Battle of Midway Island

In the middle of World War II, which was the turning point, it was basically divided into three parts: the first part was the European plate, mainly dominated by Adolf Hitler's rampage in Germany, with the main battlefield between Germany and the Soviet Union; The second one is the Chinese sector, of course, the Chinese people during the War of Resistance Against Japan; The third is the US Japan rivalry, also known as the Pacific War. The most obvious sign of the beginning of the Pacific War was Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Afterwards, the Japanese army flaunted their power in the Pacific and Southeast Asia for a period of time, seemingly indicating that they were not far from becoming a world hegemon.

But not long after, Japan was tricked by the United States. The United States also carried out a surprise attack with colors, known as the famous "Doolittle Raid". Although this air raid was far less effective than Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, its impact and symbolic significance were significant. Because the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was carried out on a small island in the ocean, and it was a secret operation, which felt a bit like stealing a chicken and a dog; The attack by the US military openly brought the matter to the Japanese capital Tokyo. Relatively speaking, it seems that the Japanese have broken an arm of the United States. Although bloody and severely damaged, Americans still pierced the hearts of Japanese people. Although it didn't hurt much, it scared the Japanese to death. This makes arrogant Japanese people lose face.

So the Japanese were completely angry and wanted to retaliate again, deciding to knock off the other arm of the American. Thus, the Americans who lost their arms were completely doomed.

After learning that his lair had been attacked, Yamamoto Isoroku, a Japanese war fanatic, super gambler, and merchant who attacked Pearl Harbor, angrily said, "Baga, if you don't get rid of this old American, my Empire of Japan won't be at peace!" and then planned another battle. This war is inevitable for the Japanese, and the United States must resolve it through World War I, so that the world can be settled. This is the most famous war in the Pacific War and one of the most classic wars in world war history, the famous Battle of Midway. However, surprisingly, the confident Japanese lost. How tragic was the defeat of Midway Island in Japan? They lost four aircraft carriers, and coach Yamamoto Isoroku was depressed and self disciplined for three days. Please refer to this issue's breakdown for details.

（1） The Strategic Significance and War Background of Midway Island

In fact, Midway Island is very small with an area of only 4.7 square kilometers, but its strategic position is very important. No, it's not. This island is 2800 nautical miles away from San Francisco, USA and Yokohama, Japan. It is located in the middle of the Pacific route between Asia and North America, hence named Midway Island. Originally, it was a large stone in the sea, as far away as the border between the United States and Japan. Why did the United States occupy it? This itself makes Japanese people very unhappy.

Midway Island is 1135 nautical miles away from Pearl Harbor, the main military base of the United States. It is also an important military base and transportation hub for the US military in the Central Pacific region, and a forward base for the US military in Hawaii. For the United States, it is like a door. If lost, Pearl Harbor, the headquarters of the US Pacific Fleet, would greatly lose its security. So, Americans naturally take strict precautions against it and must not miss it.

But the more you value something, the more I want it. Japanese people are so stubborn. The Japanese army attacked Midway Island not only to seek revenge for the air raid on Tokyo, but more importantly, to take this opportunity to lead the remaining forces of the US Pacific Fleet to Midway Island for annihilation. In order to achieve this goal, the Japanese navy almost poured out and launched a massive attack on Midway Island, unstoppable.

（2） Comparison of Military Strength between Japan and the United States

This war was the largest strategic offensive of the Japanese Navy during World War II. They deployed approximately 200 ships, including 8 aircraft carriers, 11 battleships, 22 cruisers, 65 destroyers, and 21 submarines. More than 600 fighter jets of various types.

Japan's participating aircraft

Among the eight aircraft carriers, there are four heavy carriers, namely the Soryu, Ryufei, Akagi, and Kaga. Originally, Japan had six heavy aircraft carriers. Unfortunately, in the Coral Sea War with the United States a month ago, the Ruihe and Xianghe aircraft carriers were severely damaged. Both aircraft carriers were repaired domestically. But this is already quite impressive. Because in comparison, the military strength of the United States is much inferior.

