COUNTRIES INVOLVED

BEFORE THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY

• This was six months after Pearl Harbor.
• Tensions were high between Americans and the Japanese.
• THe Japanese had four aircraft carriers.
• The Americans only had three carriers.
• Japan was planning on destroying US carriers left over from P.H.

PLANS FOR THE BATTLE

• Americans cracked Japanese codes about the ambush.
• Japanese Admiral, Yamamoto Isoroku chose to invade close to Pearl Harbor.
• He did this to pull out the American fleet.
• They were expecting the US to counter attack and were going to fight back.
• The US knew of these plans because a breakthrough in code breaking.

Untitled Slide

• The CIA intercepted Japanese radio messages in order to break the code.
• This allowed American Admiral Nimitz to prepare for the attack.
• He positioned the American fleets on the actual midway to surprise the Japanese.
• The first strikes of the Midway positioned planes were unsuccesful.
• Yamamoto lured even more US ships out by placing fleets on the Aleutian Islands.

OPERATION AL

• Placing the the ships on the Aleutian Islands was part of Japanese Operation AL.
• Research shows that Operation AL was suppose to be simultaneous with the attack on Midway
• Vice-Admiral Nagumo's task force was a day late.
• Because of this, the operation was a day before the actual battle.

PREPARING FOR THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY

• Americans knew that they would need all the forces they could get.
• The Japanese were expected to have four or five carriers.
• American Admiral Nimitz had the Vice Admiral's two carriers, the Enterprise and the Hornet.
• The Vice Admiral Hansley was suffering from Psoriasis and had to be replaced by Admiral Spurance.
• With the backup, Nimitz called for the carrier, Yorktown.

DURING THE WAR

• The carrier Yorktown had undergone considerable damage during the Battle of the Coral Sea.
• It was estimated to need several months of repair, but they still sent it.
• On the Midway, US had 31 along with a series of dive and torpedo bombers.
• The original plan was for the US dive bombers and torpedo bombers to arrive at the same time
• This did not happen and the dive bombers were late.

THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY RAGES ON

• When the dive bombers went in anyway, 36 out of 42 were destroyed.
• Even though they were unsuccessful, they diverted the attention of the Jap.
• When the actual dive bombers did show up, they were able to surprise them.
• During this battle, the Americans ended up sinking four Japanese carriers.
• These were called: Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu.

FAULTS FOR THE JAPANESE

• One big thing that the Japanese lacked was radar.
• Because of this, American fleets could easily sneak up on them.
• The fact that Japanese lost four fleets, made this battle a victory for the US.
• The Japanese lost their four fleet carrier, along with 322 aircraft and 5,000 sailors.
• The US lost 147 aircraft and over three hundred sailors.

FACTS ABOUT THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY

• The Unites States won.
• Admiral Yamamoto was the Japanese fleet commander.
• Earnest king was the US commander in chief of the Navy.
• Admiral Nimitz was the one to position the fleets on the Midway.
• Vice Admiral Nagumo devised the plan for the Japanese.

VIDEO

• http://youtu.be/ttzczopr1LY

QUESTIONS

• Who was the leader of the Japanese fleet?
• Who placed the US carriers on the Midway?
• How many fleet carriers did the Americans sink?
• Who won the battle?
• T/F The US solved Japanese fleet codes?

MORE QUESTIONS

• T/F initial strikes by Midway based planes were successful?
• T/F Americans were able to recover Japanese plans by radio?
• How many carriers did the Americans have?
• Did the dive bombers and torpedo bombers plan to arrive at the same time?
• What was one thing that the Japanese lacked?