Well. The Battle of Midway has come and gone and the war is a bit different afterward. I talked about stuff that was going on at home in Japan's High Command today, but for a good look at what civilian life was like in a bunch of belligerent nations, check out our On the Homefront subseries. The playlist is right here: ruclips.net/p/PLsIk0qF0R1j5Ug9lCaxygenFf3lzuGXap Allied intelligence contributed a lot to the victory at Midway. We have a fairly new subseries on the intelligence war called Spies & Ties; you can check that playlist out right here: ruclips.net/p/PLsIk0qF0R1j5rv_TTlEuYJpRmWa1QCfZ0 And please read our rules of conduct before you comment, saves everyone headaches (and loads of time): community.timeghost.tv/t/rules-of-conduct/4518
An episode that primarily dealt with the aftermath & reaction to the battle on both sides was interesting. I hope something similar is planned for the aftermath of Stalingrad.
When I was a teen, one day my mother told me that we were going to visit one of her co-workers. She was quite aware of my fascination with the Battle of Midway. It turned out that her co-worker was a sailor on the USS Hammann. We spent a warm summer evening sitting in lawn chairs in his front yard while he recalled his memories of the battle.
The information about the extent of the Japanese cover-up of the defeat and treatment of their own personnel that fought at Midway is complete news to me. And here I was thinking that the Imperial Japan wouldn't surprise me with its strange cartoonish villainy any further. Edit: For the record, I am aware that these actions are far from the worst things they did. Maybe I'm so desensitized to hearing about all their atrocities, that comparatively mild things surprised me more.
Indie almost understates it. The IJN virtually immediately re-vectored the surviving pilots to the Solomons. Some attempt was made at fake (dated) correspondence -- possible because of routine mailing delays. Families were even led to believe that their sons were on missions so far from home that mail would be delayed for quite some time. ( Hinting at India and Africa... wherever. ) Then the bad news was simply trickled in so that it would largely appear that their guys died via attrition -- anything but via a catastrophic military battle. The Solomons campaign was soon so bloody that it soon proved easy to tuck Midway fatalities into its stats. Of course, per tradition, the Japanese families already had hair and finger clippings to bury.
I think it's similar to battles in ancient times, where generals would declare a victory or straight out not mention a defeat in their correspondence home.
its a good vid, but i dont think it quite does it justice. I feel like Montemayor probably made the best series of videos on Midway as it in depth on the battle and proceedings with excellent graphics and a good and clear explanation for what is happening. This series has more historical info such as what happend at the alutians and the events that happend as a result of the battle however.
Yamamoto had lived and studied in the US so he knew America's power. As such, he was never under any illusion that Japan could beat us. Ordered to make war on the US, he gave it his best shot, and did so well enough to buy those 6 months of running wild, followed by about 6 more of fairly even struggle. After that it was just a continuous and accelerating slide into ruin.
Self fullfilling prophecy ? No, this is actually more simple,it does not mean he was right, it means that he acted upon his calculations, rightly or wrongly. You will note the addition to the USA's fleet carrier force started in May 1943, when the USS Essex set off to join WW2, and this was at a time when the USA was doing anything possible to get fleet carriers ready for the war. It just was't possible to complete Essex faster. What they did do was accelerate USS Intrepid, so that Intrepid was built in a shorter time frame overall, and was war ready along side Essex, in May 1943. This makes sense , that the follow up ships can be built faster than the pilot keel. Often the first keel laid down is completed second, as the fixes to it delay its timeline... Yamamato got it wrong. He could have sent all six fleet carriers to the Coral Sea, and/or Midway ... he could have delayed Midway until such time as the Kido Butai was back up to six fleet carriers, up until May 1943..11 months later. What he didnt know was that the American's had elected to only build the one wartime built Yorktown class, CV 8 USS Hornet, which had already been built for Midway ANYWAY. He might have thought USS Essex, Intrepid would be built in a faster time frame and joined in a late 1942 Battle of Midway.
@@Lcngopher They also couldn't film Barbarossa the way they wanted to either. Funny enough, I said they should've waited a year before beginning the series, so they'd meet the 80th anniversary for all the events.
@@matthewbadley5063 In which case there would be no series at all and we wouldn't be here because we would have had to get other jobs to survive. Do not forget that this is what we do for a living- we don't have the luxury of "waiting a year". and there's also the point that on the 80th anniversary of the out break of the war, when people looked it up they'd- in your case- see our first episode- whereas in reality they have a whole year of material to watch. The year thing is was and always will be a non starter, the important thing is the week by week chronology.
@@kaltaron1284 I’m not sure you understood my distinction. The Aleut people, by that name, lived on those islands long before they were given a name. Each island has a name, but the chain was named for, or after the people. It isn’t correct to call the native inhabitants Aleutians. They are Aleuts. I am not Aleut, but I grew up in Alaska and that is part of our history.
