Book Review: Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy's Story

Source: Amazon.com

Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy's Story, by Mitsuo Fuchida and Masatake Okumiya

From the book’s cover:

This landmark study was first published in English by the Naval Institute in 1955 and was added to the Classics of Naval Literature series in 1992. Widely acknowledged for its valuable Japanese insights into the battle that turned that tide of war in the Pacific, the book has made a great impact on American readers over the years. Two Japanese naval aviators who participated in the operation provide an unsparing analysis of what caused Japan's staggering defeat.

Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the first air strike on Pearl Harbor, commanded the Akagi carrier air group and later made a study of the battle at the Japanese Naval War College. Masatake Okumiya, one of Japan's first dive-bomber pilots, was aboard the light carrier Ryujo and later served as a staff officer in a carrier division. Armed with knowledge of top-secret documents destroyed by the Japanese and access to private papers, they show the operation to be ill-conceived and poorly planned and executed, and fault their flag officers for lacking initiative, leadership, and clear thinking. With an introduction by an author known for his study of the battle from the American perspective, the work continues to make a significant contribution to World War II literature.

The Review:

Right off, I hadn't realized when I picked up Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan that it was written from the Japanese perspective. But I am glad that it was. It is easy to take a one-sided perspective in a conflict in which your own nation took part. Especially so when your nation was the victor in that conflict. And further so when a member of your own family was involved in the conflict against the side whose perspective you now find yourself reading about. So learning from the Japanese point-of-view made me really look forward to my reading time just that much more, once I had first begun to read Midway. It's the same thing that draws me to the Soviet Union in my studies. They were the enemy, and I like to understand that dynamic.

One of the principle authors of Midway, Mitsuo Fuchida / Source: Wikipedia.com

Also, I must say up front, I will probably get a bit lost from time to time in this book, as Japanese proper names are easily confused in my mind (I'm writing my notes as I go, and so haven't completed the book as I write this). Again, that is an unintended cultural bias brought on by unfamiliarity with such names. I have the same problem with a lot of foreign names, including Russian ones, which I actively aspire to know much better. So I humbly beg you to forgive my confusion up front on this matter.

Time passes, as it always does, and I have now completely read the book and and am ready for a fair evaluation... 

Midway was quite fascinating, as it almost exclusively told the tale of the preparations (including the attack on Pearl Harbor, the planned invasion of Midway island being, in hindsight, a seemingly logical next step afterward), build-up of forces, execution of, and eventual results of the Battle of Midway. This book, written from the Japanese perspective of the conflict, also sheds new light on some US reports of the battle, including the fact that the claim of a Japanese aircraft carrier sunk by the USS Nautilus, which was in the area at the time, was not correct. Instead, the Nautilus's torpedoes missed in two instances, with the third torpedo breaking up on impact. This particular story was really illuminating. You see, the broken torpedo separated into two parts, with the unexploded warhead sinking immediately, and the propulsion section remaining afloat . This section was actually being used by Japanese sailors as a flotation device, who were fleeing the severely damaged carrier (which was hit in a previously decisive air strike). The author remarks that it was one of the odd instances when a weapon was used for life-saving measures, instead of its intended purpose.

The book is written in what I'd call a typical "military mind-set" manner. We have a detailed explanation of the disposition of the Imperial Japanese Navy's ships involved in the battle, and the tactics planned and implemented as the combat took place. It is written "from high up," you might say. We rarely get down into the individual sailor's shoes, as it were. This does happen from time to time, but it usually is a commanding officer's footwear we're inhabiting when we do. So you don't get a real sense of the common sailor's plight here.

The USS Yorktown, one of the US Navy's aircraft carriers present at the battle, and the only one from the American side to be destroyed.  Here it is seen, on the left, listing to one side. / Source: BBC.co.uk

On the other hand, the book is excellent in explaining how things transpired, and showing the reader the mistakes that the Japanese made, as well as pointing out what the U.S. Navy did right. I found it amusing, to a certain extent, to read an account of Japanese warfare written about a battle that my own countrymen were in. The perspective, as I earlier noted might be the case, is unusual to me. You hear of accounts of U.S. aircraft attacking the Japanese fleet, and the author tends to put emphasis on the bombs that missed their target and the planes that were shot down, whereas I am more used to hearing the version of how the bombs hit their target, and the planes that got away safely. Does that make sense? It's a matter of seeing through a one-time enemy's eyes, and it is a little unnerving at times to find yourself hoping that the American bomb does hit, even though you also sympathize with the hapless Japanese sailor defending his vessel or flying cover over the fleet.

