on a warm june summer day in 1942
fighters bombers and aircraft carriers
would battle to decide the fate
of the pacific this is history's war
room
as a combat veteran i've always found
the battle of midway to be one of the
finest examples of american strategic
ingenuity during world war ii
in the spring of 1942 beginning to feel
vulnerable in their fight against the
americans
the japanese hurried to expand their
reach in the pacific
they set their sights on midway atoll a
pair of islands almost directly in
between the mainland united states
and japan by 1942
midway was home to a brand new american
naval and air force base
and it would soon face its greatest
challenge
this is the battle of midway the
japanese navy is led by admiral isuroku
yamamoto
worried about the scope and speed of
america's wartime industry yamamoto
believes the u.s naval forces need to be
defeated quickly
before the u.s can ramp up into full
military production
mirroring the success of pearl harbor
yamamoto's entire strategy hinges
on a surprise attack on the day before
the midway invasion
yamamoto will send a small force to the
aleutian islands off the coast of alaska
he expects the americans will divert
their fleet to defend the islands
drawing their forces away from midway
yamamoto plans his invasion of midway
itself in three phases
phase one the japanese first carrier
striking force will attack midway island
by air this group is led by vice admiral
chuichi nagumo
his fleet is built around four
first-line aircraft carriers
the akaki kaga hiru and soryu
phase two after the destruction of
midway's defenses
yamamoto will bring in the midway
invasion force
commanded by vice admiral nobutake condo
his ships will land
5 000 soldiers on the islands crushing
any remaining american forces phase
three yamamoto expects american
reinforcements to arrive from pearl
harbor
already diminished by the japanese
offensive in alaska
nagumo's force will strike again
attacking the americans in concert with
yamamoto's own fleet
of battleships carriers and destroyers
waiting 600 miles to the west
yamamoto expects his secret plan to
shock and overwhelm the american
military
giving the japanese a decisive victory
and a strong foothold in the pacific
but that's not what happens working in a
windowless basement at pearl harbor
commander joseph rochefort leads the u.s
navy's combat intelligence unit
by march of 1942 rochefort and his team
have deciphered much of the japanese
naval code
and in a discovery that would save
countless american lives
they learn the time size and strategy
of the impending midway invasion admiral
chester nimitz
commander in chief of the u.s pacific
fleet immediately starts drawing up a
plan
he will fight the battle mainly in the
air keeping his carriers well out of
striking distance of the japanese navy
nimitz's three carriers are split into
two groups
task force 17 is led by admiral frank
jack fletcher
who is also given command of tactical
decisions during the battle
the uss yorktown serves as his flagship
the second carrier group task force 16
is led by rear admiral raymond spruance
spruance's group includes the aircraft
carrier's enterprise
and hornet the u.s forces are ready
yamamoto believes he has the americans
cornered
when in fact nimitz is the one laying
the trap
on june 3rd yamamoto strikes the
aleutian islands
as planned but admiral nimitz
anticipating his moves
has stationed a small contingent to
defend the aleutians
saving the majority of his forces for
the impending midway invasion
as yamamoto's forces approach midway he
receives intelligence suggesting there
may be american carriers in the area
yamamoto wants to inform admiral nagumo
whose fleet is farther along towards
midway
however the japanese were suspicious of
the americans listening in on their
radio communications
and thus yamamoto chooses to maintain
radio silence
meanwhile at midway u.s forces prepare
for the japanese attack
ensign jack reed flying his pby catalina
scout plane through heavy fog
just barely spots the first japanese
ships
at 0.925 reed thinks he has spotted the
main fleet
but in reality it is vice admiral
condo's invasion force
the group meant to attack midway in
phase two of yamamoto's plan
nine b-17 bombers are dispatched to
attack condos ships
but can't land any hits although
tactically inconsequential
this attack marks the first military
engagement of the battle
condo adhering to the japanese policy of
radio silence
doesn't inform nagumo of the bomber
attack nagumo has no inkling
of an american ambush
on the morning of june 4th 15 american
b-17 bombers take off from midway
to search for and attack any japanese
naval targets
shortly thereafter admiral nagumo
launches his midway attack as planned
108 aircraft including a6m zero fighters
d3a val dive bombers and b5n
kate torpedo bombers the americans
launch
four separate groups of aircraft to
attack the japanese fleet
six navy grumman tbfs four army b-26
marauders
16 marine sbd2 dauntlesses
and 11 marine sb2u vindicators
[Music]
at 0.56 the air raid siren blares at
midway
as the incoming japanese planes are
spotted
squads of f2a buffalo and f4f wildcat
fighters engage the japanese attackers
at 0-6-16
japanese pilots swiftly bomb midway's
hangars
runways hospital and power plant
[Music]
the american fighters are outnumbered
but still manage to defend their base
after 27 minutes of hell raining down on
midway
the first phase of yamamoto's attack
ends
but was it enough at 0.705 a japanese
pilot
breaks radio silence to inform nagumo
another air attack is needed to finish
off the american base
nagumo is faced with one of the most
consequential decisions of the battle
does he launch another bombing attack on
midway or does he prepare for a naval
battle with potential american aircraft
carriers as planned
before he can decide bombs and torpedoes
start to rain down on his fleet
american squadrons launched earlier from