Of course we all know much about the actual Battle of Midway, but all the stuff about the Japanese reaction after their defeat was new to me. Why I like this channel.
@@serbangroza Things are obvious depending on what you know. What I meant is that knowing how the japanese censored the battle of Cagayan for centuries, them censoring Midway was a matter of course.
Even more bizarre is the fact that this face-saving cover up is still in operation today. It is still illegal to teach students about Japanese atrocities. As a result, most of the Japanese population today either knows very little about it or does not believe the rumors...
Not just this channel but this entire approach to teaching history. Telling the story in real-time sequential order instead of skipping around from major battle to major battle puts things into perspective and gives us so much more insight into why things went the way they did. Every other documentary series and college course I've ever taken about it skipped completely over the immediate aftermath of the battle.
So how many times Japanese had to write "Cause of death: Slipped on the banana peel, tried to pet a shark, flied his plane way up to the skies and ended up in space..."
"Mixed a grenade with his rations to add "flavor" "Wanted to know what Sharks smelled like, asking for a friend" "Thought it would be fun to crash planes on purpose" etc.
After Midway, the Japanese had two carriers in port for repairs and aircraft replacement. The Americans had two carriers still in the Pacific, and were about to be joined by a third. At this time, Japan had one new carrier in production. The United States had seven in production.
Also the quality of the pilots for those new planes wasn't the same as the ones lost. The USA had a far better program to call back exceptional pilots to train new ones rather than hurling them into battle after battle until they would finally meet their (glorious) demise.
@@neilbuckley1613 I would imagine partly. The need for more carriers became apparent after Pearl Harbor, and nine Independence class light cruisers were reordered as carriers in the first half of 42.
It’s still crazy how this one battle puts Japan on the defensive. I know we still have another two years before the true end of the IJN but midway is one of those decisive victories that really changes the course of the war. It’s basically the United State’s version of Trafalgar. *just remembered that Leyte was in 44’ instead of 43’*
The Hammann was the ship that picked my father out of the water in the Coral Sea when he had to abandon ship (the Lexington) He always remembered how great the guys on the Hammann had been to all the guys they picked up.
Can we all just appreciate how badass the USS Yorktown is? The carrier was damaged in the battle of the coral sea. Repaired in less than 48 hours. Then hit by Japanese bombers at midway, survives, then survives torpedo hits by a Japanese sub. Finally is too low in the water to be towed and still defiantly sinks. What a ship!!!
Staggering stuff. Churchill apparently said, "The annals of war at sea present no more intense, heart-shaking shock than this battle, in which the qualities of the United States Navy and Air Force and the American race shone forth in splendour. The bravery and self-devotion of the American airmen and sailors and the nerve and skill of their leaders was the foundation of all." Well done Indy and team, as always. I was startled at how emotional this made me.
The loss of the carriers hurt the Japanese Navy, but even more damaging was the loss of most of their experienced naval aviators. Japan was not able to train replacement pilots nearly as quickly as the US could. A major factor was Japan's lack of petroleum reserves. While American pilots would come out of training with hundreds of hours of flight time, new Japanese pilots had only a few hours of flying experience because they couldn't spare the fuel needed. The Imperial Japanese Navy would never recover from the loss of pilots at Midway and from this point on, Americans pilots would outclass the Japanese pilots in nearly every encounter.
That is actually a bit of a myth about the battle. While Japan lost 261 planes it did not lose 261 pilots. Something like over half of all those pilots survived the battle. Midway was certainly the turning point of the Pacific War but the significance was not the death of Japanese naval aviation - which was still more than capable of going toe to toe with their American adversaries - but rather the loss of a capability to project that potent naval air arm offensively. The death of Japanese naval aviation will actually occur during the Guadalcanal campaign in late 1942 into early 1943. The fierce air battles over the Solomons islands will inflict heavy casualties on both sides but the U.S. will emerge out the end of it with a 2:1 kill ratio overall, and for a variety of reasons was better able to endure the pilot attrition. Japanese pilot & plane losses in those battles will also dwarf that of Midway, with over 1,000 lost. The Guadalcanal campaign in many respects, particularly on the impact to Japanese naval aviation, was the Kursk to Midway's Stalingrad.
I hadnt heard that, thanx. I thought it was the way they didnt rotate experienced pilots to the flight schools to train new pilots. The warrior's path, as it were. I suppose the two put together made the situation worse. One thing about Kamikaze school: You dont have to teach landing.
So you're telling me the Yorktown is damaged in the battle of the Coral Sea. Hastily repaired at Pearl Harbor, and participates in Midway. Takes 4 bombs, from dive-bombers, STILL doesn't sink. Is torpedoed from a submarine on it's way back to Pearl, shrugs the damage off, until it's too deep in the water to be towed back. What a tank that ship was.
