In the late 1800s, the United States entered the world stage. It was industrializing and had a growing interest overseas, including in the Pacific Ocean. It annexed Hawaii, Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
In the early 1900s, the Japanese Empire started to emerge. Similar to the United States, Japan was industrializing and expanding into a regional power. The Japanese Empire was invading and annexing Asia's east coast and was interested Southeast Asia for its many resources, such as oil and rubber, necessary for the growing empire.
Going to Midway?
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. This caused the United States to declare war on the Axis Powers. Pearl Harbor became the center for the U.S.’s Pacific operations, commanded by Admiral Chester Nimitz.
The United States identified the Midway Atoll as a potential Japanese objective on March 13, 1942.
After several months of discussion and on April 16, Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto convinced Japan to a risky strategy concerning the Midway Atoll and Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
"Because we had suffered so little at the beginnng of the war, we thought we would get away with the same thing at Midway." - Captain Taijiro Aoki, commanding officer of Akagi
"View of Midway Atoll From the Sky." National Park Service. 26 July 2022, https://www.nps.gov/perl/learn/historyculture/pacific-battles.htm
Road to Midway
The Doolittle Raid took place on April 18, 1942. This convinced Japan to invade Midway, theoretically extending its first line of defense farther out and closer to the United States. So, Japan prepared to attack Midway sooner than originally planned.
On May 5, Japan's Imperial General Headquarters told Admiral Yamamoto to carry out the invasion of Midway and the Aleutians.
The United States won the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 7-8. The USS Yorktown was damaged but not sunk.
The Allies confirmed that Midway was a Japanese objective and predicted an attack on Midway on June 4th. Admiral Nimitz used this information to plan countermeasures.
Hando, Kazutoshi. "Akagi." Naval History and Heritage Command. 2 March 2015, https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-73000/NH-73059.html
Summary of Japanese Forces
During May 27 through May 29, Japan prepared its forces for Midway, which included Admiral Yamamoto and the aircraft carriers Kaga, Hiryu, Akagi, and Soryu.
United States Navy. "USS Enterprise." Naval History and Heritage Command. 10 December 2014, https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nara-series/nara--80-g-01-29-999/80-g-7001-12000/80-g-10151-uss-enterprise--cv-6-.html
Summary of American Forces
On June 2, the U.S. Task Forces 16 and 17 met 350 miles northeast of Midway. All of the U.S. forces at Midway included the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise, USS Hornet, and the USS Yorktown, around 334 aircraft, and 25 submarines.
