Summary of Gordon W. Prange, Donald M. Goldstein & Katherine V. Dillon's Miracle at Midway

By IRB Media

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

#1 The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the Hawaiian Air Force on December 7, 1941, had succeeded beyond all expectations. The Americans had received a salutary but exceedingly unpalatable dose of enforced humility.

#2 Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the American public was extremely frustrated with the apparent lack of action from the U. S. military. The press began to realize that further serious reverses were almost certainly in store for the British and American Far Eastern forces.

#3 The presence on Oahu of Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox and Associate Justice Owen J. Roberts did little to boost morale. The threat of another Japanese attack was always present.

#4 The American people wanted a show of fight, and they needed it badly. The top brass in Washington were also extremely displeased with the decision to recall the Wake fleet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822543607

IRB Media

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Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the Hawaiian Air Force on December 7, 1941, had succeeded beyond all expectations. The Americans had received a salutary but exceedingly unpalatable dose of enforced humility.

#2

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the American public was extremely frustrated with the apparent lack of action from the U. S. military. The press began to realize that further serious reverses were almost certainly in store for the British and American Far Eastern forces.

#3

The presence on Oahu of Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox and Associate Justice Owen J. Roberts did little to boost morale. The threat of another Japanese attack was always present.

#4

The American people wanted a show of fight, and they needed it badly. The top brass in Washington were also extremely displeased with the decision to recall the Wake fleet.

#5

The difficult task of raising ships from the bottom of Pearl Harbor was left to others, but Nimitz had to salvage the careers and psyches of the staff officers at Pearl Harbor. He promised them that he would keep them on, and he did.

#6

The Battle of the Java Sea, on February 27, was a disaster for the Allies. The Japanese lost no ships, and the Americans did not contribute anything of value. The United States lost the cruiser Houston at Sunda Strait in a fight running from February 28 to March 1, and three days later Halsey struck Marcus Island.

#7

The American public was very worried about the possibility of a Japanese invasion, and many newspapers displayed a strange ambivalence. Some commentators urged the public to be on guard against overconfidence or the expectation of an easy victory.

#8

The United States counted on Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to lead the Pacific Fleet during a time of crisis. He was a courtly and highly respected Texan who had served as chief of the Bureau of Navigation in Navy Headquarters since June 15, 1939. He had a solid but unspectacular background in submarines, battleships, cruisers, and Navy headquarters positions.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

Yamamoto, the commander of the Japanese fleet, had planned the Pearl Harbor attack with his staff. He was a Japanese nationalist from the top of his closely cropped head to the polished toes of his Navy shoes. He planned the second term strategy at once, which was the first of many too late’s in the Midway story.

#2

On January 25, Ugaki turned his study over to Captain Kameto Kuroshima, the senior staff officer, to thrash out with the staff. Kuroshima, an intellectual but eccentric operator, slept late in his cabin, made heavy forays into the ship’s liquor stores, and offered innumerable cigarettes to the war gods while waiting for inspiration to dawn.

#3

The Combined Fleet staff, led by Yamamoto, was tasked with deciding the next major naval operation against the United States. They decided that they must occupy the island of Midway and convert it into a Japanese air base and jumping-off point for an invasion of Hawaii.

#4

The American cryptanalyst was a rare bird in the service, with a well-above-average IQ and an infinite capacity for painstaking detail. He spent his days in a super-security chamber poring over letters and numbers in endless permutations.

#5

The Japanese Navy’s operational code, JN25, was the system under special attack at Hypo. It included some 45,000 five-digit numbers, representing words and phrases. A special group signaled where the smoke screen would begin.

#6

The American team that broke the Japanese code was led by Rochefort, and they were able to read approximately every fourth or fifth grouping in each message. They were able to make sense of the messages by fitting the bits and pieces into the gleanings from radio analysis.

Insights from Chapter 3

#1

The Combined Fleet