People Who Played an Important Role in the Battle of Midway
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
As rapidly as ships, men, and material became available, Nimitz shifted to the offensive and defeated the Japanese navy in the Battle of the Coral Sea, the pivotal Battle of Midway, and in the Solomon Islands Campaign.
Nimitz was established as the Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy — the highest grade in the Navy — by Act of Congress, approved 14 December 1944, and the President of the United States Franklin D Roosevelt performed the ceremony. Nimitz took the oath of office on 19 December 1944.
Nimitz was established as the Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy — the highest grade in the Navy — by Act of Congress, approved 14 December 1944, and the President of the United States Franklin D Roosevelt performed the ceremony. Nimitz took the oath of office on 19 December 1944.
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Yamamoto's plan for Midway Island was an extension of his efforts to knock the U.S. Pacific Fleet out of action long enough for Japan to fortify her defensive perimeter in the Pacific island chains. Yamamoto felt it necessary to seek an early, offensive decisive battle.
This plan was long believed to have been to draw American attention—and possibly carrier forces—north from Pearl Harbor by sending his Fifth Fleet (two light carriers, five cruisers, 13 destroyers, and four transports) against the Aleutians, raiding Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island and invading the more distant islands of Kiska and Attu. Recent scholarship using Japanese language documents has revealed it was, rather, an unrelated venture of the Naval General Staff which Yamamoto agreed to conduct concurrently with the Midway operation, in exchange for the latter's approval
This plan was long believed to have been to draw American attention—and possibly carrier forces—north from Pearl Harbor by sending his Fifth Fleet (two light carriers, five cruisers, 13 destroyers, and four transports) against the Aleutians, raiding Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island and invading the more distant islands of Kiska and Attu. Recent scholarship using Japanese language documents has revealed it was, rather, an unrelated venture of the Naval General Staff which Yamamoto agreed to conduct concurrently with the Midway operation, in exchange for the latter's approval
Japanese Rear Admiral Tanaka Raizo
was a rear admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during most of World War II. A specialist in the heavy torpedoes that were carried by all the destroyers and cruisers of the IJN, Tanaka mainly commanded destroyer squadrons, with a cruiser or two attached, and he was the primary leader of the "Tokyo Express" reinforcement and resupply shipments during the long campaign for the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon islands of the South Pacific Ocean. In his command capacity, Tanaka faced the surface task forces of the United States Navy and its few New Zealander allies many times, often achieving either a victory over, or a stalemate with, often larger enemy squadrons, mostly in night battles.
On 21 May 1942, Tanaka′s 2nd Destroyer Squadron—consisting of Jintsu and 10 destroyers—sortied from Kure to support the Japanese attack on Midway Island by escorting the transports carrying the troops for the prospective invasion (which was never carried out, because of the American air supremacy there). After the Japanese defeat in the Battle of Miway, Tanaka′s ships returned to Japan via the island of Guam.
On 21 May 1942, Tanaka′s 2nd Destroyer Squadron—consisting of Jintsu and 10 destroyers—sortied from Kure to support the Japanese attack on Midway Island by escorting the transports carrying the troops for the prospective invasion (which was never carried out, because of the American air supremacy there). After the Japanese defeat in the Battle of Miway, Tanaka′s ships returned to Japan via the island of Guam.
US Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher
Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher was the commander of the American task force at the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942 Fletcher also fought at the Battle of Midway. Fletcher has the distinction of commanding the first carrier-versus-carrier battle whereby no ship from the opposing forces saw one another as planes, primarily launched from carriers like the USS Lexington, did all the fighting.