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Intro
On the 7th of December 1941, after months of diplomacy and hollow words, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet located in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. This attack sparked the entry of the United States into the Second World War as well as one of the biggest naval battles in history, the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Midway resulted in an American victory and proved to be a significant turning point in the Pacific War, seen by many historians as the most decisive naval battle of WWII. The Battle of Midway was a profusely significant turning point in the war as it constituted the end of Japanese Naval dominance for the rest of the war period, the march of the Imperial Japanese Navy across the Pacific was halted, and it allowed the US to commence their strategy of attrition on the Japanese armed forces as the US economy was prosperous against Japans leading the US to win through to absolute victory (Franklin D Roosevelt).
In a war where 95% of the battlefield contains 130.8 million square kilometers of pure ocean, it is safe to say that naval dominance is almost essential to success. And for the first 6 months of the war, the Japanese certainly had it. The United States was only just beginning to dust itself off from the depression when Japan hit Pearl Harbour and her fleet was yet to grow to full potential and Admiral Yamamoto knew this. After failing to destroy American carriers at Pearl Harbour, Yamamoto argued that a decisive victory was needed if Japan was to have any chance of succeeding in winning the war. They attacked the base of Midway as they knew that the US Pacific Fleet would respond instantly to protect it due to its strategic significance, and respond they did. The Japanese lost all their carriers and the Americans lost one. In a stroke of pure luck, two dive bomber squadrons of the US Air Force sunk two carriers the Hiryu and the Akaga in just 5 minutes! The attack was described by well-noted Midway historian John Parshall as a devastating blow to the already dwindling possibility of Japanese victory . It was a defeat of monumental proportions for the Japanese, and a defeat that they would never recover from for the rest of the war, marking the end of Japanese naval dominance in the Pacific.
For months prior to the Battle of Midway, the IJN found themselves gaining territory of astounding proportions, taking the Philippines, Singapore, and most of the East Indies from the Netherlands in a space of 5 months. All of this was in the name of extending Japans defensive perimeter which could be used as a buffer against the USA invading mainland Japan. The Battle of Midway blows this strategy out of the water, quite literally, as the Japanese navy is virtually decimated said the late Chris Trueman. Midway truly marked a turning point in the war, as US Rear Admiral Spruance famously said that because of the victory, we are finally able to begin fighting this war as if the fighting hadnt even begun yet. When looking beneath the surface though, what we see is a look at the US mentality toward the war up until that point. They were able to shift from a defensive mentality to an offensive one. Hone suggests that After Midway, the Japanese would react to the Americans, and not the other way around . This means that shattering the IJNs advance in the Pacific during the Battle of Midway was an outright turning point in the war.
The last reason why the Battle was a significant turning point is to do with attrition and industry. When the war began, in what John Parshall describes as the carrier scorecard both sides each had 6 flight decks (heavy carriers) while the Japanese also had an extra 5 light carriers at her disposal with two American carriers off in the Atlantic Ocean leaving the USA with 4, showing a clear Japanese advantage. By the eve of Midway, the USS Lexington was destroyed in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the USS Saratoga was being repaired at Pearl Harbour, leaving only the USS Yorktown, USS Enterprise, and the USS Hornet to fend off 4 Japanese carriers and 5 light carriers in the Battle of Midway. Post-Midway however, all 4 Japanese carriers were destroyed, to the Americans measly 1, in the words of John Parshall ouch . By September 1944 Japan had made up her losses at Midway unit for unit, but the Americans went on to build 8x the number of carriers that Japan did, and even built an extra 126 escort carriers as well, simply squashing Japanese industrial capabilities. Hence meaning that because of Midway, there was absolutely no way that the Japanese could ever regain the initiative, and sealed the fate of her demise in the Pacific War.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Battle of Midway was the crescendo in naval warfare during WWII and proved to be absolutely decisive to America and her allies winning the war. Moreover, it is correctly illuminated by historians who highlight it as the turning point in the war, thus making the extent of its influence over the war humongous and conclusive to Allied victory.
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