What if the Japanese lured the Americans into a trap at the Battle of Midway?

Question

If it were the Americans and not the Japanese that had steamed into a trap at the Battle of Midway would the outcome of the pacific war in WWII have changed so much that the Japanese would have had free reign to do whatever they wanted after a decisive victory ?

Answer 1

The Battle of Midway has been called the turning point of the war in the Pacific. This battle took place only 6 months after Pearl Harbor, so to say that the A-bomb would have turned things around if the Japanese would have been victorious in the battle isn't logical. The A-bomb came much later in the war, and if the Japanese had been victorious at Midway they would have had their way in the Pacific, and would have made the west coast of the US venerable. This of course would have forced the US Navy to reposition their remaining fleet in the Pacific to a defensive posture to protect the west coast, further enhancing Japan's capability of conquering the islands of the Pacific. The Battle of Midway was the turning point of the war in the Pacific. The US victory set the Japanese back to a point that they never recuperated. If the US would have lost, things would have been very different. It should also be noted that it was the US capability at breaking codes that set the stage for victory at Midway.

Answer 2

The battle of Midway (1942) was fought between Japan and America during WWII. The Americans, following many defeats delivered by the elite if not legendary Japanese fleet managed to break the Japanese code and score an upset victory at Midway. The battle of Midway destroyed the Japanese Combined fleet. Japan lost Four aircraft carries, that was around half of all carriers Japan had in operation at the time. Also the pilots and aircraft Japan lost was tremendous: 248 aircraft were destroyed. The pilots of these planes were well trained after years of training and countless victories under their belts. So while yes, more planes could be built, they wouldn't have the same caliber of the elite flyers from before. Effectively it ended Japanese offensive power in the Pacific. The war turned from Japan on the offense to Japan on the defense. With their carriers sunk and their best pilots gone, the war was effectively decided. While the war dragged on for three more years in Island fighting, everyone knew Japan no longer even had a shadow of a hope for victory. Up until Midway, Japan knew only victory: Pearl Harbor, Philippines, Malaya, Burma, Ceylon, Hong Kong, East Indies, Singapore and Java Sea just to name a few. After, Japan would never when another decisive victory again. Japan never really had a hope of winning the war. Their only chance was if their fleet commander, Yamamoto, was able to destroy the American fleet and win a quick victory. He almost managed to do that at Pearl Harbor, and tried to finish the job at Midway, but in the end he just came too short. So what's the short answer: Victory at Midway led to America winning the war in the Pacific.

Answer 3

A Japanese naval victory at Midway would have left the west coast of America and Hawaii wide open for a possible invasion. In 1942 the Americans had not yet got their economy and industrial might into a war footing. The A-Bomb was still some time away from being developed. Speculating here, but I believe that Washington D.C. would have had litttle choice than to sue for peace. The Pacific would have become a Japanese lake.

Answer 4

The Japanese lost the war when they failed to send the third wave into Pearl Harbor. Only two ships (USS ARIZONA, USS UTAH) were really lost in that attack and the UTAH was already being used as a remote control target for gunnery practice. All the rest were raised from the bottom because the repair facilities were left intact. They could also continue to use Pearl Harbor as a base because all the oil and fuel facilities were left intact. Had they taken those out, the USA Navy would have had to pull back to the US West Coast.



In regards to Midway, the Japanese HAD the opportunity to take out a large part of the US carrier fleet, which they actually wanted to hit with the Pearl Harbor attack. But thanks to luck and a commander who kept flip flopping on munitions, they were unable to effectively take out Midway or the carrier fleet. Had they taken out the carriers they would have gained air superiority and would have been able to pick off the rest of the US Navy with little problem. We would not have been able to help Australia or the Philippines and it would have taken a decade to defeat them. (Once we got going on ship construction we could have overwhelmed them by simply out producing them. We would not have been able to bring the war to a quick end with the A Bombs because they would have been able to keep us out of range of the Japanese Islands for many more years.)



End result was the Allies would have won. It just would have taken 10 years instead of four.

Answer 5

With their superior fleet, they thought they would do just that. Without some very good hits from out planes and the failure of the Japanese to send a second air wave, it could have gone the other way. The A-bomb would have settled it in the end either way. But it may have taken many more than two to shut down the military might of an uncontested Japanese navy.

Answer 6

that was the intent of the japanese attacking midway was to lure the american carriers that they had missed at pearl harbor, unfortunately for the japanese, the naval intelligence broke the japanese naval code and sprung their own trap at midway, and then after the battle at the coral sea the japanese were almost out of carriers and planes and a year later at the great marianas turkey shoot the ability of the japanese to mount a major offensive was over, they played defense the rest of the war, so your premise was highly unlikely, had the japanese met their goal at pearl harbor, the war might have gone the direction you point to

Answer 7

America would have still won in the end. We were pumping out ships faster than rabbits having babies.

Answer 8

We would have used our secret weapon and still won. Anymore hypothetical questions?



My answer is just as right as anyone else's since it impossible to know. Of course it is said no question is a dumb one, but I beg to differ.

Answer 9

No, it wouldn't.

Answer 10

wat is the battle of midway