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MIDWAY CAMPAIGN

SEQUENCE

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The Aim of this presentation is to Deliver Brief idea of Midway Campaign

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Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbour

Japan and the U.S.

• Japan develops plan for attacks on European colonies, U.S. bases

• In 1941 Roosevelt cuts off oil shipments to Japan

• Admiral Isoroku Yamamato plans attack on U.S. fleet in Hawaii

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Day of Infamy

• Japan attacks Pearl Harbor—U.S. naval base in Hawaii—on Dec. 7, 1941

• U.S. declares war on Japan

• Japan also attacks Hong Kong, Thailand, and other islands

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• Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, 18 April 1942

• Tactical operation with strategic impact

• Shifts morale in both countries

• Adapt and overcome

• May Coral Sea

• Midway on June9

 

Takeoff – 18 April 1942

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USS Hornet – 18 April 1942

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• Japanese Objectives

– Extend defensive perimeter(in response to Doolittle raid)

– Capture Port Moresby

– Extend hold over Solomon Islands

– Isolate Australia from the United States14

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The Allies Strike Back and Turn the Tide

• Battle of the Coral Sea

Americans stop Japanese advance (towards Austrialia), May 1942

• New kind of naval warfare - ships launch planes to fight each other. Neither sides ships fired a single shot

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Results of Coral Sea

• Tactical Draw

– U.S. lost fleet carrier Lexington, destroyer Sims, oiler Neosho

– Fleet carrier Yorktown damaged– Japanese light carrier Shoho sunk, very heavy aircraft

losses

• Strategic victory for United States

– Stopped planned Japanese advance towards Australia– Provided badly needed boost to U.S. morale

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BATTLE OF MIDWAYBATTLE OF MIDWAY

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2200 mils

Tokyo

Midway

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

3200 mils

San Francisco

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Situation in Midway Island in WW II

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BELLIGERENTS

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US

• Adm Chester W. Nimitz

• VAdm Frank J. Fletcher

• VAdm Raymond A Spruance

IJN

• Adm Yamamoto

• VAdm Kondo

• VAdm Nagumo

• Vadm Hosogava

• Vadm Comatsu

COMMANDERS AND LEADERS

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JAPANESE COMMANDERS

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BATTLE STRENGTHS

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• After the expired Naval Limitation Treaty (NLT) in 1937 Japanese launched many No of Air craft carriers

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• Japanese occupied whole Chinese coastal in 1939

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• Japanese intention to grab whole oil and minerals from South East Asia

• All the diplomatic relations were collapsed between Japan and US

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Yamamoto Launched an Attack on Pearl Harbour on 7 Dec 1941

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• In April 1942 US carried out air raid on Tokyo

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• Just after Coral Sea Battle they planed to attack on Midway

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OBJECTIVES OF THE BATTLE

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• To seizure of Midway Island as and advance air base

• To draw out the Pacific US fleet

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Japanese ObjectivesAmerican Objectives

American Objectives

• To defend strategically importance of the Midway Island

• To locate and destroy the Japanese carriers

JAPANESE BATTLE PLAN

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Assumptions of Admiral Yamamoto

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AMERICAN MOVE

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American Preparation

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BATTLE ANALYSIS

Reasons for Japanese Attack

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Results of Midway

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Casualties and Losses

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Importance of the Battle of Midway

APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLE OF WAR

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SELECTION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE AIM

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“ Inflict maximum damage on the enemy by employing strong attraction tactics. In carrying out the task assigned, You will be govern by the principle of calculated risk, which you will intercept to mean the avoidance of exposure of you force to attack by superior enemy forces without prospect of inflict, as a result of such exposure greater the damage to the enemy”

Quoted from op order issued to Admiral Frank Fletcher (Technical In chrage of the US Fleet)

OFFENSIVE ACTION

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MAINTENANCE OF THE MORAL

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Inflexibility of Yamamoto

Japanese forces didn’t have extra logistics support

Japanese air craft and ships are too old

Crew fatigue level increased due to continues engagement

Strategic Disagreement between Yamamoto and Japanese Empire

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Doolittle raid over Japanese

main land

Success at the Coral Sea battle

High level of Moral

Maintenance

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“ My greatest hope is that we encounter a favourable tactical situation, best if don’t I want each of us to do our utmost destroy the enemy’s. if there is only one plane to make final run in, I want that man to go and get a hit. May god be with us”

-LCDR Waldron- US Naval Air Wing

SECURITY

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SURPRISE

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Redeployment of USS Yorktown

Within three days

Launching of unexpected air raid on Japanese carriers

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CONCENTRATION OF FORCES

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Fleet divided into two groups and deployed in distances

where they couldn’t help each other less concentration of forces

Deployed all fleet asserts and air crafts to outnumber Japanese

air power

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SUSTAINABILITY

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Co-operation

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CONCLUSION

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• Yamamoto sought to engage the U.S. fleet in a decisive naval battle at the earliest possible opportunity

• Intelligence gaps, over confidence and false assumptions resulted disaster

• IJN restricted to waters much closer to Japan main island as a result

• The moral of American forces was very high

• U.S. navy utilized intelligence resources effectively

• concentrated the maximum required force

• Nimitz knew the phenomenon of sustainability

• Application of principles of war is relevant even today as it valid during the World War II

THANK YOU

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