Summary of Craig L. Symonds's The Battle of Midway

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

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#1 On Christmas morning in 1941, Admiral Chester Nimitz, who was in charge of the American fleet in Hawaii, surveyed the devastation below. The seaplane flew over the fleet anchorage, and the smell of fuel oil, charred wood, and rotting flesh hit him like a fist.

#2 Nimitz was known for his calmness and coolness under pressure. He was not demonstrative, and rarely showed his emotions to others. His most confrontational response was usually Now see here.

#3 Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox was extremely angry about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He had been a critic of President Roosevelt and the New Deal, but he had been appointed to the cabinet after Germany invaded Poland and war broke out.

#4 FDR and Knox wanted to replace Admiral Husband Kimmel with Admiral Ernest J. King, the commander of the Atlantic Fleet. King had a well-earned reputation as a heavy drinker and womanizer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669369233

IRB Media

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Insights on Craig L. Symonds's The Battle of Midway

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

On Christmas morning in 1941, Admiral Chester Nimitz, who was in charge of the American fleet in Hawaii, surveyed the devastation below. The seaplane flew over the fleet anchorage, and the smell of fuel oil, charred wood, and rotting flesh hit him like a fist.

#2

Nimitz was known for his calmness and coolness under pressure. He was not demonstrative, and rarely showed his emotions to others. His most confrontational response was usually Now see here.

#3

Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox was extremely angry about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He had been a critic of President Roosevelt and the New Deal, but he had been appointed to the cabinet after Germany invaded Poland and war broke out.

#4

FDR and Knox wanted to replace Admiral Husband Kimmel with Admiral Ernest J. King, the commander of the Atlantic Fleet. King had a well-earned reputation as a heavy drinker and womanizer.

#5

The offer was made that afternoon. King was willing to accept, but he had three conditions: first, he wanted his abbreviated title changed from CinCUS to CominCh; second, he wanted a promise that he would not have to hold press conferences or testify before Congress unless absolutely necessary; and third, he wanted authority over the various navy bureaus.

#6

The U. S. Navy was divided into different warfare communities in 1941. The most visible and cohesive was composed of those who served in destroyers, cruisers, and especially battleships. The men who signed up for pilot training developed a swaggering elan.

#7

Nimitz was not from a military family, but he had spent much of his early career in submarines, which was what the carrier aviation service became in the 1920s: a cutting-edge career that attracted ambitious and daring young officers.

#8

The Wake Island expedition was led by Pye, and it was he who had to decide whether or not to evacuate the island. He was not willing to risk the Saratoga task force against two enemy carriers, even if that meant leaving the Marines on Wake to their fate.

#9

The decision to abandon the beleaguered Wake garrison was a body blow to American morale. It was a bitter disappointment for a country still reeling from the shock of Pearl Harbor.

#10

The death of the crewmen on the battleships was tragic, but the temporary loss of the ships was not all that strategically important. The success of the Japanese attack showed that battleships had been replaced by aircraft carriers as the dominant weapon of naval warfare.

#11

The onset of a two-ocean war necessitated a reconsideration of American strategic plans. The Vinson-Trammel Act of 1934 began this metamorphosis, and by the time of Pearl Harbor, the United States had an enormous armada under construction. None of these new-construction warships would be ready for deployment until late in 1942 or early 1943.

#12

The November 1940 Plan Dog memo by Admiral Harold Betty Stark was instrumental in reorienting American strategy from the