Stille, Mark Midway

The Pacific War's Most Famous Battle

In April 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet was at the height of its power. It had dealt the U.S. Navy a severe blow at Pearl Harbor in December 1941 before spearheading the Japanese advance through Southeast Asia and wreaking havoc in the South Pacific. Just a few months later, in June 1942, the U.S. Navy succeeded in inflicting a decisive defeat on this mighty force off Midway Atoll, and the strategic initiative in the Pacific passed to the U.S. Navy. Midway is the most famous naval battle of the Pacific War and one of the most mythologized. The traditional view of the battle, popularized in its immediate aftermath and persistent to this day, is that of a heavily outnumbered American force achieving victory in the face of overwhelming odds. This view is simplistic and, in many ways, flawed. Pacific War expert Mark Stille provides a detailed analysis of this pivotal battle, arguing that Midway was neither a miraculous American victory nor a product of luck, but that the plans, personalities, doctrines, ships, and weapons of both sides made a Japanese defeat the more likely outcome. This new study offers unparalleled insight and in-depth analysis of one of the defining moments of the Pacific War.