Ang, Jeff Clarence L.

HISTO 12 D
11/15/2019

Reaction Paper on Midway

The movie entitled Midway is based on a true story centered on the Battle of Midway
between the Americans and the Japanese during the Second World War. The attack on Midway
was a ploy by the Japanese to trap the American carrier fleet, and had they been successful, the
U.S. would have been defenseless against the Japanese navy. Yamamoto, the Japanese Admiral,
sought to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet in order to further its control over the Pacific.

However, due to a combination of the counterplan of the Americans which was smart
and daring, the Americans won this battle that happened from June 4 to June 7, 1942, six
months after Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941. The U.S. victory marked the
turning point of the war in the Pacific since it stopped Japan’s hopes of neutralizing the U.S.
as a naval power, and it was integral that the U.S. was able to successfully defend the island
which the Japanese valued highly due to its location. With the U.S. victory, Japan abandoned
its hopes of expanding in the Pacific, and Japan stayed on the defensive for the rest of World
War II.

Before the battle, the Americans were able to strategically plan for the Japanese attack
by decrypting the Japanese communication lines: they sent a false message that the island was
out of fresh water, which was reported later on in the communication system of the Japanese
Navy. The Japanese did not expect the U.S. troops to be prepared, and this played a crucial role
in the victory of the U.S. despite being heavily outnumbered. With the element of surprise, the
U.S. was able to catch the Japanese task force by surprise when torpedo bombers from the three
U.S. carriers destroyed three of the four Japanese carriers; the U.S., through Dick Best and the
other dive-bombers, was able to defeat the four Japanese carriers, with the Hiryu being the last
carrier to be destroyed. While the Japanese navy still had warships left at the end, the loss of
the carriers forced Yamamoto to abandon his Midway invasion plans.

Based on the movie, different factors contributed to the victory of the U.S. in the Battle
of Midway. First, they had signal intelligence: the U.S. figured out that “AF” referred to
Midway, and they knew where, when, and how the Japanese planned to attack. Second, the
Japanese Navy was too focused on the offensive: they emphasized too much on the attack,
giving minimal thought to defensive measures. An example is when the Japanese commander
ordered the Japanese to sail towards the American fleet when he realized that the fleet was
nearby, instead of playing defense.