June 4, 1942 - The Battle of Midway

It really is hard to state how overwhelming and pivotal this victory was for the United States. Not to mention how implausible its prospects looked on the day before the battle.

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Frank Jack Fletcher

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He was in a class of destroyer all by himself

Agreed.

I know Midway is commonly known as the “turning point” of the war in the Pacific. But I’d argue against that. And my main argument is the Solomons Campaign, specifically the land, sea, and air battles at Guadalcanal. We landed on Guadalcanal two months after Midway. And even though we had achieved a huge and important victory over IJN at Midway, that victory did not mean we had naval superiority at Guadalcanal. In fact, for the first portion of the Guadalcanal campaign the Japanese had naval superiority and scored victories over the USN like Savo Island and Santa Cruz. The Japanese were also able to run heavy surface forces down the slot to plaster Henderson Field and land reinforcements and supplies on numerous occasions. And while we won naval battles like Eastern Solomons and Cape Esperance, these battles were not knockout victories that gave America naval supremacy in the Solomons. Really it wasn’t until November 1942 at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal that the US finally had wrestled the full initiative from the Japanese.

So, while Midway was one of the greatest victories in all of naval warfare and rightly should be recognized as such, it really wasn’t the true turning point of the war in the Pacific. The real turning point was the Solomons Campaign, and specifically the Guadalcanal Campaign.

I hope the movie is on tonight.

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Good video from US strategy and how it played out.

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It is excellent. Thanks.

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I know Midway is commonly known as the “turning point” of the war in the Pacific. But I’d argue against that. And my main argument is the Solomons Campaign, specifically the land, sea, and air battles at Guadalcanal. We landed on Guadalcanal two months after Midway. And even though we had achieved a huge and important victory over IJN at Midway, that victory did not mean we had naval superiority at Guadalcanal. In fact, for the first portion of the Guadalcanal campaign the Japanese had naval superiority and scored victories over the USN like Savo Island and Santa Cruz. The Japanese were also able to run heavy surface forces down the slot to plaster Henderson Field and land reinforcements and supplies on numerous occasions. And while we won naval battles like Eastern Solomons and Cape Esperance, these battles were not knockout victories that gave America naval supremacy in the Solomons. Really it wasn’t until November 1942 at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal that the US finally had wrestled the full initiative from the Japanese.

So, while Midway was one of the greatest victories in all of naval warfare and rightly should be recognized as such, it really wasn’t the true turning point of the war in the Pacific. The real turning point was the Solomons Campaign, and specifically the Guadalcanal Campaign.

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Lord Vader makes an excellent point. At one point during the Solomons campaign, we were down to just one damaged carrier operational in the Pacific. The Japanese made a number of strategic mistakes in the battles that cost them the island, and, ultimately, the war. We likewise made more than our share of unforced errors.

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If you're interested in the Battle of Midway from the Japanese perspective I highly recommend the book "Shattered Sword" by Anthony Tully and John Parshall

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Fantastic book that does a good job of showing that the odds were not nearly as lopsided going into the battle as the conventional narrative portrays. Mostly due to Japanese ship design, tactics, and stubborn as hell strategic leadership.

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U.S. forces led by Chester Nimitz, Frank Jack Fletcher and Ray Spruance accomplished an unlikely and relatively complete revenge for Pearl Harbor...

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Given the US had already broken the Japanese code since before Pearl Harbor (hmmm... ), knowing far in advance that the main Jap Naval Force was steaming to Midway, catching them completely by surprise should have been a foregone conclusion to begin with at Midway. Anything BUT a decisive and crippling defeat of the Jap Carrier Fleet would have been a great disappointment and failure...

Events started disastrously for our ballsy (but sacrificed) slow torpedo dive-bombers, getting shot down one after another like pigeons...UNTIL we got lucky...

Another wave of US pilots caught Jap carriers with their pants down, refueling aircraft. With that logistic miscalculation started and finished off any illusion of a Jap win at Midway (or war victory).