CHRISTIAN STEINER:
On a warm June summer day in 1942, fighters,
bombers, and aircraft carriers would battle to
decide the fate of the Pacific. This is history's war room. As a combat veteran, I've always
found the Battle of Midway to be one of the finest examples
of American strategic ingenuity during World War II. In the spring of 1942,
beginning to feel vulnerable in their fight
against the Americans, the Japanese hurried to expand
their reach in the Pacific. They set their sights on
Midway Atoll, a pair of islands almost directly in between
the mainland United States and Japan. By 1942, Midway was home to
a brand new American Naval and Air Force base,
and it would soon face its greatest challenge. This is the Battle of Midway. The Japanese Navy is led by
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Worried about the scope
and speed of America's wartime industry, Yamamoto
believes the US Naval forces need to be defeated quickly,
before the US can ramp up into full military production. Mirroring the success
of Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto's entire strategy
hinges on a surprise attack. On the day before
the Midway invasion, Yamamoto will send a small
force to the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. He expects the
Americans will divert their fleet to
defend the islands, drawing their forces
away from Midway. Yamamoto plans his invasion of
Midway itself in three phases. Phase one. The Japanese first carrier
striking force will attack Midway Island by air. This group is led by Vice
Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. His fleet is built around four
first line aircraft carriers. The Akagi, Kaga,
Hiryu, and Soryu. Phase two. After the destruction
of Midway's defenses, Yamamoto will bring in the
Midway invasion force commanded by Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondo. His ships will land 5,000
soldiers on the island, crushing any remaining
American forces. Phase three. Yamamoto expects
American reinforcements to arrive from
Pearl Harbor already diminished by the Japanese
offensive in Alaska. Nagumo's force will strike
again, attacking the Americans in concert with
Yamamoto's own fleet of battleships,
carriers, and destroyers waiting 600 miles to the west. Yamamoto expects his secret
plan to shock and overwhelm the American military,
giving the Japanese a decisive victory and a
strong foothold in the Pacific. But that's not what happens. Working in a windowless
basement at Pearl Harbor, commander Joseph Rochefort
leads the US Navy's combat intelligence unit. By March of 1942,
Rochefort and his team have deciphered much of
the Japanese Naval code. And in a discovery that would
save countless American lives, they learn the time,
size, and strategy of the impending Midway invasion. Admiral Chester
Nimitz, commander in chief of the
US Pacific fleet, immediately starts
drawing up a plan. He will fight the battle
mainly in the air, keeping his carriers
well out of striking distance of the Japanese Navy. Nimitz's three carriers
are split into two groups. Task Force 17 is led by
Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, who is also given command
of tactical decisions during the battle. The USS Yorktown
serves as his flagship. The second carrier
group, Task Force 16, is led by Rear Admiral
Raymond Spruance. Spruance's group includes
the aircraft carriers, Enterprise and Hornet. The US forces are ready. Yamamoto believes
he has the Americans cornered when in fact, Nimitz
is the one laying the trap. On June 3rd, Yamamoto
strikes the Aleutian Islands as planned. But Admiral Nimitz,
anticipating his moves, has stationed a small contingent
to defend the Aleutians, saving the majority
of his forces for the impending
Midway invasion. As Yamamoto's forces
approach Midway, he receives intelligence
suggesting there may be American carriers in the area. Yamamoto wants to inform
Admiral Nagumo, whose fleet is farther along towards Midway. However, the Japanese
were suspicious of the Americans listening in
on their radio communications, and thus, Yamamoto chooses
to maintain radio silence. Meanwhile at Midway,
US forces prepare for the Japanese attack. Ensign Jack Reid, flying his
PBY Catalina scout plane through heavy fog, just barely spots the
first Japanese ships at 09:25. Reid thinks he has
spotted the main fleet, but in reality, it is Vice
Admiral Kondo's invasion force, the group meant to
attack Midway in phase two of Yamamoto's plan. Nine B-17 bombers are dispatched
to attack Kondo's ships, but can't land any hits. Although tactically
inconsequential, this attack marks the
first military engagement of the battle. Kondo, adhering to the Japanese
policy of radio silence, doesn't inform Nagumo
of the bomber attack. Nagumo has no inkling
of an American ambush. [PLANE TAKING OFF] On the morning of June 4th,
15 American B-17 bombers take off from
Midway to search for and attack any
Japanese Naval targets. Shortly thereafter,
Admiral Nagumo launches his Midway attack as planned. 108 aircraft, including
A6M "Zero" fighters, D3A "Val" dive bombers, and
B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers. The Americans launch four
separate groups of aircraft to attack the Japanese fleet. Six Navy Grumman
TBFs, four Army B-26 Marauders, 16 Marine
SBD-2 Dauntlesses, and 11 Marine SB2U Vindicators. [AIR RAID SIREN BLARING] [PLANES FLYING] At 05:56, the air
raid siren blares at Midway as the incoming
Japanese planes are spotted. Squads of F2A Buffalo
and F4F Wildcat fighters engage the
Japanese attackers at 06:16. [PLANES FLYING] [EXPLOSIONS] Japanese pilots swiftly bomb
Midway's hangars, runways, hospital, and power plant. [MUSIC PLAYING] The American fighters are
outnumbered, but still manage to defend their base. After 27 minutes of hell
raining down on Midway, the first phase of
Yamamoto's attack ends. But was it enough? At 07:05, a Japanese pilot
breaks radio silence to inform Nagumo another air attack
is needed to finish off the American base. Nagumo is faced with one
of the most consequential decisions of the battle. Does he launch another
bombing attack on Midway, or does he prepare
for a Naval battle with potential American
