REVIEW BY MARK DeSANTIS
The Battle of Midway in early June 1942 is arguably the most significant naval encounter of the Second World War, and easily one of the most notable battles in all history. The three-day fight in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is still suffused with mythology: an outnumbered but lucky American fleet obtained a dramatic and decisive triumph over the superior Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Misconceptions about the battle are many, and the paucity of reliable English-language accounts from the Japanese has never helped matters.
In this new book, Mark E Stille, a retired US Navy intelligence officer, delivers a comprehensive picture of the engagement. This is no small task. Known to the Japanese as Operation MI, Midway was an enormous confrontation that played out over vast distances. Unlike naval battles of earlier wars, in which fleets had to come within sight of each other, the two sides duelling at Midway did not. Much of the damage was instead inflicted from the sky.
Stille highlights the many errors made by the Japanese in the lead-up to, and during, Operation MI. Though both participants made mistakes, those of the Japanese would prove much more damaging. For example, they assumed they had the advantage of surprise. But their codes had been cracked.
