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NFT: The Battle of Midway - June 4th-7th 1942

Jimmy Googs : 6/3/2021 8:08 pm
Nearly 60 years ago, one of the most important naval battles in United States history was fought near a tiny atoll in the vast Pacific Ocean called Midway Island. The battle was a decisive victory for the Americans and a crushing loss for Japan. It has often been referred to as the battle the "turned the tide in the Pacific" as the Japanese, while still a steadfast and formidable enemy, no longer would be advancing in that theater and the U.S. now started taking control of the war through an island-hopping campaign over the next few years.

I am a huge U.S. Naval history buff and the Battle of Midway has always been one of the more interesting battles to read and learn about in my view. Some of the key aspects of the battle and what decided the fortunes of the U.S. and Japan:

- The intelligence and cryptology work performed by the U.S. was just remarkable at that period in our nation's history. And how critical that piece was in deciphering Japan's plans, and allowing the Americans to be ready not only to defend Midway but also tactically surprise and inflict significant losses on Japan's vaunted aircraft carrier fleet. Admiral Nimitz and his team were always a few steps ahead of the Japanese leader Admiral Yamamoto.

- The significance of certain minor timing and nuances as to how the battle played out. And how just a few minutes of indecision and delay on Admiral Nagumo's part resulted in allowing the American carrier planes to take huge advantage of the situation. In some instances, Nagumo and his staff made prudent decisions with the facts they had in hand. But his intelligence reports were not as sharp as the Americans and it led him to make some questionable choices in the heat of the moment and it cost Japan dearly.

- How much more advanced the Japanese planes and its pilots were at that moment in time versus the Americans. But how the American pilots had the upper hand with respect to surprise and first-strike timing, and how the bravery and massacre of its torpedo plane squadrons ultimately opened the door to Japan being out of position to deal with the U.S. dive bombers which did them in.

- Just plain luck. Not to downplay what was orchestrated and achieved by the Americans, but good fortune absolutely played a major part in the U.S. victory and in numerous ways over the three days. It was shocking. Which leads me to this short quote by Sir Winston Churchill who seemed to capture both the significance and poignant memory of this historical event in perfect fashion...

"The annals of war at sea present no more intense, heart-shaking shock than this battle, in which the qualities of the United States Navy and Air Force and the American race shone forth in splendour. The bravery and self-devotion of the American airmen and sailors and the nerve and skill of their leaders was the foundation of all."
Make that nearly 80 years ago  
Jimmy Googs : 6/3/2021 8:21 pm : link
need to work on my calendar math a bit...
Check out  
Dave on the UWS : 6/3/2021 8:23 pm : link
“WWII in Real time” on the Time Ghost U tube Chanel
They will have a 3 part episode Sat -Mon on the battle. Worth the watch.
...  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 6/3/2021 8:44 pm : link
This & Dolittle Raid were huge in terms of American morale.
Japanese Carriers  
Arkbach : 6/3/2021 9:05 pm : link
were designed poorly. I've read their ships did not have the ability to seal sections from fire and water thus one well placed one bomb could sink the ship. American carriers were designed better and even those that did sink took hours or a day while the Japanese ships sunk in no time at all. What if their ships had been able to sail away to fight another day?
No battle of Midway can be told...  
BamaBlue : 6/3/2021 9:42 pm : link
without mentioning those crazy Naval Aviator's who flew the Douglas Dauntless Dive Bombers... These guys were heroes.

You have to admit these guys were hero's  
GIANTS128 : 6/3/2021 9:57 pm : link
Admiral: need you to find Japanese carriers...you will likely not return due to lack of fuel

Airmen: Ok we will not let you down

Greatest generation.....


Until I saw the second midway movie  
Earl the goat : 6/3/2021 10:13 pm : link
I didn’t realize what a true hero Dick Best was
Makes me wonder..  
Giant John : 6/3/2021 10:14 pm : link
How would today forces compare with an equal or even better equipped force similar to the Midway battle?
RE: ...  
Jim in Fairfax : 6/3/2021 10:21 pm : link
In comment 15279598 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
This & Dolittle Raid were huge in terms of American morale.

