of Japanese offensives scheduled for late May. (Battle Of Midway http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq81-1.htm Paragraphs6,7,8)

Japanese Ship sinking. Arial View of Island Of Midway Oil Tanks Burning after Japanese attack American Carrier On fire. media type="youtube" key="F4pUD9qWKs8" height="315" width="420" Extra websites for more information on our project

http://www.willamette.edu/~rloftus/midwaypage.html http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/90midway/90midway.htm

Questions Where was the battle of midway fought? Who was fighting in the battle? What did the Japanese want with Midway? Who won the Battle?

Bibliography http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq81-1.htm http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwari1/p/Midway.htm