Through determination and ingenuity, by 1942, US cryptanalysts had deciphered the previously impenetrable World War 2 Imperial Japanese Navy code, known as JN-25. Japan had no idea America was listening. Buried within its encrypted chatter, a chilling revelation – a Japanese assault on the US Naval Station at Midway was imminent, promising devastation of an unseen scale.
With this critical knowledge, US forces turned the predator into the prey. What the Japanese believed would be a decisive blow to the US Pacific fleet was now meticulously engineered to be their own undoing – an ambush of the ambushers.
As the chessboard was laid out, the first move fell on June 3, 1942. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s Combined Fleet breached the horizon, resolved to erase the US from the Pacific theater. Yet, skimming through the azure canopy, American warbirds were already in play, primed to strike first at the unsuspecting foe.
However, the meticulously crafted plan soon became a maelstrom of disarray and miscommunication. The scheme depended on fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo bombers, each executing their roles converging in a harmonized attack on the Japanese vessels.
US pilots needed to engage the enemy on all fronts – fighters to control the skies, dive bombers for an aerial onslaught, and torpedo bombers skimming the sea to puncture the steel sides of the ships.
But the reality of war seldom follows the choreography of the drawing board. Through a cruel twist of fate, the slower and lightly armored torpedo bombers of the VT-8 squadron found themselves leading the assault by themselves.
At the helm of their outdated, cumbersome Douglas TBD Devastators, the airmen and their crew were grimly aware of their slender chances of survival. Without the protection of fighter escorts, they stood exposed to the deadly barrage of Japanese defenses, from swarming enemy fighters to the ceaseless storm of anti-aircraft fire.
The Americans faced almost certain doom. As the Battle of Midway roared into action, the men of VT-8 squared their shoulders, ready to stare down their fate…
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I do wish this guy would show the airplane that he is talking about, while he is talking about it.
Another advantage for the US at Midway was that the IJN had canceled the third strike on Pear Harbor. That strike was to destroy the Navy's fuel dumps. Had that fuel been destroyed, the US vessels would not have had the fuel for Midway.
The Japanese codes were well understood by the US military before 1940. The reason the aircraft carriers were not at Pearl Harbor is because they were moved because the military brass and Washington news that the attack was going to occur they even do the date and time. On the Japanese calendar it would have been 7 a.m. on the 8th of December, their time because they're across the International Date Line. And just a few hours later the same day they attacked the Philippines as well. It was allowed to occur precisely so that Franklin Delano Roosevelt could claim that they were surprised. Why do you think they put all their aircraft on the air strips and straight line so they could be easily destroyed from the air. There is even testimony from people who worked at the ammo depot to not give anybody any ammo should anything occur on that day. Their testimony is that they were given those orders directly.
The message about the water shortage was a standard verification mechanism, not checking to see if they knew the codes. You always try and verify all of your information as much as possible so as to prepare for as many contingencies as possible. As for why the fighter planes and the bombers could not both Rita watch and figure out where they were, and figure out when to take off to meet up. I'm thinking the several people were read the riot act over that bullshit. They got a lot of good men killed.
Really, you don't know how to pronounce the word hour?
This is some super hero dumb down English narration guy thing on documentary fatigued Midway. Avengers not avaliable on carrier air groups yet
This is pretty common knowledge.
Needs to be split into two or more videos and re-titled. Mistakes in Japanese pronunciation abound. Artificial voice is less obvious, but still annoying for mangling words in both English and Japanese. Begins well but gets mediocre quickly for lack of time and lack of depth of general subject matter. Nothing new for anyone who has spent time and devotion to the study of Midway.
awful music
Those planes at 11:31 look a lot like British Fairey Barracuda's.
Those action shots from Midway were produced by John Ford (he of 'western' movie fame) who was recruited in secret to do so.
The PBY was an amphibian, best known for reconnaissance work, not as a bomber . . .
Excellent!
Clearly you need an AI to write your stuff. Testament to your laziness.
I’ve heard this story many times but great job on how you told it.
Using two carriers to attack the Aleutian Islands was Yamamotos worst mistake. With 6 carriers he would have won (costly) the battle and taken Midway.
But not for long. Americana had an enormous strategical advantage due to their knowledge of japanese plans, and the support of Hawai bases.
They would rapidly recover Midway, sinking all japanese carriers.
Yamamotos plan was flawed from the very beginning.
