Why Japan lost the Battle of Midway
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Published 2024-04-17
But this pivotal moment was a product of more than chance. It was the culmination of decisions made not only in the heat of battle but in the preceding weeks and months. To truly grasp the significance of this critical juncture and how it happened, we have to go right back to the beginning of the pacific war.
In this video, IWM curator Adrian Kerrison examines the timeline of events that lead to the Battle of Midway and the crucial decisions that doomed the Japanese to defeat.
Explore and licence the film clips used in this video from IWM Film:
film.iwmcollections.org.uk/collections/4508
A short history of the Pacific War: www.iwm.org.uk/history/a-short-history-of-the-war-…
What happened at Pearl Harbor?: www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-happened-at-pearl-harb…
A guide to Japan's role in WW2: www.iwm.org.uk/history/a-quick-guide-to-japans-rol…
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All Comments (21)
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Lest we forget the acts of incredible heroism by the likes of McClusky, Kleiss, Best, and their comrades. Great men all.
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Just to add, the US torpedo bombers not only drew away and exhausted the Japanese combat air patrol, but more importantly brought the Zeros down to sea level, so they weren't in position to attack the dive bombers at their height before the US planes made their attack dives.
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When I was a kid we had a neighbor who was personally responsible for the loss of 26 Japanese aircraft in WWII. He was the worst mechanic in the Japanese military.
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Any hardcore history fans going to mention that Yorktown was still afloat after Hiryu's first counter-attack and its damage repair crews did such a good job putting out the fires that the second attack wave mistook it for an untouched carrier, saving Enterprise and Hornet. Even after the second attack it was STILL afloat, they attempted to salvage it but a submarine finally finished the job.
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Let's not forget Roosevelt. He pushed to start building those carriers in the late thirties.
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God bless these men. And let us never forget the their sacrifices....we owe these men everything.
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One thing that is over looked in most videos about Midway is that it wasn't so much the loss of the four aircraft carriers , but the loss of the pilots and aircrew . Later in the war Japan was able to build new carriers but was never able to replace the highly skilled veteran aircrew . What replacements that were put aboard were easily shot down .
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Wade McClusky, from Buffalo, NY, made a gutsy call that allowed it all to happen.
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The Japanese planes did not finish off the USS Yorktown, but it was a japanese submarine that did. She was able to stay afloat after being bombed by the japanese. She was, then, being pulled by one of her allied ships, but was hit by a torpedo attack.
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This is the best (and briefest) explanation of the Battle of Midway of those I have watched on YouTube.
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Jolly good job. Instead of taking an hour to explain this action (like so many others), you summed it up well in 16 minutes. That's what we like.
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I love Catalinas/PBYs. They're slow, they're ugly in a way, but they always seem to be in the right place at the right time, like 6:47 and 8:13 of this video and during the hunt for the Bismarck. Only recently have I learned about the "Black Cat" night operations in the Pacific, which increased my love for them even more.
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Montemayor has an excellent set of animated videos showing how Midway proceeded from the Japanese point-of-view, using only the data that Japanese commanders had and showing why they made their decisions on the day.
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Hearing and reading about this battle never fails to send chills down my spine.
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The real heroes were the codebreakers
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This was such a tremendous event in the war. Thanks for covering it. Well made video. This is also the best narrator in The imperial war museum ❤❤
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Excellent coverage! Thanks!
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I was proud to serve on the USS Shangri La CVA 38 built in 1943. I served in 1959 for a year. I have a good perspective how the WWll carriers were build and operated.
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The importance of those few minutes on the outcome of the second world war cannot be overstated.
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Great video!!
