Bringing together for the first time material previously published in Osprey series books, and with the addition of new writing making use of the most recent research, this book details the Japanese ships which fought in the Pacific and examines the principles on which they were designed, how they were armed, when and where they were deployed and how effective they were in battle. This was a remarkable turnaround for a navy that only began to modernize in 1868, although defeats inflicted on the Russians and Chinese in successive wars at the turn of the century gave a sense of the threat the IJN was to pose. While the aircraft were returning, the Japanese navy became aware of the presence of US naval forces in the area.The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was the third most powerful navy in the world at the start of World War II, and came to dominate the Pacific in the early months of the war. After their initial attacks, the Japanese aircraft headed back to their carriers to rearm and refuel. Unbeknownst to the Japanese, the US carrier forces were just to the east of the island and ready for battle. Station Hypo (where the cryptanalysts were based in Hawaii) was able to also give the date (June 4 or 5) and the order of battle of the Imperial Japanese Navy.Įarly on the morning of June 4, aircraft from four Japanese aircraft carriers attacked and severely damaged the US base on Midway. Japan then sent a message that “AF” was short of fresh water, confirming that the location for the attack was the base at Midway. The attack location and time were confirmed when the American base at Midway sent out a false message that it was short of fresh water. The United States was aware that the Japanese were planning an attack in the Pacific (on a location the Japanese code-named “AF”) because Navy cryptanalysts had begun breaking Japanese communication codes in early 1942. Japan hoped to defeat the US Pacific Fleet and use Midway as a base to attack Pearl Harbor, securing dominance in the region and then forcing a negotiated peace. One of Japan’s main goals during World War II was to remove the United States as a Pacific power in order to gain territory in east Asia and the southwest Pacific islands. (Image: National Archives and Records Administration, 80-G-414423.)
Top Image: The USS Yorktown is hit on the port side by a torpedo launched from a plane off the Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu during the Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942.
0 kommentar(er)
