The+Battle+of+Midway

The Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway was one of the most important battles in World War II. It took place June 4-7, six months after Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of Coral Sea.
** Before the Battle: ** media type="custom" key="25430994"
 * Japan planned on luring the US fleet into a fatal compromising situation, intending to eliminate the United States as a strategic power in the Pacific. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s main force trailed his carries and was intending to take out the US Fleet if it came to Midway’s support . **
 * __ United States Intelligence: __**
 * US Navy Intelligence had been reading parts of the primary Japanese Imperial Fleet communications system for some time, and since the most recent versio n change just before the Pearl Harbor #|attack, had made considerable progress on the new version. By April and even more by May, it became apparent that enough of the current JN-25 version was becoming known that new Japanese operations might be #|blocked effectively. **

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 * The Battle: **
 * June 4, Japanese carrier aircraft bombed and heavily damaged the base on Midway. US carrier forces, led by Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance had the advantage of knowing, through decryption of Japanese Navy communications, the enemy plans and intentions. Japanese Admiral Chuichi Nagumo decided to re-arm the aircrafts. **


 * While the planes were being serviced, the waiting American ships were detected. Nagumo eventually decided to change the arms load for an attack against the American ships. With torpedoes and bombs stacked, and fuel hoses snaking across their decks, the Japanese carriers made vulnerable and highly flammable targets. The plan was handicapped by faulty Japanese assumptions of the American reaction and poor initial dispositions. Admirals Chester W. Nimitz, Frank Jack Fletcher, and Raymond A. Spruance decisively defeated an attack from Japanese Navy. **

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Test Questions:
1) What military branch cracked the codes and enabled a US defeat? 2) When did the Battle of Midway take place? 3) Why was this attack (from Japanese point of view) a difficult task?

-US Navy -June 4 -The timing to plan this attack was very short

Bibliography:
[] http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/midway/midway.htm http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway