The Battle of Midway occurred on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. Japan sought to extend its Pacific defense perimeter following the Doolittle air raid on Tokyo in April 1942, and intended to clear the seas for attacks on Midway, Fiji, Samoa, and Hawaii. Japanese commander Isoroku Yamamoto planned to capture Midway and lure out the U.S. Pacific Fleet, particularly its aircraft carriers which had escaped damage at Pearl Harbor. A related Japanese attack on the Aleutian Islands began one day earlier on 3 June.
The Japanese strike force at Midway, known as the Kidō Butai, was commanded by Chuichi Nagumo under overall Japanese Combined Fleet leadership by Yamamoto. The battle took place near Midway Atoll, approximately 1,300 miles northwest of Oahu. However, Yamamoto's operational plan, which depended on precise timing and coordination, was undermined by its wide dispersal of forces, which left the rest of the fleet unable to support the Kidō Butai effectively.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet, operating two carrier strike groups, achieved a decisive defeat of the Japanese Combined Fleet. This outcome reversed the balance of power in the Pacific Theater, as the battle represented a critical turning point in the naval war between the United States and Japan.
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