June 4, 1942: Battle of Midway Begins

[Weatherman2020]

Believing the U.S. Pacific Fleet is on the verge of collapse, the Japanese hope another defeat will force the U.S. to quit the war. The Japanese plan to invade the small, strategic outpost of Midway Island, which, if taken, will allow them to threaten Hawaii directly. U.S. Navy cryptographers cracked the Japanese code, and Admiral Chester Nimitz knows their attack plan. In preparation, the U.S. Navy plans to ambush Japanese forces.

The battle that follows is considered by many historians to be the most decisive engagement in modern naval warfare.

 

[fncceo]

Though not strictly historically accurate* and technically lacking ... this clip (not annotated by me) from 1976's "Midway" is one of the best in any war movie ...

... better than "Top Gun 2" on about 1/1000th the budget.




* for example, they gave LCDR Wade McClusky, a native of Buffalo, New York, a Southern accent like Clark Gable.

 

[Weatherman2020]

Though not strictly historically accurate and technically lacking ... this clip (not annotated by me) from 1976's "Midway" is one of the best in any war movie ...

... better than "Top Gun 2" on about 1/1000th the budget.

The what ifs and the David vs Goliath odds of the battle are mind boggling.

 

[fncceo]

The what ifs and the David vs Goliath odds of the battle are mind boggling.

In Navy Security Group training, they told us about an innovative NIS officer who broke into the NYC offices of a Japanese Shipping Company offices one night (on his own) and stole code books for the Japanese Merchant Marine codes, on which their Naval code was based. He did this in 1939.

I wonder if he ever imagined just how many lives he would be saving with that stunt.

 

[eagle1462010]

Intel, luck, and guts won that battle.

Without the intel the trap would never have been set. Then luck with a scout plane that delayed take off and lost it's radio too.

Luck that the initial attack forced the Carriers to zig and zag so they couldn't launch. The angels smiled on America that day.

 

[Weatherman2020]

In Navy Security Group training, they told us about an innovative NIS officer who broke into the NYC offices of a Japanese Shipping Company offices one night (on his own) and stole code books for the Japanese Merchant Marine codes, on which their Naval code was based. He did this in 1939.

I wonder if he ever imagined just how many lives he would be saving with that stunt.

After the war Layton who led the code breaking effort wrote a book on the effort. For years I’ve been looking for a copy. You can’t find a used copy for less than $100. So when they remade the Midway movie I thought great, they’ll reprint it. Easy money to just reprint it.

Wrong. Defies all logic.
So if you see a copy for less than $100, grab it.

 

[Zincwarrior]

Believing the U.S. Pacific Fleet is on the verge of collapse, the Japanese hope another defeat will force the U.S. to quit the war. The Japanese plan to invade the small, strategic outpost of Midway Island, which, if taken, will allow them to threaten Hawaii directly. U.S. Navy cryptographers cracked the Japanese code, and Admiral Chester Nimitz knows their attack plan. In preparation, the U.S. Navy plans to ambush Japanese forces.

The battle that follows is considered by many historians to be the most decisive engagement in modern naval warfare.

Just watched a Livestream 2 hour question and answer session with the author of Shattered Sword and Drachnifel. So good.