Japanese aircraft carriers during the war

This time, the United States only managed to concentrate 76 ships and 400 aircraft, but one-third of them still belonged to the North Pacific forces and had no combat experience.

American fighter jets

Of course, the US military also deployed all their aircraft carriers, but only three, namely the Enterprise and Hornet, which had carried out airstrikes on Tokyo, and the Yorktown, which was severely injured in the Coral Sea War. Their heavy aircraft carrier, the Lexington, was sunk by the Japanese during the Coral Sea War.

The main aircraft carriers used by the United States in the war

The Japanese commander and commander of the First Battle Fleet was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto; The commander of the aircraft carrier unit and the commander of the first aircraft carrier formation is Rear Admiral Nayun Zhongyi (who was also the direct commander of the attack on Pearl Harbor). He specifically commands Akagi, Kaga, and 146 carrier based aircraft. The commander of the second aircraft carrier formation is Major General Dawen Yamaguchi, who specifically commands the Canglong and Longfei aircraft carriers and 126 carrier based aircraft.

The Commander in Chief of the US military is the Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet and Pacific Theater Command, and General Chester Nimitz is one of the top ten five-star generals of the US military; The commander-in-chief of the aircraft carrier task force is Major General Frank Fletcher (who was also the commander of the Coral Sea War); The commander of the Yorktown aircraft carrier is Colonel Buckmaster; The commander of the Enterprise aircraft carrier is Colonel George Murray. The commander of the USS Hornet aircraft carrier is Navy Colonel Mark Mitchell.

The Commander in Chief of the United States during the Battle of Midway

The commanders of both Japan and the United States are naturally super naval stars of both countries. Both sides are sharpening their swords and preparing for a showdown.

（3） The plan of suspicious soldiers and ambushes.

Of course, the Japanese were the attackers in this war. The US military is defensive in nature. However, the United States is not a passive defense. This is like the Italian team in the World Cup. Skilled in defending and counterattacking. When you are pressed on the entire line, you always look at the neutral position, counterattack, and seal your throat with a sword. The Japanese army is like the Dutch or Argentine teams in the World Cup, often full of passion, attacking crazily, pressing down on the opponent and relentlessly pursuing until they break through the opponent's door before stopping. This battle is also the ultimate showdown between spear and shield. Who will win?

Yamamoto Isoroku is certainly not a fool. This gentleman may have studied Sun Tzu's Art of War and used the tactic of suspicion. Firstly, he launched a symbolic encirclement attack on the Aleutian Islands, which are far from Alaska and controlled by the United States, hoping to divert the attention of the US Navy from Midway Island. But the United States is not a fool. They managed to intercept communications between senior Japanese commanders and discovered Yamamoto's plan. Therefore, Admiral Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the US Navy Fleet, has decided not to take any action against the Aleutian Islands. Do you like it or not? On the contrary, three aircraft carriers and eight cruisers were directly dispatched to Midway Island.

At that time, the US Navy Enterprise and Hornet were still in the Southwest Pacific. They were urgently ordered to be recalled by General Nimitz, and the Yorktown, which had undergone major repairs at Zhuhai Port, was forcibly dispatched (which proved to be a wise move as the Japanese did not send two seriously injured aircraft carriers at the same time), and secretly ambushed northeast of Midway Island in advance. It can be said to be a trap set by the US military for the Japanese: come on, kid. It seems that Americans have also studied the Art of War by Sun Tzu.

（4） The first wave of Japan's attack

On the morning of June 4, 1942, at 6:00 am, 110 Japanese fighter jets took off from four aircraft carriers simultaneously and launched the first wave of air strikes on Midway Island under the leadership of Captain Yu'ei Zhang of the Navy. As a result, the Japanese army completed the mission with minimal losses of six fighter jets. Midway Island suffered heavy losses, with airports and oil depots damaged and 16 US fighter jets shot down.