Midway was far more than a morale boost. Japan lost 4 of their 6 fleet carriers and most of their best pilots. It was a blow they could never recover from.
RE: Until I saw the second midway movie  
Jimmy Googs : 6/3/2021 10:35 pm : link
In comment 15279645 Earl the goat said:
Quote:
I didn’t realize what a true hero Dick Best was


Two bomb hits (killer blows no less) on two different enemy carriers in the same day....insane.

The poster child for Our Greatest Generation...
One of the best books on the battle is  
MarvelousMike : 6/4/2021 12:02 am : link
"Shattered Sword" The book covers the battle from the Japanese perspective and gives you great insight on what they did wrong.
Their carriers were short on the small trucks used to move and load torpedoes which caused a huge delay when orders went out change back to naval attack versus airfield attack.
Fighters did not have any radios. Thus, they did not get ordered to climb back up to 15,000 ft to prepare for dive bombers after wiping out the torpedo bombers at sea level.
Unlike US carriers, they did not drain their fuel systems and flood them with CO2.
The recent Midway movie shows a huge fleet escorting the carriers. There was only 2 BC, 2 CA, CL, and 9 DDs in actuality.
RE: RE: ...  
section125 : 6/4/2021 12:46 am : link
In comment 15279650 Jim in Fairfax said:
Quote:
In comment 15279598 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:


Quote:


This & Dolittle Raid were huge in terms of American morale.


Midway was far more than a morale boost. Japan lost 4 of their 6 fleet carriers and most of their best pilots. It was a blow they could never recover from.


The Japanese had previously lost one carrier with one other damaged severely at Coral Sea as did we - the first naval battle between ships that never saw each other.

Oddly, had the dive bombers not gotten separated and delayed from the torpedo bombers, the battle likely has a different outcome as the Zeros were still at low level without time to climb and meet the dive bombers after shooting down all 16 torpedo planes.
As to damage control, the Japanese thought they sank two carriers because after damaging Yorktown, rearming and making a new attack, they hit Yorktown a second time because the crew of Yorktown had put out the fires and had her back up to 18/20 knots by the time they returned. Meanwhile, Hiryu was found and sunk while the second attack on Yorktown was taking place.

The Japanese conquest of SE Asia was derailed and doomed in basically 5 minutes of the best luck in the history of naval warfare.
An amazing lucky battle for America  
montanagiant : 6/4/2021 1:39 am : link
Nimitz listening to a quirky group of Codebreakers was without a doubt one of the most intelligent aspects an Admiral could do. What a call by him!
RE: No battle of Midway can be told...  
montanagiant : 6/4/2021 1:40 am : link
In comment 15279627 BamaBlue said:
Quote:
without mentioning those crazy Naval Aviator's who flew the Douglas Dauntless Dive Bombers... These guys were heroes.


One of the most heroic aspects of that battle. You would have to have nerves of steel to do that
RE: Japanese Carriers  
montanagiant : 6/4/2021 1:41 am : link
In comment 15279605 Arkbach said:
Quote:
were designed poorly. I've read their ships did not have the ability to seal sections from fire and water thus one well placed one bomb could sink the ship. American carriers were designed better and even those that did sink took hours or a day while the Japanese ships sunk in no time at all. What if their ships had been able to sail away to fight another day?

They also could not refuel underway as our carriers could. That was a huge factor
RE: Check out  
Klaatu : 6/4/2021 6:15 am : link
In comment 15279594 Dave on the UWS said:
Quote:
“WWII in Real time” on the Time Ghost U tube Chanel
They will have a 3 part episode Sat -Mon on the battle. Worth the watch.


Here's Indy giving a preview:

Midway on the path from Hell to Heaven - this weekend!
RE: One of the best books on the battle is  
Klaatu : 6/4/2021 6:25 am : link
In comment 15279673 MarvelousMike said:
Quote:
"Shattered Sword" The book covers the battle from the Japanese perspective and gives you great insight on what they did wrong.
Their carriers were short on the small trucks used to move and load torpedoes which caused a huge delay when orders went out change back to naval attack versus airfield attack.
Fighters did not have any radios. Thus, they did not get ordered to climb back up to 15,000 ft to prepare for dive bombers after wiping out the torpedo bombers at sea level.
Unlike US carriers, they did not drain their fuel systems and flood them with CO2.
The recent Midway movie shows a huge fleet escorting the carriers. There was only 2 BC, 2 CA, CL, and 9 DDs in actuality.

