aircraft carriers into a trap, clearing the seas for Japanese attacks on Midway, Fiji, Samoa, and Hawaii.

In response to the Doolittle air raid on Tokyo, the Japanese leadership planned a 'barrier' strategy to extend Japan's defensive perimeter. Military historian John Keegan called it 'the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare', while naval historian Craig Symonds called it 'one of the most consequential naval engagements in world history, ranking alongside Salamis, Trafalgar, and Tsushima Strait, as both tactically decisive and strategically influential'.

Spruance defeated an attacking fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy under Admirals Isoroku Yamamoto, Chūichi Nagumo, and Nobutake Kondō north of Midway Atoll, inflicting devastating damage on the Japanese fleet. The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place from 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. Nimitz had a strong hand, Symonds concludes, and he rightly expected to win.~307 killed, including 3 killed as prisoners Symonds is the first historian to argue that the victory at Midway was not simply a matter of luck, pointing out that Nimitz had equal forces, superior intelligence, and the element of surprise. The author's account of the battle itself is masterful, weaving together the many disparate threads of attack-attacks which failed in the early going-that ultimately created a five-minute window in which three of the four Japanese carriers were mortally wounded, changing the course of the Pacific war in an eye-blink. Indeed, Symonds sheds much light on the aspects of Japanese culture-such as their single-minded devotion to combat, which led to poorly armored planes and inadequate fire-safety measures on their ships-that contributed to their defeat. He focuses throughout on the people involved, offering telling portraits of Admirals Nimitz, Halsey, Spruance and numerous other Americans, as well as the leading Japanese figures, including the poker-loving Admiral Yamamoto. Nimitz at Pearl Harbor after the devastating Japanese attack, and describes the key events leading to the climactic battle, including both Coral Sea-the first battle in history against opposing carrier forces-and Jimmy Doolittle's daring raid of Tokyo. Symonds begins with the arrival of Admiral Chester A. Symonds paints an unforgettable portrait of ingenuity, courage, and sacrifice. In this absolutely riveting account of a key moment in the history of World War II, one of America's leading naval historians, Craig L. By sunset, their vaunted carrier force (the Kido Butai) had been sunk and their grip on the Pacific had been loosened forever. At dawn of June 4, 1942, a rampaging Japanese navy ruled the Pacific.

There are few moments in American history in which the course of events tipped so suddenly and so dramatically as at the Battle of Midway.

The battle of midway symonds