Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands on 7
December 1941, had severely damaged the United States Pacific Fleet
but had not destroyed it, for the fleet's aircraft carrier force
had been at sea when the Japanese struck. This meant that, despite
the overwhelming success of Japanese military forces across the
Pacific, US carrier-based aircraft could still attack Japanese
targets. After the Battle of the Coral Sea in early May 1942, in
which both sides had lost one carrier, the commander of the
Japanese Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, calculated that
the US had only two serviceable carriers left. If those remaining
carriers could be lured into a battle with the Combined Fleet and
destroyed, nothing could stop the Japanese achieving complete
control of the South Pacific. It would take the United States many
months, even with its massive industrial muscle, to rebuild its
carried fleet if it was destroyed, by which time Japan would be
able to secure the raw materials needed to keep its war machine
functioning and to build all the bases it required across the
Pacific, which would enable its aircraft to dominate the entire
region. Aware of the sensitivity of the Americans towards Hawaii
after the Battle of Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto believed that if he
attacked there again, the US commander, Admiral Nimitz would be
certain to commit all his strength to its defence. Yamamoto
selected the furthest point of the Hawaiian Islands, the Naval Air
Station on the Midway Atoll, for his attack, which was beyond the
range of most US land-based aircraft. Yamamoto launched his attack
on 4 June 1942\. But the US had intercepted and deciphered Japanese
signals and Nimitz, with three not two aircraft carriers, knew
exactly Yamamoto's plans. Yamamoto had hoped to draw the US
carriers into his trap but instead he sailed into an ambush. The
four-day battle resulted in the loss of all four Japanese aircraft
carriers, the US losing only one. The Japanese were never able to
recover from these losses, and it was the Americans who were able
to take control of the Pacific. The Battle of Midway,
unquestionably, marked the turning point in the war against Japan.
General
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