Here's an interview with the author of "Shattered Sword," Jon Parshall, on Drachinifel's channel:

The Battle of Midway - Myths, Legends and Greatness (with Jon Parshall)
Also from Drachinifel: American and Japanese Damage Control in WW2  
Klaatu : 6/4/2021 6:34 am : link
Quote:
What were the differences between damage control in the two major navies of the Pacific Theater? Lets take a quick look...


Link - ( New Window )
RE: One of the best books on the battle is  
Jimmy Googs : 6/4/2021 8:39 am : link
In comment 15279673 MarvelousMike said:
Quote:
"Shattered Sword" The book covers the battle from the Japanese perspective and gives you great insight on what they did wrong.
Their carriers were short on the small trucks used to move and load torpedoes which caused a huge delay when orders went out change back to naval attack versus airfield attack.
Fighters did not have any radios. Thus, they did not get ordered to climb back up to 15,000 ft to prepare for dive bombers after wiping out the torpedo bombers at sea level.
Unlike US carriers, they did not drain their fuel systems and flood them with CO2.
The recent Midway movie shows a huge fleet escorting the carriers. There was only 2 BC, 2 CA, CL, and 9 DDs in actuality.


Yep, great read.

As you mentioned, structural and design weaknesses on the Japanese carriers were a big contributor to why they couldn't withstand/recover well from battle hits. This is an excerpt regarding the fuel tank issues and how it was compounded by flaws in structure and process to deal with leaking vapors...

Aviation fuel tanks in Japanese carriers were part of the hull. This implied that any shock absorb by the hull would also be absorbed by the fuel tanks. If the shock was great (like from a torpedo or bomb hit or even a near miss by a large bomb), it would cause the fuel tank to crack, leaking aviation fume. Indeed, this happened to many Japanese carriers in combat. Japanese carrier designers had clearly underestimated the degree to which aviation gas fuel would leak under battle conditions.

In addition, Japanese carriers did not have self-sealing fuel lines. Hence, once fuel leak occurred, it could not be stopped. Post-war analysis showed that if Soryu and Hiryu had self-sealing fuel lines, they probably would not have been lost at Midway.

The problem of aviation fuel leak was compounded by the fact that hangars were not vapor or flash tight. To ventilate the hangar, Japanese carriers used intake and exhaust fans. The end result? When aviation fuel leaks, the fume was aided by fans and circulated around the vessels. Just one electrical spark was enough to ignite the volatile fume, triggering a fire that spread wherever the fume went.

Repairing the Yorktown After the Battle of the Coral Sea  
Klaatu : 6/4/2021 9:17 am : link
Quote:
Yard workers and sailors worked flat out over three days to get the carrier Yorktown patched up and ready for the decisive Midway battle.


Quote:
To satisfy the enormous power needs of the repair crews the Navy contacted Leslie Hicks, president of the Hawaiian Electric Company, who arranged a series of rolling blackouts in Honolulu. Only the most urgent repairs were made. Instead of individually fixing the hull’s ruptured seams, an enormous steel plate was welded over the damaged section.


Link - ( New Window )
good thread  
Dr. D : 6/4/2021 9:34 am : link
if anyone has a chance, the Naval museum near Charleston, SC, is very cool. You can tour the USS Yorktown and USS LAFFEY Destroyer (DD-724), (which was named in honor of LAFFEY (DD-459), sunk during the battle for Guadalcanal (13 November 1942)).

You can also tour a submarine (don't if you're claustrophobic) and some of the aircraft.

I also enjoyed the recent Midway movie (though I had to block out thoughts of Woody Harrelson as the one handed bowler in Kingpin).
Midway and Guadalcanal were the turning points in the Pacific  
dpinzow : 6/4/2021 9:37 am : link
Lieutenant Best served aboard Enterprise CV-6 as a dive bomber pilot IIRC and his dive bomber group sunk two of the four Japanese carriers.

Before Guadalcanal, Enterprise CV-6 (also fought at Midway) was the only operational carrier in the Pacific. Her crew put up a banner:

"Enterprise vs. Japan"

The naval battle of Guadalcanal with just Enterprise and her battleships and destroyers holding off a superior Japanese naval force was a victory against harrowing odds just like Midway. Enterprise had her plane elevator damaged so they had to use the airstrip on Guadalcanal for the dive bombers to land
USS Enterprise CV 6  
Bill2 : 6/4/2021 9:56 am : link
Fought in 20 of the top 22 Naval battles of the Pacific War, many of them as our only carrier at the time.

