Where the Battle of Midway Almost Went Horribly Wrong
While Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor receives a great deal of attention, another World War II battle was every bit as dramatic. The Battle of Midway once again placed America and Japan in direct conflict, with enormous stakes on both sides. The clash carried the feeling of a bitter rematch, as Japan aimed to continue its campaign against the United States.
For the Americans, the battle was about holding their position in the unstable South Pacific while also seeking long-awaited revenge for the devastation at Pearl Harbor.
Midway's strategic importance
On June 5, 1859, Captain NC Brooks claimed the Midway Islands for the United States. At the time, however, America had little practical use for the small atoll, which covers just 6.2 square kilometers, or 2.4 square miles. That changed once air travel became more widespread, turning the islands into a strategically valuable location.
After the United States entered World War II, it quickly became obvious that the Midway Islands were too important to lose. America was determined to hold onto them, regardless of the cost.
The Pearl Harbor/Midway 1-2 punch
During December 7 and 8, 1941, only about 12 hours after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces also targeted Midway by striking its hangar and power plant. The attack seriously wounded Lieutenant George Cannon. Even so, Cannon continued directing the defense efforts and helped drive the Japanese forces away from the area.
However, the conflict was far from over.
Japan's Pacific ambitions
In 1942, Japan moved forward with plans to expand its reach across the Pacific during World War II. Japanese forces targeted locations including British Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, British Malaya, and the Dutch East Indies, capturing them with relative speed.
However, there was one major obstacle that threatened Japan's broader ambitions - the United States.
A vulnerable position
In April 1942, American forces carried out strikes against Tokyo and several other Japanese cities. The attacks served as a harsh wake-up call for Japan. Japanese leaders came away realizing two important things - that the United States was a powerful opponent and that Japan had vulnerabilities the Americans could potentially exploit.
In response, the Japanese began developing a new strategy, one that could prove devastating for the United States.
Japan considers Pearl Harbor once more
At this stage, Japanese leaders seriously considered launching another strike on Pearl Harbor. The first attack in December 1941 had been devastating and had drawn the United States into World War II. Japan hoped that a second offensive against Pearl Harbor would pull American defenses back into the area, giving them more freedom to operate elsewhere.
However, there was a critical flaw in their reasoning.
Far out of reach
At this stage, Japanese leaders seriously considered launching another strike on Pearl Harbor. The first attack in December 1941 had been devastating and had drawn the United States into World War II. Japan hoped that a second offensive against Pearl Harbor would pull American defenses back into the area, giving them more freedom to operate elsewhere.
However, there was a critical flaw in their reasoning.
Admiral Yamamoto's misinformation
At this point, Japanese leaders again considered carrying out another attack on Pearl Harbor. The initial strike in December 1941 had been devastating and had brought the United States into World War II. Japan believed that a second assault on Pearl Harbor might draw American defenses back toward the region, leaving them freer to operate in other areas.
However, there was a major flaw in their thinking.
The Yorktown was seaworthy
The information that Yamamoto did not have was the true condition of the USS Yorktown. Yes, the Japanese had struck it, and yes, it required repairs. However, the US Navy worked around the clock and managed to make the Yorktown seaworthy again in just 72 hours. It was an extraordinary effort, and the USS Yorktown was in fact ready for action once more. The United States was not as vulnerable a target as Yamamoto believed.
But there was another factor that Yamamoto misjudged.
Japan sends two waves
Admiral Yamamoto's plan was to draw American carriers toward Midway by sending a smaller forward force there, led by Chuichi Nagumo. His hidden strategy involved positioning a much larger striking force several hundred miles behind the first, under his own command. When American forces moved in to defend Midway, they would encounter not one but two layers of Japanese strength.
It was an ingenious plan, but it contained a critical flaw.
America's codebreakers
What Yamamoto did not anticipate was the work of American codebreakers. These analysts understood that Japanese communications were referring to a location under the code name "AF." They suspected this might mean Midway, but they were not certain. To confirm it, they sent an unencrypted message stating that Midway's water purification system was not functioning.
