Battle of Midway: 1942
The Battle of Midway was a decisive naval victory for the Allies in the Pacific during World War II. The battle took place between June 4th and 7th, 1942, just six months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Japanese operation sought to eliminate the United States as a strategic power in the Pacific. American cryptographers were able to determine the date and location of the planned attack, enabling the forewarned U.S. Navy to prepare its own ambush. All four of Japan’s carriers were sunk, while the U.S. lost only one carrier and a destroyer.
The Battle of Midway, along with the Guadalcanal Campaign, is widely considered a turning point in the Pacific War. Historian John Keegan called it “the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare.”