By wars end, 71 ships sunk, 911 planes shot down and 191 ships so damaged they did not fight again or needed more than 6 months of repairs.

First carrier to learn to fight at night. First to learn continuous operations. Four times fought six days at 24/7 pace isn't support of amphibious landings.

Japanese thought they sank her 3 different times. Oft damaged by Kamikaze attacks she lost over 1000 sailors. General estimates indicate direct hit Japanese losses were close to 40,000 sailors.

She was easily our greatest fighting ship and a legend equal to the HMS Victory
RE: USS Enterprise CV 6  
dpinzow : 6/4/2021 10:02 am : link
In comment 15279761 Bill2 said:
Quote:
Fought in 20 of the top 22 Naval battles of the Pacific War, many of them as our only carrier at the time.

By wars end, 71 ships sunk, 911 planes shot down and 191 ships so damaged they did not fight again or needed more than 6 months of repairs.

First carrier to learn to fight at night. First to learn continuous operations. Four times fought six days at 24/7 pace isn't support of amphibious landings.

Japanese thought they sank her 3 different times. Oft damaged by Kamikaze attacks she lost over 1000 sailors. General estimates indicate direct hit Japanese losses were close to 40,000 sailors.

She was easily our greatest fighting ship and a legend equal to the HMS Victory


For a good portion of late 1942 Enterprise was the only carrier in the Pacific, until the Essex-class carriers (Essex, another Yorktown, Intrepid, etc).
RE: USS Enterprise CV 6  
Klaatu : 6/4/2021 10:06 am : link
In comment 15279761 Bill2 said:
Quote:
Fought in 20 of the top 22 Naval battles of the Pacific War, many of them as our only carrier at the time.

By wars end, 71 ships sunk, 911 planes shot down and 191 ships so damaged they did not fight again or needed more than 6 months of repairs.

First carrier to learn to fight at night. First to learn continuous operations. Four times fought six days at 24/7 pace isn't support of amphibious landings.

Japanese thought they sank her 3 different times. Oft damaged by Kamikaze attacks she lost over 1000 sailors. General estimates indicate direct hit Japanese losses were close to 40,000 sailors.

She was easily our greatest fighting ship and a legend equal to the HMS Victory


Absolutely, Bill.
Dpinzow - the US also had the carrier Hornet available  
Jimmy Googs : 6/4/2021 10:12 am : link
along with Enterprise at beginning of the South Pacific campaign. In fact, Enterprise got damaged first in the Solomons and that left Hornet as the only functioning carrier at one point too.

But Hornet was sunk later at Battle of Santa Cruz leaving Enterprise as you mentioned to do the heavy lifting until the new fleet of carriers being built were sent to sea.

Enterprise and her airmen and crew were a tough active bunch for sure in the early part of the war...
Yes Midway was a kind of a turning point in the Pacific  
David in Belmont : 6/4/2021 11:16 am : link
and the naval flyers were true heroes. But the outcome of the war was going to be the same regardless of what happened at Midway. Japan couldn't really occupy Hawaii or attack the mainland U.S. with any sizable forces. And it couldn't match the industrial might of the U.S. and the military forces we could throw against them by late 1943. The war might have lasted longer but once the Essex Class and the baby carriers started going into service, Japan's navy didn't stand a chance. And then as we hopped from island to island, the Japanese air force didn't stand a chance against the overwhelming forces our navy and army air force could marshall.
.  
Bill2 : 6/4/2021 11:28 am : link
Absent the need to fight on their declared Eastern perimeter they would have had about 18 months to consolidate where they were getting supplies from


Manchuria and Borneo, Burma and the Dutch East Indies. And they could have cut off Australia.

While I completely agree we eventually could have won a material and logistics grind, I'd never underestimate the degree Roosevelt was a political animal first and foremost...and a slippery one at that. He could have used those 18 months the way Churchill wanted and or defined "peace with honor" anyway he chose

Check out Ian Toll's trilogy...  
GA5 : 6/4/2021 11:37 am : link
on the Pacific naval war. First volume "Pacific Crucible" takes you from pre Pearl Harbor through the Battle Of Midway. Excellent stuff!
Check out Ian Toll's trilogy...  
GA5 : 6/4/2021 11:38 am : link
on the Pacific naval war. First volume "Pacific Crucible" takes you from pre Pearl Harbor through the Battle Of Midway. Excellent stuff!
RE: Check out Ian Toll's trilogy...  
dpinzow : 6/4/2021 5:30 pm : link
In comment 15279864 GA5 said:
Quote:
on the Pacific naval war. First volume "Pacific Crucible" takes you from pre Pearl Harbor through the Battle Of Midway. Excellent stuff!