In response, the Japanese made a move they would soon come to regret.
Tricking Japan's Navy
When the Japanese received word that Midway's water system was not working, they wanted to pass that information along to their forces. In their message, they replaced the word "Midway" with the code “AF.” This change confirmed what the Americans had suspected.
At that point, American intelligence was certain that AF referred to Midway. This proved to be critical information.
Key battle intel
So now the United States had a general idea of what was coming at the Battle of Midway. They knew what to expect, while Yamamoto remained unaware that his plan had been exposed. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz took charge of the response, positioning three carriers to the northeast of Midway. These were the Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown. Importantly, the Japanese did not know the Yorktown was operational, making it a kind of hidden advantage for the Americans.
However, there was an issue with the carrier.
The U.S. assembles its force
By June 4, the US Navy had gathered a very strong force. They had four squadrons of PBYs, totaling 31 aircraft. They also had six Grumman TBF Avengers. The Marine Corps contributed 64 additional aircraft of various types, while the USAAF added another 122 planes. Overall, the United States was far better prepared than the Japanese likely expected.
But Japan was facing another complication.
The balance slowly tips
While many considered Japan the victor of the Battle of the Coral Sea, they had also suffered significant losses. Because of this, the forces Japan brought to the Battle of Midway were not as strong as they had originally planned. A weakened Japan now faced a US opponent that was stronger than they realized.
Then, the American side benefited from another stroke of luck.
Jack Reid sees them coming
On June 3 at 9:00, a US pilot made a crucial sighting of Japanese forces heading toward Midway. The pilot was Ensign Jack Reid, but he made an important mistake in identifying what he had seen. In reality, it was Chuichi Nagumo's forward force, intended to draw American units into the battle area. However, his report described it as the main and more powerful strike group led by Yamamoto.
This error would prove to be costly.
Failure to connect
The nine unlucky B-17s departed Midway at 12:30, but they were unable to strike any targets during their initial run. Later on, they had better luck and managed to hit one of Japan's oil tankers. This would be recorded as the only successful hit made by an air-launched torpedo in that action.
Meanwhile, Yamamoto still had his more powerful second wave of forces waiting to be dealt with.
Nagumo's attack
By 4:30 on June 4, Nagumo was prepared to begin his attack. His striking force consisted of 36 D3As and 36 B5Ns, along with seven search aircraft deployed ahead of the main group. It was a large and powerful formation overall.
However, there was a single problem.
America intercepts Japan
It was Major Floyd B. Parks who led the American interception during the Battle of Midway, but his group quickly sustained heavy losses. After the engagement, only two US aircraft remained capable of flying. Despite this, American anti-aircraft fire proved highly effective, shooting down three Japanese aircraft and inflicting serious damage on several others.
Following this, the United States would gain an advantage from a Japanese tactical mistake.
Nagumo's fatal mistake
Nagumo faced a critical decision: whether to proceed with an immediate strike or complete the rearming process first. He chose to delay, believing it was essential to equip his reserve aircraft with torpedoes. Many historians consider this choice to be his fatal error. As a result, the Enterprise and Hornet were now able to launch their aircraft.
In an instant, the Americans found themselves with a significant advantage.
Targeting Japanese carriers
Next during the Battle of Midway, Lieutenant Richard H. Best and his wingmen focused their attack on the Akagi. Although they managed only one direct hit, it proved to be devastating. The explosion struck the upper hangar deck, where Japanese aircraft had already been armed and fueled, triggering a massive fire. One crew member later described seeing "bodies everywhere."
With the Akagi effectively destroyed, one Japanese carrier still remained for the Americans to confront.
Down to one carrier
Lieutenant Max Leslie launched from the USS Yorktown as part of VB-3, tasked with striking the Soryu. His three successful hits ignited fuel stores and set off massive explosions, creating a fast-spreading and deadly fire. With that, all three Japanese carriers were now engulfed in flames. Eventually, the situation became uncontrollable, forcing Nagumo to abandon the Akagi in disgrace.