aircraft carriers as planned? Before he can decide,
bombs and torpedos start to rain down on his fleet. American squadrons launched
earlier from Midway, have finally reached
the Japanese carriers. Nagumo is shocked. There's no way the
Americans could have reached his fleet so quickly unless
they knew of his location in advance. As Nagumo tries to figure
out what to do next, he is shocked again as the
American submarine, Nautilus, emerges behind his fleet. In the midst of all
this panic, Nagumo still has to make his decision. And at 07:15, he does. He will rearm his
planes with bombs and prepare for a
second attack on Midway. But 13 minutes after
Nagumo issues his order, a Japanese scout spots 10
American ships off Midway. Nagumo is stunned. There weren't supposed
to be any ships. As American pilots continue
to attack his fleet, he orders his crews
to stop arming bombs and prepare those
aircraft still armed with torpedoes to attack
the enemy ships. Across the battlefield, Admiral
Spruance's carriers, Enterprise and Hornet, are busy
launching 116 aircraft to attack the Japanese
carriers as Yorktown prepares to launch more. At 08:20, Nagumo
receives confirmation of at least one American
aircraft carrier in the area. He is shaken but can't
act until his bombers finish returning from Midway. Yamamoto also receives the
report of the American carrier, but expecting Nagumo
to attack immediately, chooses not to
interfere and allows the battle to play
out on its own, a decision that
will prove costly. Nagumo's bombers finally
return and he orders his fleet to redirect towards the one
American carrier he knows of. Not a minute later,
the first squadron of Devastator dive bombers
arrives from the Hornet. Unescorted by fighters,
all 15 are shot down. Two more air groups
follow, one from the Hornet and the other from Yorktown. Of the 26 Devastators
sent in, only six return. It appears the Americans
are over-matched. [MUSIC PLAYING] Confident they have
the upper hand, the Japanese take time to
refuel and rearm their fighters, when out of nowhere,
26 American Dauntlesses roar out of the sunlight
and dive bomb the Kaga. This is Lieutenant Commander
Wade McClusky and his air group, the first to
launch off the Enterprise that morning at 07:06. Their mission was to attack
the Japanese carriers, but when McClusky
and his men arrived at the supposed location, there
were no enemy ships in sight. Dangerously low on fuel
and unable to contact his superiors because
of radio silence, McClusky has a decision to make. He can safely return
to the Enterprise, or take one last stab at
the enemy carrier with what little fuel he has left. He makes a choice
Admiral Nimitz later called one of the most important
decisions of the battle. Acting on instinct, McClusky
turns his squadron northwest, following the path he thinks
the Japanese would take towards the American fleet. His quick thinking shifts
the tide at Midway, and the next five
minutes will determine the course of the battle. [BOMBS FALLING] [BOMBS EXPLODING] McClusky's group
drops nine bombs that hit, one
striking a gasoline truck near the bridge that
kills the entire command staff. The Kaga is
effectively destroyed. Within minutes, fighters and
bombers from the Yorktown arrive. They dive and attack
the Soryu, inflicting three hits on the port side. They strike their
munitions, setting off a chain reaction
that engulfs the entire ship in flames. The next target is
Admiral Nagumo's command ship, the Akagi. US fighters strike the
Akagi's deck, destroying planes waiting to take off. A Japanese sailor would later
call the scene a burning hell. Nagumo is forced to
transfer off the burning Akagi to the light
cruiser Nagara, and radios Yamamoto with
a devastating update. Only one carrier
remains, the Hiryu, and only because it was
well ahead of the rest of the Japanese fleet. The battle is slipping away
from Nagumo and he knows it. He launches an air
attack on the Yorktown. 18 dive bombers and six fighters
take off from the Hiryu, but the Japanese
planes are intercepted en route by American fighters. 14 Japanese planes
survive the air battle, and at noon, they
successfully attack the Yorktown, setting
the American carrier ablaze within minutes. The Yorktown is damaged
but still functional. Nevertheless, Admiral
Fletcher transfers to the nearby heavy
cruiser Astoria and hands over his command of the battle
to Admiral Spruance stationed aboard the Enterprise. Meanwhile, a second wave
launches from Hiryu, headed to strike the
Yorktown yet again. Nearly the same
scenario plays out. Americans intercept the Japanese
15 minutes out and manage to take down a few planes. Five Japanese torpedo bombers
break through and land two blows on the Yorktown. The carrier tilts 26 degrees
to its port side, the flight deck almost touching the water. At 14:55, Captain Elliott
Buckmaster orders abandon ship. In retaliation,
Admiral Spruance orders all available dive bombers
to attack the Hiryu, now only 72 miles out
from the Yorktown. 40 unescorted Dauntlesses take
off from Enterprise and Hornet, the fighters left behind
to defend the carriers. The American bomber
group dives on the Hiryu. It takes several critical
hits and is left disabled. It is the final surprise for
the Japanese and the fatal blow. Major combat is over. Although small
clashes will continue over the next two days, the
Americans have decidedly won the Battle of Midway. Both sides sustained major
losses, but the Japanese even more so. By the best estimates,
the Japanese lost 2,500 servicemen, 292
aircraft, and one heavy cruiser along with their four
aircraft carriers. The Americans
ultimately sacrificed the Yorktown, one destroyer, 145
aircraft, and 307 servicemen. What was the impact of
the Battle of Midway? The Japanese abandoned their
plan to expand into the Pacific and would remain on the defense
for the rest of World War II. The American victory exemplified
the indispensable power of code breaking and
tactical foresight. The tide of the war shifted. The Japanese military had
lost a great deal of morale. The US military and
the American public were energized for the first
time since Pearl Harbor. The Japanese could be
defeated, and the Americans would be the ones to do it. [MUSIC PLAYING]