At 7 o'clock, Captain You Yongzhang led the first wave of attack fleet to prepare for return and sent a telegram to Nan Yun requesting a second attack.

At 7:06 am, 117 fighter jets consisting of fighter jets, torpedo planes, and dive bombers took off from the 16th Special Operations Fleet led by Major General Spruance, heading towards the Southern Cloud Fleet 200 nautical miles away.

At 7:10, the first batch of 10 US torpedo bombers lined up and pounced on the Japanese aircraft carrier. But under the interception of Japanese fighter jets and intense artillery fire from Japanese ships, seven planes were quickly shot down. The attack by US military aircraft convinced Lieutenant General Nanyun that the defense of Midway Island was still very strong, so he decided to change the aircraft originally intended to deal with the US fleet to a second bombing of Midway Island. At this time, he had not yet discovered that the US fleet was ambushing near Midway Island.

At 7:15, Nanyun ordered the Akagi and Kaga aircraft carriers to transport planes with torpedoes installed on their decks to the hangar, unload the torpedoes, and replace them with high explosive shells to attack the enemy.

At 7:30, Japanese reconnaissance planes reported that they had discovered five US cruisers and five destroyers in the sea about 240 nautical miles from Midway Island. The Chief of Staff of Nan suggested launching a second wave of attacks on Midway Island and dealing with these 10 enemy ships in the future. However, a few minutes later, the Japanese reconnaissance plane sent another telegram, but the language was vague: "There seems to be an aircraft carrier behind the 10 enemy ships

Really? Nan Yunzhong also had doubts about this news, but he was still a little worried in his heart. Don't worry, wait a moment.

But not long after, a scene I didn't want to see appeared. At 8:15, Nanyun finally received a report from a reconnaissance plane: there is indeed an aircraft carrier in the US fleet! At this moment, Nanyun Zhongyi is in a dilemma. Do you really want to fight or not? No, you're waiting to be beaten. Calling, it wasn't planned. Nan Zhongyi hesitated.

this moment. Major General Yamaguchi Toshifumi, commander of the second aircraft carrier formation, proposed to Nanyun Zhongyi that fighter jets should immediately take off to attack the nearby US fleet! But Yun Zhongyi disagrees. At this time, the second batch of attack aircraft has not yet completed the steps of replacing torpedoes; Moreover, if an attack is launched immediately, there will be no fighter escort. The fleet that completed the first wave of attack is returning and has already flown over the Japanese fleet. If the fleet of the first wave of attack immediately turns around and continues to attack the enemy ship, it will inevitably cause it to fall into the sea to feed fish due to lack of oil.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Nanyun Zhongyi decided to postpone the attack on the US fleet and withdraw the first fleet attacking Midway Island. But this will delay for an hour, and the US military will use this time to launch an attack on the Nanyun Zhongyi fleet. However, Nan Yun seems very confident. This gentleman once commanded his invincible army to successfully launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, so he subjectively judged that the US military would not launch an attack on it at this time.

（5） The turning point of the war situation

It was Yun Zhongyi's decision that changed the course of the war. From the advantage of the Japanese army to a disadvantage.

At 8:37 am on June 4th, planes returning from Japan began landing on the decks of four aircraft carriers.

Three minutes later, at 8:40, 15 nautical miles away, 35 fighter jets took off from the aircraft carrier Yorktown of the 17th Special Operations Squadron led by Major General Fletcher.

At 9:18, Nanyun ordered the fleet to sail northeast at a speed of 30 knots, approaching the US special task force and preparing to launch a full-scale attack on it.

At 9:25, a group of 15 Avengers torpedo bombers taking off from Bumblebee spotted the Southern Cloud Fleet. Unfortunately, their fuel is running out and they don't have fighter jets to escort them. In the suicide attack, all were shot down by Japanese Zero fighter jets and anti-aircraft guns, and all 30 pilots except George H. Gay were killed.