Will definitely take a look
RE: Yes Midway was a kind of a turning point in the Pacific  
Klaatu : 6/4/2021 7:47 pm : link
In comment 15279844 David in Belmont said:
Quote:
and the naval flyers were true heroes. But the outcome of the war was going to be the same regardless of what happened at Midway. Japan couldn't really occupy Hawaii or attack the mainland U.S. with any sizable forces. And it couldn't match the industrial might of the U.S. and the military forces we could throw against them by late 1943. The war might have lasted longer but once the Essex Class and the baby carriers started going into service, Japan's navy didn't stand a chance. And then as we hopped from island to island, the Japanese air force didn't stand a chance against the overwhelming forces our navy and army air force could marshall.

Japan didn't need to invade/occupy Hawaii to render it useless as an American base, just like America didn't need to invade/occupy Truk or Rabaul to render them useless to the Japanese later on. All they had to do was attack it again (and as often as necessary) to finish the job they started on December 7. None of the battleships that were eventually raised and put back in action would have been raised, and there would have been no safe harbor for US ships in the region. Submarine command most likely would have had to relocate to the West Coast. Couple that with isolating (and possibly invading) Australia, and US sub operations would have been severely limited.

No victory at Midway would have meant no invasion of Guadalcanal, which would have left the airfields in Japanese hands. That would have given them air supremacy is the southern Pacific. Bases on Midway and the Aleutians would have covered the northern Pacific.

This would have radically altered the plans of both Nimitz and MacArthur. For starters, any plans for the Admiralty Islands/New Guinea as a prelude to the invasion of the Philippines would have been off the table.

Japan didn't need to attack the U.S. mainland, either. With the American Navy defeated and the Japanese defensive perimeter established (and their access to all of the resources inside that perimeter), they most likely would have done what they did in 1905 in the Russo-Japanese War - sue for peace.
Little Publicized Fact  
varco : 6/5/2021 7:33 am : link
In late 1942, after Hornet was sunk, the British loaned HMS Victorious to the USN and it operated in the Pacific for about 7 months, alongside Saratoga. At the time, we were down to just these 2 carriers, until damaged ships were repaired and the new Essex class carriers were deployed. Thankfully, the Japanese were not in any shape to launch aggressive operations. Today, we don't really appreciate what a close-run thing the naval war in the Pacific was in the 1942-1943 time period. Our country owes a debt to our brave sailors, soldiers, marines and airmen, which can never be repaid.
Timing and bad luck  
Jimmy Googs : 6/5/2021 9:26 am : link
We know a huge shortcoming of Japan's intelligence was that they had no information on where the American carriers were at the point Nagumo was attacking Midway Island. But the underlying basis in all of Yamamoto's original plans was our carriers certainly would not be anywhere near Midway. Ironic, since the primary goal of his Midway plan wasn't the island itself but to lure out and destroy the remaining US carriers in a decisive battle.

But Nagumo and his staff actually showed some good sense and tried to mitgate that unknown risk by putting together a search plan to scout the area just in case the American carriers were around. However, carrier-based search plans back then were usually not that effective based on the insufficient number of planes sent out, limited ranges and the vast area that needed to be covered.

So back to timing and luck...the Japanese scouts actually found the US ships with its limited search plans. But the problem was it was from a search plane launched from a catapult from the cruiser Tone and was delayed in taking off with the rest and therefore actually found the US fleet later than it would have if it took off on time. Add to that there were some delays on board Nagumo's flagship, the Akagi, in getting the radio messages from that scout plane to him.

Once it does get to him, Nagumo and his staff are obviously surprised. And now spend more time deciding what to do with this new information and how to proceed since its planes needed to be re-armed, other planes were coming back from the Midway strike and needed to land and none of this was going according to Yamamoto's master plan. A lot of shit was going on in Nagumo's head.