What an incompetent and criminal buffoon was Stanhope Ring
Yet this was only 1 side of the coin. The battle of midway is amazing battle to study. It was a battle where timing was off but played into the Americans hand to win the battle
I thought this was Dark Docs….
What it does show, yet again is the level of incompetence not repeated untill the next military conflict.
Whilst all the time the bravery and shear bloody mindedness of the men disguises ineptitude from middle management.
What on earth is the big red arrow on your thumbnail for? Stop putting arrows on them, it cheapens your channel and makes it look like clickbait.
I enjoyed the narration but far too many of the images didn't match the narration. It's as if the editor just grabbed random WW II footage.
The pilots called the Devastator "The Wind Indicator"
At 0:05 the reading of JN25 is confirmed by these here two books:-
1. Betrayal at Pearl Harbour by James Rusbridger and Eric Nave
2. Day of Deceit by Robert Stinnett
After reading these two books it will be obvious that the Brits and Americans were both reading the Japanese Naval codes at the time of PH. Even today people are still being told that the Pearl Harbor debacle was a 'surprise' raid by the Japanese Navy.
The intel of both countries knew everything about the Japanese Naval machine, right down to the finest detail …….. names, places, times, actions. So why did the PH raid succeed?
Churchill’s desire to get the US into the war is exposed in these books. Britain was almost on it’s last legs. Churchill knew something serious must happen to the USA, for Roosevelt had already proclaimed he was against taking the public into the war, (voluntarily).
Roosevelt too knew that it was imperative to get the US involved, for if the Nazis succeeded in Europe and the Japanese succeeded in the Far East, America in the long term would be doomed.
The action:- ….Japan was deliberately squeezed economically by the diplomatic actions of Britain to force Japan to take the only action open to it. Destroy PH and have free reign in the Pacific to pillage neighbouring counties. Just like a check mate.
It can’t be confirmed that Churchill and Roosevelt conspired behind closed doors to let PH take place. It’s seems more than possible.
It is known that both knew this would be the trigger to shock the US public and allow Roosevelt to rescind his previous declaration.
Japan was set up. A good many US citizens were sacrificed.
PH’s Admiral Kimmel was blamed for the disaster. He was a scapegoat. After these books came out, his denouncement was overturned. He was exonerated.
Too right.
My father's war and my father's Navy. Today, we are on the front lines, fighting gender identity. What has happened to my country?
Well told but the video is near totally uncoordinated.
I never get tired of hearing the story of the Battle of Midway and the sacrifices made by American heroes.
What happened to the Commander who didn't give them fighter escorts???
11:32 Barracudas…?!!
I was trying to get interested in this video, but,
THE BACKGROUND " MUSIC ", IS DROWNING OUT THE COMMENTARY.
Mish mash of video editing, A spitfire, Blackburn Barracuda, and the rescue plane a Westland Lysander All British.
I believe in an attempt to give some honor and relevance to the torpedo attacks their effect has been exaggerated. True the fighter cover had been brough down close to the surface but there was plenty of time for the speedy interceptors to return to an adequate elevation to engage the dive bombers. Not knowing where they were coming from was their major obstacle.
Very long drawn out and repetitive commentary made it tedious to watch. gave up because of it.
I just saw a TV documentary on the U.S. Carrier Hornet, where 51 crew members of its Devastator torpedo planes went out to attack and only one pilot survived.
The only sailors remaining were their flight maintenance crews and their collective sadness that they would never see their friends alive and laughing again. The Hornet was sunk in a later battle and the Essex Carrier which was then under construction, the Kesarge was renamed the Hornet and sailed in 1944. It was their only new US Carrier that was never hit by bomb, plane or torpedo.
Another handicap the U.S. Navy's aviators had was the torpedoes themselves, much like the mk XIVs the submariners had to deal with the carriers' had aerial torpedoes with nonfunctional depth controls and detonators.
When I know the script says CMDR Waldron and the robot voice says "Cee-Em-Doctor Waldron", I know he's full of AI bovine scatology.
Normandy, Midway and many other battles shows that, no matter how meticulously plans are made, which ever side makes the least mistakes generally wins the day.
such empty rubbish, honestly. The US high command knew exactly what was going on. All the old useless ships were deliberately left in the harbor and the important ones were brought to safety first. “Coincidentally” all the top ships were far away for “training”. The USA has always been the brutal and inhumane aggressor. Ask the 100 million Indians, oh shit, hardly anyone makes a living 🙄