At 9:30, 28 American fighter jets taking off from the "Enterprise" and "Yorktown" successively attacked the Japanese aircraft carriers "Soryu" and "Ryufei". But it was heavily damaged in the attack, losing 20 torpedo bombers. Commander Lindsay sacrificed himself in this battle.

At 10:00, the Japanese Soryu 13 reconnaissance aircraft failed to detect the US aircraft carrier based on the incorrect location reported by Tone 4.

At 10:10, the third dive bomber squadron of the US warship Yorktown began attacking the Japanese warship Ryukyu. They shot down 5 Japanese Zero fighter jets, but their own 10 planes were shot down, and none of the 5 torpedoes launched towards the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryufei hit.

At 10:20, due to the attack of the US military, the deck of the Japanese aircraft carrier began refueling and bombing escort Zero fighter jets. At this moment, 34 fearless dive bombers led by Major McCluskey took off from the Enterprise aircraft carrier.

This war has finally reached a turning point. Originally, these 34 planes did not find any targets in the designated sea area. They searched for an hour, but found nothing. Just as the fuel was running low and they were about to go home, they unexpectedly discovered a Japanese destroyer, the Arashi. American pilots believe that perhaps this destroyer can help them find the Japanese aircraft carrier. So they followed the Destroyer. Sure enough, the Southern Cloud Fleet consisting of four aircraft carriers was quickly discovered.

So 34 fearless bombers immediately attacked the Akagi and Kaga aircraft carriers.

Then, 18 fearless fighter jets took off from the US warship Yorktown and attacked the US warship Azure Dragon.

At this time, the deck of the Japanese aircraft carrier was filled with torpedoes, bombs, and newly oiled planes; On the other hand, fighter jets used to protect aircraft carriers were chasing American torpedo bombers everywhere and were no longer in front of them. This was the best opportunity for the US military to launch an attack. The Japanese aircraft carrier is filled with flammable and explosive materials. As long as there is even a trace, the consequences are unimaginable.

It's America's turn to get rich. At 10:24, when the first Japanese anti-aircraft fighter plane on duty flew off the deck, the 34 fearless dive bombers of the Enterprise split into two squadrons and began attacking the Akagi and Kaga aircraft carriers. Under the command of Lieutenant McCluskey and Captain Baxter, the perfect bombing of this battle was completed: among the three 1000 pound bombs dropped, the second bomb penetrated the flight deck of the aircraft carrier "Akagi", detonated the ammunition, and the "Akagi" immediately sank into the sea. Equivalent to sinking this aircraft carrier with a bomb.

Subsequently, 17 "Dreadnought" dive bombers taking off from the aircraft carrier "Yorktown" also bombed the aircraft carrier "Azure Dragon". Three Japanese aircraft carriers suddenly turned into three fireballs, with planes and fuel ammunition piled up on the deck, causing a big explosion. At that time, smoke filled the air and flames soared into the sky. In just five minutes, three Japanese aircraft carriers were completely destroyed.

At this time, the Japanese army only had the aircraft carrier Long Fei left. At this moment, Longfei's Yamaguchi commander was furious. He took over the command of Nayun Zhongyi and launched an attack on the US aircraft carrier fleet without hesitation.

（6） The grand finale

Among them, 8 were composed of "99" dive bombers and 6 Zero fighters, taking off from the aircraft carrier Long Fei. On the way back, they discovered a group of American bombers who were quietly following them. In this way, the Japanese aircraft also successfully discovered the US aircraft carrier "Yorktown" and immediately opened fire. Three bombs hit the Yorktown. Although the US warship York was damaged, its navigation function was restored with the efforts of the American crew.

At 1:40 pm, 10 Japanese torpedo attack aircraft (1997) and 6 Zero fighter jets flew from Dragonfly and launched a second attack on the injured Yorktown. York City is not so lucky this time. It was hit by two torpedoes, leaving two large holes near the port side and damaging the rudder. Major General Fletcher was forced to transfer command to the cruiser and handed it over to Major General Spruance.

