WWII-The Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway was a revolutionary event in WWII that changed the style and expectations of war. Midway Island is a fairly small island of the coast of Hawaii, at the time, occupied by the Americans. It is known for its air strip which many allied planes landed on and took off from. This battle was fought between Japan and the United States. It is known as the turning point During WWII in which air and naval combat are introduced. Before the Battle of Midway, war was just being introduced to a fast paced style of war called Blitzkrieg, developed by the Germans. Tanks, and other mechanized weapons such as cars, motorcycles, and other motorized vehicles were used in quick progression on the battlefield. The first use of bombing by planes on allied forces was on Pearl Harbor. But even the severity of Pearl Harbor did not really trigger the use of air on air combat.

This historic battle really was the turning point and initiation to a new idea of faster paced war, in which mass killing and the ridding of the slow stalemate approach to war. A major part in why this battle changed the way we looked at war was the Japanese at the time valuing life differently than the Americans. Many Japanese fighter pilots were willing to sacrifice their lives in order to defeat the enemy. This brings up another controversy about whether or not to attack or kill the defenseless even if they are endangering your life or threatening to attack a naval ship or base.

We can easily say that this battle influenced how we fight war today with the idea of outthinking and out maneuvering your opponent. Also, it brought in the use of massive naval aircraft carriers and other smaller, but still quite huge, ships such as destroyers and scout boats. The way we fight today would not be the same if it wasn’t for the revolutionists who invented the sea-based combat. Although many new advancements were being made in the style and tactics of war, if these circumstances had not been thought out or used in actual war, events such as the bombing of Hiroshima maybe would not have occurred. It is imminent that once the use of high powered machinery and large explosives, along with the use of quickly-paced advancements and wide spread battle grounds, that death tolls and casualties will increase drastically. Once the methods of killing were unleashed in this battle, there was no turning back. Never again would the world see the old ways of slow stalemate or trench warfare.

The Battle of Midway was an extremely important and revolutionary event in the history of the world. It unveiled a whole new outlook on how war is fought and victory is achieved. Not only did it eliminate the old style of war, but increase the rate of war and the death toll. The world as we know it has been impacted greatly by the brilliant and revolutionary thinkers from all time eras. Both the good and the bad have helped develop the world we live in today.

WORD COUNT:521