Midway, Turning Point in World War II - Essay Example

" " " " " and number]" " in format: 12 May 2002]" Midway, Turning Point in World War II The single greatest thing accomplished by the Battle of Midway was the huge amount of damage that was done to the navy of Japan. Prior to Midway, the Japanese all but controlled the entire Pacific Ocean. For any give mission, the Japanese navy could sally forth an enormous surface fleet, including large carriers to deal misery to whomever might be in their way. At the Battle of the Coral Sea, May 7 and 8, 1942, the American fleet took a terrible beating and appeared on the verge of collapse.

Admiral Yamamoto knew when he attacked Pearl Harbor that the only way to wage a successful war against the United States was to completely wipe out his only opposition, the navy of the United States. The fact that Japan was an island nation allowed for the development of a large trading fleet as well as the largest military navy in the world. Without control of the Pacific, Japan could not expect to last long as everything had to be transported to Japan via ships. If the American navy could be eliminated from the Pacific, Japan would be able to control the entirety of its trading sphere.

Yamamoto had to get the United States into one last battle where his power could be successful against a weaker enemy. The key to his plan was found to be Midway, the lookout for Hawaii. With Midway captured, and Hawaii neutralized, Japan’s only problem would be forced further east to the United States. With Hawaii under their control, Japan could have taken the war to the United States and neutralize any threat from there, but with the outstanding victory of the Americans at Midway, the navy of Japan was almost totally destroyed.

The Japanese were never able to replace all of their lost pilots nor could they replace the equipment lost at Midway. At the end of the battle for Midway, Japan could no longer sortie an organized fleet. It was now just a matter of time before American industry would sink the hopes of Japan. Works Cited http://www.history.navy.mil/library/special/midway.html, accessed April 28, 2011, The Japanese Story of the Battle of Midway, Cinc First Air Fleet Detailed Battle Report #6.