Published: | Updated:

What was The Battle Of Midway?

The 1942 battle occurred six months after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor after Navy code breakers broke complex Japanese code to reveal a plan to ambush U.S. forces.

The Japanese planned to occupy Midway, a strategic U.S.-held atoll 1,300 miles northwest of Pearl Harbor, and destroy what was left of the Pacific fleet.

When Japanese planes began bombing Midway, American torpedo planes and bombers counter-attacked in waves, bombing and sinking four Japanese carriers on June 4.

The fighting continued for another three days before the United States proved to be victorious.

Anthony J. Principi, who served as secretary of veterans affairs from 2001 to 2005, wrote in the Military Times in 2017 on the 75th anniversary of the battle that the Navy commanders made 'coordinated, split-second, life-and-death decisions.'

'We won because luck was on our side, because the Japanese made mistakes and because our officers and men acted with great courage amidst the chaos of battle,' he wrote. 

Japanese Forces  

Ships Sunk

Carriers: Akagi, Hiryu, Kaga (discovered last week), Sory

Cruisers: Mikuma 

Destroyers: None  

Losing four carriers and one cruiser in total.  

Casualties: 3057

U.S. Forces

 Ships Sunk

Carriers: USS Yorktown

Cruisers: None

Destroyers: USS Hammann 

Losing one carrier and one destroyer in total.  

Casualties: 362

Advertisement

Read articles that feature this panel

Midway FIRST LOOK: Explosive trailer for WWII epic dubbed 'the next Pearl Harbor' sees stars Nick Jonas and Mandy Moore swept up in the...

The first trailer for Midway - this autumn's forthcoming World War II epic helmed by director Roland Emmerich - has been released, promising...

Researchers find a SECOND Japanese warship using deep sea robots in the middle of the Pacific Ocean from WWII Battle of Midway which saw six...

Hundreds of miles off Midway Atoll, nearly halfway between the United States and Japan, a research vessel is launching underwater robots to...

Incredible deep sea footage shows sunken Japanese aircraft carrier for the first time in 80 YEARS after it was destroyed by US fighters...

Deep sea explorers have obtained highly detailed images of three iconic shipwrecks from World War II's Battle of Midway in the Pacific Ocean...

Most watched News videos