The book covered in detail the continued botched attacks of the U.S. forces prior to the pivotal strike, which finally came when the Japanese carrier-based aircraft were all up on deck being refit for an attack against the newly identified threat of the US carrier task force (it wasn't supposed to be there, but was assumed by the Japanese to be near Pearl Harbor in a defensive move, or operating near the Soloman islands). The dive bombers that struck at this incredibly inopportune moment. This was just as planes were being fueled and switched from one type of ordinance to another, with the unloaded bombs left on the deck in a convenient pile to be set off by the ensuing explosions that rocked the carriers. It was both a great stroke of luck and also a great tactical success by the US Navy commanding officer (I believe it was Spruance). Talk about gutting the Japanese Navy of their carrier strength at a stroke! The claims of this being revenge for Pearl Harbor could be seen clearly, as I read through this section.



An artist depiction of the Kaga, one of the Japanese Navy's primary aircraft carriers.  Shown are the four impact points where USN Dauntless dive bomber's ordinance struck the vessel.  The damage would prove to be catastrophic. / Source: asisbiz.com

Of course, the author explains a multitude of other events surrounding the reasons why this critical moment happened. Most of these events he blames on bad tactics by the Japanese Navy itself. A lack of proper reconnaissance was one factor. A lack of radar units on the ships was one reason. Poor communications gear on ships which were used by commanding officers in the battle, was another. A big reason that the Battle of Midway went as it did, and probably the main reason it worked as it did, was that the U.S. had broken the Japanese code system. The US was reading Japanese comms and thereby knew their plans ahead of time. This allowed counter moves that would allow the US to overcome the numerical, and often technical, superiority of the Japanese forces.


The author also blamed the defeat on hubris on the Japanese Naval Command staff, as well as a lack of decisiveness on the commanders at the scene. This blame included Admiral Yamamoto, the much famed leader who spear-headed the operation When the time came for a quick decision on how to proceed after losing the bulk of the carriers, Yamamoto balked. Worse was Neratu (sp?), who was responsible for all the aircraft being on those ill-fated carrier decks when the US strike hit and crippled them. He had failed to send his forces out when intelligence had first reported the existence of the US Navy task force, with the result that when he did gather his forces together for the intended strike, they were all lined up and almost unprotected against the US Navy aircraft, when the struck. It was like shooting fish in a barrel.

A National Geographic illustration of the Battle of Midway.  If you want the "short" version of what happened, this is a pretty good place to look.  But of course, Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan is a more detailed account by far. / Source: mrbelloblog.com

The authors' reasoning, and don't let this seem discriminatory on my part, sounds very Japanese. The Japanese (in my estimation) seem to take the mistakes made in what might be called a stoic, but also deeply shameful, manner, and the book reads like a warning to future generations. It says, in effect: "Don't make the same mistake that these particular naval officers made." It should be noted that one of the authors was one of these Japanese naval officers. He survived because he had come down with appendicitis, and so was not present at his regular duty station when the attack came. Had he been at his post, it is probable that he would have been killed too.

To conclude, the book is worth the time put in to read and learn about this significant moment in the Pacific Theater conflict. Midway is, on the other hand, not always easy to follow. Having read the audiobook version, I had to take for granted the names of people, places, and events that I could have related to a bit better if I'd had a map at hand, and perhaps access to Google for the people and ships and such. Just the same, the book was really fascinating, and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the Pacific Theater of Operations, or who wants to better appreciate the Japanese side of the conflict in that theater.

Learn more about Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy's Story from Amazon.com


The parting comment:

Source: LOLSnaps.com

There's a "finger-licking good" joke in this story someplace, I'd bet.  And hey, what a compliment to KFC.  Though I can't see them adequately capitalizing on it.  I mean, nobody would frequent a restaurant that advertised "So good, our food gets murderers to confess!"  Just goes to show that truth is truly stranger than fiction.