The Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway
Author: Craig L. Symonds
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 465
Release: 2013-10-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199315981

A close-up look at the battle of Midway Island analyzes this crucial naval victory, which marked the turning point for the American fleet in the Pacific theater of World War II.

The Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway
Author: Thomas C. Hone
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016-05-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781682470305

The best way for todays sailors to learn about a battle is from those who fought it. The Battle of Midway, commemorated annually in the U.S. Navy, warrants close attention. This Naval Institute guide includes some of the most vibrant and informed accounts by individuals who fought on both sides of the June 1942 battle. The anthology pulls together memoirs, articles, excerpts from other Naval Institute books, and relevant government documents to help readers understand what happened and explain why the battle was so significant to the naval service. The core of the book focuses on events leading up to the battle and the battle itself, with a separate section examining how others have interpreted the battles often desperate engagements. When the U.S. Navy stopped the Japanese steamroller off Midway Island, it not only turned the progress of the war but set the Navys foundation for future counter offensives. The Navys comeback spread to the Solomon Islands and on to the other key strategic areas in the Pacific. While many know that Midway was a crucial American victory, they often do not know the details of the battle. This book tells how, for example, the American PT boats contributed to the victory, how the carrier planes formed up for their attacks, and what role radar played in the battle. In addition to excerpts from books and articles, the guide includes selections from several important Naval Institute oral histories. From the enlisted mans perspective all the way to the admirals, for both Americans and Japanese, readers see the U.S. Navys greatest victory as the participants saw it.

Shattered Sword

Shattered Sword
Author: Jonathan Parshall
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
Total Pages: 734
Release: 2011
Genre: History
ISBN: 1597973092

Many consider the Battle of Midway to have turned the tide of the Pacific War. It is without question one of the most famous battles in history. Now, for the first time since Gordon W. Prange s bestselling "Miracle at Midway," Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully offer a new interpretation of this great naval engagement. Unlike previous accounts, "Shattered Sword" makes extensive use of Japanese primary sources. It also corrects the many errors of Mitsuo Fuchida s "Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan," an uncritical reliance upon which has tainted every previous Western account. It thus forces a major, potentially controversial reevaluation of the great battle. The authors examine the battle in detail and effortlessly place it within the context of the Imperial Navy s doctrine and technology. With a foreword by leading WWII naval historian John Lundstrom, "Shattered Sword" will become an indispensable part of any military buff s library. Winner of the 2005 John Lyman Book Award for the "Best Book in U.S. Naval History" and cited by "Proceedings" as one of its "Notable Naval Books" for 2005."

Victory at Midway

Victory at Midway
Author: James M. D’Angelo
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2018-01-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1476629951

In the five months after Pearl Harbor, the Imperial Japanese Navy won a string of victories in a campaign to consolidate control of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. In June of 1942, Japan suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Midway and was never again able to take the offensive in the Pacific. Bringing fresh perspective to the battle and its consequences, the author identifies Japan's operational plan as a major factor in its Navy's demise and describes the profound effects Midway had on the course of the war in Europe.

The Battle Off Midway Island

The Battle Off Midway Island
Author: Theodore Taylor
Publisher:
Total Pages: 141
Release: 1981
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780380787906

An account of the June, 1942, air battle between American and Japanese forces which proved a decisive defeat for the Japanese and the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

Midway

Midway
Author: Mitsuo Fuchida
Publisher:
Total Pages: 22
Release: 1982-09-01
Genre: Midway, Battle of, 1942
ISBN: 9780345307712

The great air and sea battle of World War II, as seen through Japanese eyes . . . For the Japanese, confident over the easy victory at Pearl Harbor, the Midway operation had one objective?to draw out the U.S. Navy and destroy it. Thus, on June 4, 1942, Admiral Yamamoto launched his attack on the base at Midway Island with the largest fleet yet assembled in the Pacific, including 350 ships and more than 100,000 officers and men. It was a plan for victory . . . that ended in monumental defeat. Only after this crushing loss did the Japanese ask themselves: What should we have done that we did not do? Why did we fail? Now, for the first time, officers from the Japanese Imperial Navy open the sealed archives to tell the authoritative, dramatic story of what really happened at the historic Battle of Midway . . .

Wade McClusky and the Battle of Midway

Wade McClusky and the Battle of Midway
Author: David Rigby
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2019-05-30
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1472834720

During the Battle of Midway in June 1942, US Navy dive bomber pilot Wade McClusky proved himself to be one of the greatest pilots and combat leaders in American history, but his story has never been told – until now. It was Wade McClusky who remained calm when the Japanese fleet was not where it was expected to be. It was he who made the counterintuitive choice to then search to the north instead of to the south. It was also McClusky who took the calculated risk of continuing to search even though his bombers were low on fuel and may not have enough to make it back to the Enterprise. His ability to remain calm under enormous pressure played a huge role in the US Navy winning this decisive victory that turned the tide of war in the Pacific. This book is the story of exactly the right man being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Wade McClusky was that man and this is his story.

Midway Inquest

Midway Inquest
Author: Dallas W. Isom
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 442
Release: 2007-07-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 025311702X

Midway, the most famous naval battle in American history, has been the subject of many excellent books. However, none satisfactorily explain why the Japanese lost that battle, given their overwhelming advantage in firepower. While no book may ever silence debate on the subject, Midway Inquest answers the central mystery of the battle. Why could the Japanese not get a bomber strike launched against the American carrier force before being attacked and destroyed by American dive bombers from the Enterprise and Yorktown? Although it is well known that the Japanese were unable to launch an immediate attack because their aircraft were in the process of changing armament, why wasn't the rearming operation reversed and an attack launched before the American planes arrived? Based on extensive research in Japanese primary records, Japanese literature on the battle, and interviews with over two dozen Japanese veterans from the carrier air groups, this book solves the mystery at last.

The Unknown Battle of Midway

The Unknown Battle of Midway
Author: Alvin Kernan
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2005-11-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 0300128312

“A memoir and more . . . Kernan brings this maritime battle superbly to life. . . . And he narrates the air assault in gripping detail” (The Wall Street Journal). The Battle of Midway is considered the greatest US naval victory, but behind the luster is the devastation of the American torpedo squadrons. Of the 51 planes sent to attack Japanese carriers only 7 returned, and of the 127 aircrew only 29 survived. Not a single torpedo hit its target. A story of avoidable mistakes and flawed planning, The Unknown Battle of Midway reveals the enormous failures that led to the destruction of four torpedo squadrons but were omitted from official naval reports: the planes that ran out of gas, the torpedoes that didn’t work, the pilots who had never dropped torpedoes, and the breakdown of the attack plan. Alvin Kernan, who was present at the battle, has written a troubling but persuasive analysis of these and other little-publicized aspects of this great battle. The standard navy tactics for carrier warfare are revealed in tragic contrast to the actual conduct of the battle and the after-action reports of the ships and squadrons involved. “An incisive and laconic writer, Kernan knows his facts and presents them with deep feeling. A World War II must-read.” —Booklist “I read The Unknown Battle of Midway in one sitting. It is a momentous piece of work, reeking of the authenticity of carrier warfare as experienced by the flight crews.” —Sir John Keegan, author of A History of Warfare “An emotionally powerful story, not merely one of war but of its lasting effects.” —The Times Literary Supplement