The Battle of Midway was supposed to be Pearl Harbor: The Sequel. It was an ambush set only 6 months after the attacks at Pearl. The Japanese goal was to draw the American fleet into a battle the Americans would think they could win, then slam them with additional forces and wipe out much of America's remaining carrier and capital ship strength.
Instead, America captured Japanese communications traffic and set an ambush of their own. Japan was working on the assumption that America would have only 2 carriers and a fleet full of demoralized sailors. Instead, America intercepted the plans and showed up with an extra carrier and prepped over 120 aircraft on Midway itself to join the battle.
On June 4, 1942, the fleets clashed, and Japanese aircraft were outnumbered by a vengeful U.S. presence in the air. Japan would lose 3 carriers and almost 250 aircraft in the fight while sinking 1 U.S. carrier and downing approximately 150 U.S. aircraft. The battle tipped the balance of power in the Pacific in World War II.
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ActionIt's easy, when you're one of the world's great powers, to think that most battles will go your way. And the ones that won't? Well, you can only lose so badly when you've got better technology, larger formations, and/or God on your side. Unfortunate...
