The Battle of Midway

This is a hugely enjoyable book about one of the pivotal battles in Navel history. Lady luck seems to have been favouring the US Navy in what on paper appeared to be a fight they could not win, although having radar which the opposition did not, and breaking the Japanese naval codes no doubt helped in large part. A combination of timing, missed opportunities and sheer bad luck saw their carrier force smashed by the US Naval aviators and their war in the Pacific was effectively lost in a morning.What I really liked about this was the author bringing the various characters to life in print. Too many war histories merely concentrate on the movements of the forces and can be very dry. Here we can read about the laconic US Rear Admiral, Ray Spruance, the wanabee war hero Air Group Commander Ring (who seems to have been clueless about how to actually fight a battle), Rear Admiral Mark Mitscher, whose command of the USS Hornet during the battle is more than open to question; Admiral Yamamoto with his gambler's instinct. The men under their command are also brought to life in print. The author also doesn't present the Americans as supermen, but details their various flaws as well as their heroism - Lieutenant Commander Waldron, squadron leader of the US torpedo bombers, who ignored his Commander Ring's flight plan and found the Japanese, only to meet his death - instead of a court martial he got a posthumous Navy Cross. Such is the military way.Highly recommended for anyone interested in military history.

The book goes into a big explanation of the events leading up to the battle which are critical in understanding it. Events like operation Doolittle or the Battle of the Coral Sea. You see the logistics and understand the reason why decisions were made. For example the US only had three carriers available. The other two were on their way. The decision Nimitz made was to use all three carriers available. The same for the Japanese. Events and logistics affected their decisions. The battle is also explained and how many US pilots ended up in the Pacific landing in the water. Very well written and with a nice style!

A truly interesting account of the Battle of Midway and preceding events such as Pearl Harbor and the Battle of the Coral Sea. Well illustrated with photographs and maps, including some shots taken during actual naval events. The text also neatly illustrates rivalries between American officers and indeed amongst Japanese officials and naval officers.

Really enjoyed the book. It’s not too technical and it is really easy to follow the development of the Battle of Midway in a factual way from the different perspectives of the parties involved.

Not read yet but excellent product, I’m sure it will be great like Craig’s other books.