![]() Navy patrol planes spotted a large Japanese force approaching, organized into five columns of cruisers, transport, and cargo ships. Navy/Getty Images American soldiers walk past the burning wreckage of a Japanese aircraft on Midway Airfield, Midway Island, June 1942.Īt 9:00 a.m. Meanwhile, Admiral Yamamoto held back his main fleet until his part of the plan came into effect. Overall command of the carrier fleet was given to Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. The Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, and Hiryū were all a part of the force that attacked Pearl Harbor. They waited for the Japanese strike force which consisted of four large fleet carriers with 229 aircraft and supporting ships to screen the carriers from counterattack. This was supplemented by 110 aircraft at Midway as well as 25 fleet submarines which were stationed about the atoll. In total there were the three aircraft carriers which supported a force of 234 aircraft. On June 2, the American forces gathered approximately 350 miles northeast of Midway under the tactical command of Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher with Rear Admiral Raymond A. While the carrier was due for a six-month overhaul, Admiral Nimitz could only afford to give it 72 hours in drydock. Of the three, the Yorktown was the least ready, having sustained damage at the Battle of Coral Sea in May 1942. Meanwhile, Admiral Nimitz deployed his carriers: the USS Hornet, the USS Enterprise, and the USS Yorktown. On May 26 and 27, the Japanese plan went into effect and the fleet sailed out. Wikimedia Commons Admiral Chester Nimitz (1885-1966) But Nimitz calculated that a battle was his to win or lose, and a win would be decisive. He could then take Midway later which was reasonable since it was an outpost on an overextended Japanese empire. Nimitz could have avoided battle and waited until his carrier strength increased. Further resources were limited because of the Allied strategic decision to concentrate on Germany first. Of his available carriers, only two were shipshape while the third had been badly damaged. Navy’s battleships lay underwater at Pearl Harbor or in repair. The American fleet was outmatched by the Japanese Imperial Navy. Navy knew the Japanese plans.īut Admiral Nimitz faced a strategic dilemma. They sent out the distress signal and sure enough they picked up a transmission from Japanese naval intelligence that once deciphered read: “water shortage at AF.” With that confirmation, the U.S. In order to convince the brass, he staged a deception message to the Japanese claiming damage to the water supply at Midway. Rochefort was convinced that AF stood for Midway, but many were dubious, thinking that AF could stand for many different locations. When we enciphered a message we would go through this dictionary of 44,000 code groups and pick out the codes for the words or phrases.” Rochefort’s team had discovered an attack imminent on what was called “AF.” Cryptoanalyst Ensign Donald “Mac” Showers recalled, “There were more than 44,000 entries in the code book that made up JN25B. Navy had poured resources into intelligence in order to prevent another surprise attack. Rochefort, had decoded the Japanese naval code JN-25B. What the Yamamoto did not know was that an American crypto-intelligence unit called HYPO, under the leadership of Lieutenant Commander Joseph J. Wikimedia Commons Joseph Rochefort (1900-1976), who identified Midway atoll as the site of the planned Japanese attack. War planners on both sides saw carriers not as the prime striking instrument in a fleet action, but rather as a supplementary harassing force since naval doctrine at the time saw battleships as the real power of the fleet. It was a good plan, albeit complex, and the Japanese figured that the Americans would not be able to muster sufficient strength to seriously challenge their force since most of the American battle ships were put out of commission after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Yamamoto would take up the rear with a powerful force of battleships including the immense Yamato. This would lure the United States out to fight. Then an amphibious landing force would take control of the island. The diversion would allow a Japanese battle fleet to neutralize Midway via a surprise aerial bombardment from a fleet carrier force. ![]() Yamamoto’s plan called for a feint attack at the Aleutian Islands.
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