Poor info, indecision, wasted time...and of course some bad luck.
Another bit of luck, Googs, or maybe just poor timing...  
Klaatu : 6/5/2021 10:26 am : link
The picket line of submarines that Yammamoto wanted to have close to Hawaii to give the alert when the American carriers left Pearl wasn't established until the carriers had already left.
RE: Another bit of luck, Googs, or maybe just poor timing...  
Jimmy Googs : 6/5/2021 11:06 am : link
In comment 15280388 Klaatu said:
Quote:
The picket line of submarines that Yammamoto wanted to have close to Hawaii to give the alert when the American carriers left Pearl wasn't established until the carriers had already left.


How about the US submarine Nautilus that had to be dealt with by the Japanese destroyer Arashi. And that is the ship the Enterprise bombers finally found to track back to the larger Japanese fleet.

Getting near the end of their range, the Americans would have had to turn around very soon because their fuel was running too low. Very fortunate...
RE: RE: Another bit of luck, Googs, or maybe just poor timing...  
Klaatu : 6/5/2021 11:22 am : link
In comment 15280399 Jimmy Googs said:
Quote:
In comment 15280388 Klaatu said:


Quote:


The picket line of submarines that Yammamoto wanted to have close to Hawaii to give the alert when the American carriers left Pearl wasn't established until the carriers had already left.



How about the US submarine Nautilus that had to be dealt with by the Japanese destroyer Arashi. And that is the ship the Enterprise bombers finally found to track back to the larger Japanese fleet.

Getting near the end of their range, the Americans would have had to turn around very soon because their fuel was running too low. Very fortunate...


Oh, no doubt.

I wonder how many battles have been won or lost due to an event (or events) that might seem insignificant at the time, but turned out to be pivotal?
Exactly and kind of what I was trying to suggest in the OP.  
Jimmy Googs : 6/5/2021 11:30 am : link
Even with the better intell, the surprise, finding Nagumo's ships first, getting US attack planes in the air first, the Americans still had a whole lot of good luck (and/or the Japanese had bad luck) in winning at Midway.

A couple minutes less delay in re-arming planes or a minor event like the Tone scout plane launching on time, and that large experienced Japanese naval/air force might have still been able to blow the US carriers out of the water and won this battle...
the  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 6/6/2021 9:43 am : link
Time Ghost Army's overview of Midway, which was just published yesterday....


145a - Midway, pt.1 - Clash of the Titans - June 5, 1942 - ( New Window )
RE: RE: No battle of Midway can be told...  
Man In The Box : 6/6/2021 3:13 pm : link
In comment 15279687 montanagiant said:
Quote:
In comment 15279627 BamaBlue said:


Quote:


without mentioning those crazy Naval Aviator's who flew the Douglas Dauntless Dive Bombers... These guys were heroes.




One of the most heroic aspects of that battle. You would have to have nerves of steel to do that


“Where do we get such men? They leave this ship and they do their job. Then they must find this speck lost somewhere on the sea. When the find it they have to land on its pitching deck. Where do we get such men?”
RE: the  
US1 Giants : 6/7/2021 11:02 am : link
In comment 15280841 Eric from BBI said:
Quote:
Time Ghost Army's overview of Midway, which was just published yesterday....
145a - Midway, pt.1 - Clash of the Titans - June 5, 1942 - ( New Window )


Part 2 of Midway posted today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALZoEwrAMLU
If you like podcasts  
The Jake : 6/7/2021 2:17 pm : link
check out "Hardcore History" by Dan Carlin, which has an entire series of podcasts dedicated to the pacific theater called: "Supernova in the East." Pretty sure there are about 4 or 5 episodes and EACH ONE is about four hours long.

The material on Midway and other Pacific battles is pretty incredible. Next best thing to reading about it and much better than the Hollywood versions.
RE: If you like podcasts  
mfsd : 6/7/2021 3:29 pm : link
In comment 15281686 The Jake said:
Quote:
check out "Hardcore History" by Dan Carlin, which has an entire series of podcasts dedicated to the pacific theater called: "Supernova in the East." Pretty sure there are about 4 or 5 episodes and EACH ONE is about four hours long.

The material on Midway and other Pacific battles is pretty incredible. Next best thing to reading about it and much better than the Hollywood versions.


Love Hardcore History, and I have that one queued up next. Almost done with his series on the Persians and the Greeks
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