At 14:45, the US reconnaissance plane finally spotted the Japanese aircraft carrier "Ryufei", and Spruance immediately ordered 30 "Dreadnought" dive bombers from the "Enterprise" and "Hornet" aircraft carriers to take off and attack Ryufei.

15: 00, Captain Buckmaster of the Yorktown was forced to abandon the ship. However, the Yorktown did not sink, so the US military returned to the ship and attempted to tow it to Pearl Harbor with a tugboat.

At 16:45, the dive bombers of the American Enterprise aircraft carrier successfully attacked the remaining Japanese Dragon Fly. Feilong immediately detonated four bombs, and the ship caught fire. At 9:13, the heavily damaged Canglong and Kaga had drifted enough at sea and sank one after another.

At 2:50, as they were about to be completely defeated, Nanyun Zhongyi reported to Yamamoto Isoroku, "The enemy still has four aircraft carriers, and all of our aircraft carriers have been destroyed." In fact, at this time, only two aircraft carriers of the US military were still alive, and the Yorktown had already been scrapped.

The next morning, at 2:55 am on June 5, 1942, General Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, rejected the plan proposed by Chief of Staff Colonel Kuroshima to concentrate all ships on bombing and landing on Midway Island during the day to salvage the defeat. He accepted the 'original' and ordered the cancellation of the occupation of Midway Island. And he said, 'I will bear all the responsibility for the war alone. I will go back and apologize to His Majesty the Emperor.' At this moment, he was very frustrated and locked himself up in the reception room for three consecutive days, refusing to see anyone.

Japanese Commander in Chief Isoroku Yamamoto during the Battle of Midway

But the Japanese are also very tenacious and have carried forward the spirit of Bushido, which advocates suicide by caesarean section. At 5 pm, the Akagi aircraft carrier, which had essentially become scrap metal, was sunk by torpedoes launched by Japanese destroyers Goho, Kushiro, and Arashi. Scrap iron is not exclusive to Americans. Hard air.

At 5:10, the largely scrap Ryufei aircraft carrier was also sunk by a torpedo launched by a Japanese destroyer. The Japanese are even more stubborn: the commander of the Second Air Force, Takafumi Yamaguchi, and the captain, Kanai Shinano, did not flee, but chose to sink with the ship! It's two men!

The Japanese army has already left, but the tenacious Japanese army persisted until the end. On June 7, 1942, at 13:00, the Japanese submarine I-168 discovered the American aircraft carrier "Yorktown", which had been severely damaged and almost turned into scrap metal. The scrap metal was not left for the Americans, so four torpedoes were immediately launched, two of which hit the Yorktown and one hit the escort destroyer Harman, which sank immediately; The aircraft carrier Yorktown is like willow trees destroyed by the wind and lotus flowers battered by the waves, swaying and sinking with the waves. The Japanese have regained some face.

The Battle of Midway ended perfectly.

（7） The significance and significant impact of the Battle of Midway.

The Battle of Midway resulted in the loss of only one aircraft carrier, one destroyer, and 147 aircraft by the US military, with 307 fatalities, including 172 pilots; Japan, on the other hand, destroyed four large aircraft carriers, one cruiser, and 332 planes, resulting in 3057 deaths, including 110 experienced pilots. This war was also the first decisive defeat for the Japanese Navy in 350 years.

There are many reasons for the failure of the Japanese army, including arrogance and underestimation of the enemy, as well as command errors. But the famous American naval historian Samuel E. Morrison referred to America's victory as the "victory of intelligence". The main reason for the defeat of the Japanese Navy was that the US military discovered the Japanese Navy's plan in advance.

The Battle of Midway changed the balance of power between Japanese and American aircraft carriers in the Pacific region. Afterwards, the Japanese army only had two large aircraft carriers and four light aircraft carriers left. From then on, Japan began to lose strategic initiative in the Pacific theater, and the situation shifted in favor of the Allied powers. This war foreshadows that the Japanese aggressors will never die, that World War II will eventually end, and that a peaceful day for people all over the world is about to come!