Japanese Expansion And Victories
From the attack on Pearl Harbour and the Japanese invasions within the Asia-Pacific region in December 1942 through to the Battle of Coral Sea in May 1942 it appeared that nobody would be able to stop the advance of the Japanese.
The United States and Britain had suffered humiliating defeats, the Americans waiting for the completion of new aircraft carriers as well as battleships to eventually turn the tide of the Pacific war in their favor. The Japanese believed that victory at the Battle of Midway would all but give them complete control of the Asia-Pacific region.
Japanese Over-ConfidenceThe Japanese navy was unaware that the United States Navy had actually broken its codes and thus knew every detail of the planned operations against Midway Island. It was not only the achievements of United States Naval intelligence that made the Battle of Midway a turning point in the Pacific war.The Battle of Midway though turned into a disastrous defeat for the Japanese navy, a defeat that in the end meant that they could no longer have any realistic prospect of defeating the United States. The Japanese naval commanders were over-confident of success at the Battle of Midway and made mistakes that literally proved to be fatal. The Battle of Midway was one of those very rare occasions when the fate of entire nations was determined by what happened in five momentous minutes.
American Victory And Japanese Decline
Good fortune for the American bomber squadrons, as well as poor decision-making by the Japanese naval commanders meant that the balance of power was decisively tipped into the favor of the United States. The Japanese simply did not have the industrial capacity to replace the four aircraft carriers lost at the Battle of Midway.
The main consequence of the United States victory at the Battle of Midway in June 1942 was that they gained the initiative in the Pacific war, and never let it go again. In many respects the inability of the Japanese to make good their heavy losses made the United States victory inevitable, it became just a matter of time. However the United States had to cover vast distances in order to liberate the countries that had been conquered by Japan.
Bibliography
Colvin J, (2004) Decisive Battles, Headline, London
Hobsbawm, E (1994) Age of Extremes, the Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991, Michael Joseph, London
Johnston I and McAuley R (2000) the Battleships, 4 Books, London
