Battle of Midway

(noun)

Widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between June 4 and 7, 1942, only six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, the United States Navy decisively defeated an Imperial Japanese Navy attack against Midway Atoll, inflicting irreparable damage on the Japanese fleet.

Related Terms

(noun)

A decisive naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Between June 4 and 7, 1942, the United States Navy decisively deflected an Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) attack against Midway Atoll, inflicting irreparable damage on the Japanese fleet.

Related Terms

Examples of Battle of Midway in the following topics:

  • The Battle of Midway

  • Coral Sea and Midway

    • The Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway were strategic triumphs for the Allies and marked the critical point in halting Japanese expansion during World War II.
    • The Battle of Midway was a decisive naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
    • The Battle of Midway has often been called "the turning point of the Pacific." 
    • Top Right: The Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu burning and sinking the morning after being bombed by U.S. aircraft during the Battle of Midway on 5 June 1942.
    • Examine the importance of the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway Island as turning points for the Allies.

  • Nimitz in the Central Pacific

    • As rapidly as ships, men, and material became available, Nimitz shifted to the offensive and defeated the Japanese navy in the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 4-8, 1942), the pivotal Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942), and in the Solomon Islands Campaign.
    • During the Battle of Midway, Admiral Nimitz had one priceless advantage: US cryptanalysts had partially broken the Japanese Navy's JN-25b code.
    • The Japanese, by contrast, remained almost totally unaware of their opponent's true strength and dispositions even after the battle began.
    • In the final phases in the war in the Pacific, Nimitz attacked the Mariana Islands, inflicting a decisive defeat on the Japanese fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944; a decisive naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions), and capturing Saipan, Guam, and Tinian.
    • In the Philippines, his ships turned back powerful task forces of the Japanese fleet, a historic victory in the multi-phased Battle for Leyte Gulffrom (October 24-26, 1944, the largest naval battle of World War II).

  • Japanese Aggression

    • In 1938, the Japanese 19th Division entered territory claimed by the Soviet Union, leading to the Battle of Lake Khasan.
    • On May 11, 1939, in the Nomonhan Incident (Battle of Khalkhin Gol), a Mongolian cavalry unit of some 70 to 90 men entered the disputed area.
    • In May 1942, the Japanese failed to defeat the Allies at the Battle of the Coral Sea, despite numerical superiority, and in June 1942 they lost a four-carrier task force at the Battle of Midway.
    • Midway was a decisive defeat for the Japanese, and proved to be the turning point of the war.
    • In September 1942 they were defeated by Australians in New Guinea at the Battle of Milne Bay.

  • The Guadalcanal Campaign

    • The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and code-named Operation Watchtower, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater of World War II.
    • The 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled much of the U.S. battleship fleet and precipitated an open and formal state of war between the two nations.
    • Further attempts by the Japanese to continue their strategic initiative and offensively extend their outer defensive perimeter in the south and central Pacific were thwarted at the naval battles of Coral Sea (May 1941) and Midway (June 1941) respectively.
    • Three major land battles, seven large naval battles, and continual, almost daily aerial battles culminated in the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November 1942.
    • Guadalcanal is located in the lower right center of the map.

  • The White City, Chicago and the World Columbian Exposition

    • Most of the buildings of the fair were designed in the neoclassical architecture style.
    • Facades were made not of stone, but of a mixture of plaster, cement, and jute fiber called staff, which was painted white, giving the buildings their "gleam".
    • This area, developed by a young music promoter, Sol Bloom, concentrated on Midway Plaisance and introduced the term "midway" to American English to describe the area of a carnival or fair where sideshows are located.
    • Eadweard Muybridge gave a series of lectures on the Science of Animal Locomotion in the Zoopraxographical Hall, built specially for that purpose on Midway Plaisance.
    • Nearby, "The Cliff Dwellers" featured a rock and timber structure that was painted to recreate Battle Rock Mountain in Colorado, a stylized recreation of American Indian cliff dwelling with pottery, weapons and other relics on display.

  • The Battle of Britain

  • The Battle of Stalingrad

  • The Battle of Leyte Gulf

    • The Battle of Leyte Gulf is generally considered the largest naval battle of World War II and possibly the largest naval battle in history.
    • The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the Battles for Leyte Gulf, and formerly known as the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea, is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.
    • The Battle of Leyte Gulf consisted of four separate major engagements between the opposing forces: the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle of Cape Engaño, and the Battle of Samar; there were also other lesser actions.
    • Kamikaze strikes were first used by the Japanese in the Battle of Leyte Gulf
    • Identify the notable facts and the four major engagements of the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

  • The Battle of Bull Run

    • The Battle of Bull Run, the first major battle of the Civil War, demonstrated to the public that the conflict would not be resolved quickly or easily.
    • The first Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas by the Confederacy, was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the city of Manassas.
    • It was the first major land battle of the American Civil War, but is also significant for demonstrating to the wider public the inexperience of both armies and the intractable nature of the conflict given the inability of either side to achieve a quick or decisive victory.
    • Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad and the course of the battle quickly changed.
    • This figure shows the direction of Union attack and Confederate reinforcement at the First Battle of Bull Run.