midway have finally reached the japanese
carriers
nagumo is shocked there's no way the
americans could have reached his fleet
so quickly
unless they knew of his location in
advance as
nagumo tries to figure out what to do
next
he is shocked again as the american
submarine nautilus
emerges behind his fleet in the midst of
all this panic
nagumo still has to make his decision
and at 07
15 he does he will rearm his planes with
bombs
and prepare for a second attack on
midway
but 13 minutes after nagumo issues his
order
a japanese scout spots 10 american ships
off midway
nagumo is stunned there weren't supposed
to be any ships
as american pilots continue to attack
his fleet
he orders his crews to stop arming bombs
and prepare those aircraft still armed
with torpedoes
to attack the enemy ships across the
battlefield
admiral spruance's carriers enterprise
and hornet are busy launching 116
aircraft to attack the japanese carriers
as yorktown prepares to launch more
at 0820 nagumo receives confirmation of
at least one
american aircraft carrier in the area he
is shaken
but can't act until his bombers finish
returning from midway
yamamoto also receives the report of the
american carrier
but expecting nagumo to attack
immediately chooses not to interfere
and allows the battle to play out on its
own
a decision that will prove costly
nagumo's bombers finally return
and he orders his fleet to redirect
towards the one american carrier he
knows of
not a minute later the first squadron of
devastator dive bombers arrives from the
hornet
unescorted by fighters all 15 are shot
down
two more air groups follow one from the
hornet and the other from yorktown
of the 26 devastators sent in only
six return it appears the americans are
overmatched
confident they have the upper hand the
japanese take
time to refuel and re-arm their fighters
when out of nowhere 26 american
dauntlesses
roar out of the sunlight and dive bomb
the kaga
this is lieutenant commander wade
mccluskey and his air group
the first to launch off the enterprise
that morning at 0.706
their mission was to attack the japanese
carriers but when mccluskey and his men
arrived at the supposed location
there were no enemy ships in sight
dangerously low on fuel
and unable to contact his superiors
because of radio silence
mccluskey has a decision to make he can
safely return to the enterprise
or take one last stab at the enemy
carrier with what little fuel he has
left
he makes a choice admiral nimitz later
called
one of the most important decisions of
the battle
acting on instinct mccleskey turns his
squadron northwest
following the path he thinks the
japanese would take towards the american
fleet
his quick thinking shifts the tide at
midway
and the next five minutes will determine
the course of the battle
mccluskey's group drops nine bombs that
hit
one striking a gasoline truck near the
bridge that kills the entire command
staff
the kaga is effectively destroyed within
minutes
fighters and bombers from the yorktown
arrive they
dive and attack the soryu inflicting
three hits on the port side
they strike their munitions setting off
a chain reaction that engulfs the entire
ship in flames
the next target is admiral nogumo's
command ship
the akaki u.s fighters strike the
akagi's deck
destroying planes waiting to take off a
japanese sailor would later call the
scene
a burning hell nagumo was forced to
transfer off the burning akagi to the
light cruiser nagara
and radios yamamoto with the devastating
update
only one carrier remains to hear you and
only because it was well ahead of the
rest of the japanese fleet
the battle is slipping away from nagumo
and he knows it
he launches an air attack on the
yorktown 18 dive bombers and six
fighters take off from the hear you
but the japanese planes are intercepted
on route by american fighters
fourteen japanese planes survive the air
battle and at noon they successfully
attack the yorktown
setting the american carrier ablaze
within minutes
the yorktown is damaged but still
functional
nevertheless admiral fletcher transfers
to the nearby heavy cruiser astoria
and hands over his command of the battle
to admiral spruance
stationed aboard the enterprise
meanwhile a second wave launches from
here you
headed to strike the yorktown yet again
nearly the same scenario plays out
americans intercept the japanese 15
minutes out and managed to take down a
few planes
five japanese torpedo bombers break
through and land
two blows on the yorktown the carrier
tilts
26 degrees to its port side the flight
deck almost touching the water
at 14 55 captain elliott buckmaster
orders
abandoned ship in retaliation admiral
spruance orders all available dive
bombers to attack the hear you
now only 72 miles out from the yorktown
40 unescorted dauntlesses take off from
enterprise and hornet
the fighters left behind to defend the
carriers the american bomber group
dives on hear you it takes several
critical hits
and is left disabled it is the final
surprise for the japanese
and the fatal blow
major combat is over although small
clashes will continue over the next two
days
the americans have decidedly won the
battle of midway
both sides sustained major losses but
the japanese
even more so by the best estimates the
japanese lost 2500 servicemen
292 aircraft and one heavy cruiser
along with their four aircraft carriers
the americans ultimately sacrificed the
yorktown
one destroyer 145 aircraft
and 307 servicemen what was the impact
of the battle of midway
the japanese abandoned their plan to
expand into the pacific
and would remain on the defense for the
rest of world war ii
the american victory exemplified the
indispensable power of code breaking
and tactical foresight the tide of the
war shifted
the japanese military had lost a great
deal of morale
the u.s military and the american public
were energized for the first time since
pearl harbor
the japanese could be defeated and the
americans
would be the ones to do it
you