Japan was now left with only a single operational aircraft carrier.
The back and forth continues
At that stage of the Battle of Midway, Japan's only remaining carrier was the Hiryu, but it was still capable of striking back at the Americans. The Hiryu launched an attack on the USS Yorktown and caused significant damage, though it did not sink the vessel. As a result, Fletcher relocated his staff to the Astoria, while repair crews quickly began working to restore the Yorktown. In remarkably short time, the carrier was made operational again.
However, it was still far from safe.
Moving in for the kill
In the latter part of June 4 during the Battle of Midway, a scout plane from the USS Yorktown made a significant discovery, locating Japan's last remaining carrier, the Hiryu. With this crucial intelligence, the USS Enterprise launched an attack against it. By the end of the day, the Hiryu was engulfed in flames and eventually sank completely, marking a form of revenge for the earlier strike on the Yorktown.
Even so, the Battle of Midway was still not over.
The Hammann is hit
Meanwhile, the USS Vireo was towing the heavily damaged USS Yorktown, while the USS Hammann remained nearby to provide essential assistance. On the afternoon of June 6, a Japanese submarine managed to torpedo the Yorktown, scoring two direct hits. Fortunately, only a small number of crew members were still aboard at the time.
However, the USS Hammann was far less fortunate.
A huge loss of life
The USS Hammann had been providing additional power and support to the USS Yorktown when a Japanese torpedo struck it directly. The ship broke apart into two sections and began sinking rapidly. To make matters worse, the Hammann's own depth charges detonated, turning the situation into a major catastrophe. In total, 80 men lost their lives.
The USS Yorktown had always managed to recover before, but this time it appeared far more difficult, if not impossible.
Losing the Yorktown
The Yorktown had sustained many damages in its career—to say nothing of how many hits it had taken since the Battle of Midway broke out—and it had been a ship that had always managed to rise from the ashes. This time, this was not true. It seemed like an impossibility to repair it, so the crew got themselves off the ship and to a safer place. At around 7:00, it turned over and went down to the watery depths. The Yorktown was no more.
This vital vessel was gone, but the battle was still on.
The battle winds down
Of course, after any battle, there are grim final figures to reckon with. On the American side, the losses included the carrier USS Yorktown and the destroyer USS Hammann. The total number of fatalities reached a tragic 307, including Major General Clarence L. Tinker, who commanded the 7th Air Force and was killed when his aircraft went down near Midway.
For Japan, however, the cost of the Battle of Midway proved far more devastating.
Midway's secret patients
When the casualties from the Battle of Midway returned to Japan, it quickly became apparent that the Japanese forces had suffered a major defeat. In an effort to conceal the extent of the loss, authorities reportedly kept the wounded Midway survivors separated from other hospital patients. Those who survived were also expected to remain silent about what had happened. To help ensure this, many were reassigned to later battles in the South Pacific, where large numbers of them lost their lives.
Of course, the truth could not remain hidden forever. Still, much of the evidence of the battle itself rested deep beneath the ocean's surface.
Where the ships rest
The waters where the Battle of Midway took place are extremely deep, which made locating the wrecked ships very challenging. In 1998, oceanographer Robert Ballard worked alongside American and Japanese veterans to find the sunken Yorktown. Remarkably, photographs revealed that much of the ship remained largely intact. Ballard, however, was unable to locate the wrecks of the Japanese carriers.
The Battle of Midway resulted in devastating losses for both sides. Still, many have wondered whether any positive outcomes emerged from such a costly conflict.
Midway's longterm significance
Many historians view the Battle of Midway as one of the major turning points of World War II. It marked the first major naval victory for the Allies against Japan and shifted momentum in the Pacific. Historians have long speculated about what might have happened if Japan had emerged victorious at Midway. Some believe the Japanese may have planned to occupy places like Fiji and Samoa while also launching operations against Australia and Alaska.
Had events unfolded differently, the course of the war - and perhaps the world itself - could have looked very different.
Dan Gray