@@whydoineedaname11 No amount of damage control will save a ship that's had all of its ordinance and fuel detonate throughout the entire interior of the hull along with the bombs that detonated it all. Akagi, Kaga and Soryu were absolutely doomed that day. They _may_ have salvaged Hiryu, or the planes from Enterprise and Hornet _may_ have spotted her limping away and finished her the way I-168 finished Yorktown.
yorktown be like that badass character in a movie who was fighting till the end, taking multiple hits, refused to be brought back home and said "go on without me"
Coral Sea is partially the reason why she can survive those bombs at Midway. As the fuel officer on it, Oscar W. Myers, after watching Lexington burn to the water line comes up with a way to reduce the fire risks on his ship. And because the fire is almost out by the time the 2nd Japanese strike arrives they believe Yorktown is undamaged and go after her again and not the other 2 US carriers. ruclips.net/video/lN79g34wjQA/видео.html
The USN damage control was superb. Contrast that to HMS Ark Royal which took one torpedo hit which was followed by a catalog of mishaps resulting in the ship's loss.
"What do you mean, we are supposed to have four more carriers? Er, the thing is... that... we decided we didn't need them! Yes! Give the enemy a sporting chance, and all that, you know?"
A friend of my parents’ when they lived in Alaska was Charles “Muktuk” Marston who formed the Alaskan Home Guard made up largely of Inuit and indigenous Alaskan recruits in case the Japanese invaded the mainland. They never saw combat, but Marston was instrumental in forming Alaska’s state constitution and guaranteeing civil rights for indigenous peoples.
If you’re really interested in the gritty details of Midway, I’d recommend 3 videos by Montemayor. They’re incredibly detailed, but these videos were a great overview.
I've played a bit of Hearts of Iron as of late (playing as Japan). Loosing 4 carriers would've been devestating in that game. So I did feel a sting of hopelessness when Indy talked about the loss of experienced crew and the scuttling of the carrier, viewed from the perspective of a non-ideological Japan. But as for the historical Japan: go team allies! Midway was a great victory indeed.
A rather literal and exceedingly modern implementation of live by the sword, die by the sword. One can only imagine how the battle would have gone if the American Mk 14 torpedo was actually functional. This is still a critical blow mind you, but it could have been bigger. Though with Japanese training practices being what they are, it's hard to imagine a more decisive blow to Japanese carrier aviation. The best pilots, the best mechanics, the best crews, carrier officers and captains all either died or were disgraced at Midway, the absolute beating heart of that community, decades of effort, ripped out of the IJN's chest like a bloody sacrifice to a dark god. One wonders if the differing American practice of rotating experienced pilots back to the states to train and prepare others, or shifting the same to other combat squadrons over time will have some sort of long term impact. Breaking time line, this is of course the functional end of Japanese carrier aviation in the strategic sende. The IJN will attempt to rebuild their carrier force over a year, only to lose nearly every pilot trained in a single day during the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. With the best of the best gone, you're left with the rest, and the rest already had some significant casualties at Coral Sea. With skilled personnel at a premium, far lesser quality pilots who even with extensive training cannot match their far more numerous adversary, and machines in abundance, we see the roots of the shadow that will eventually cast itself over the ships of the USN and their Allies. Kamikaze.
Not really their end as a functional force; yes in a massive scale, but this year alone we still have two additional carrier battles around Guadalcanal. A lot of crew survived from Midway. It will be Guadalcanal what will make the Japanese lose so many pilots that they will stop seeking another carrier battle for a year .
@@Dustz92 NO. It was the loss of those hulls. In the Solomons the IJN had to stay put and let the Americans bob and weave. The campaign went on and on because the Americans didn't have their new stuff, and the pre-war fleet had been devastated. While in the Solomons, the two enemies were temporarily hanging on by their fingernails. BTW, breaking the time-line, Tokyo never quite picked up on how terribly their Guadalcanal operations were proceeding. The officers commanding there were sending back phony reports. (!) Finally, HQ in Tokyo sent a captain on down to get the truth. Upon receiving his report, Tokyo terminated the Guadalcanal campaign -- PDQ. HQ simply did not understand how hostile the climate and terrain were for offensive action on land. They were losing most men to the island -- not the Americans. All this on top of terrible battle results when they DID finally reach the American's positions.
Not using their skilled plots to train new ones, thats just part of it. The other half of the equation is the failure to push their aircraft development to newer models. The Zero was a killer plane at the start of the war. By war's end it was only good for human guided bombs.
@@Dustz92 This. That Japanese naval aviation died at Midway is sort of a myth about the battle. Yes, it was *the* turning point of the Pacific War but the crucial factor was not really the loss of pilots (half survived) but the loss of carriers with which to project air power offensively. The death of Japanese naval aviation will occur in the fierce air battles over the Solomons Islands in late 1942 and 1943. While losses of planes and pilots for both sides will be high, the U.S. will finish with 2:1 kill ratio and for a variety of reasons was better able to withstand the pilot attrition. Japan will also lose over 1,000 pilots in those air battles, dwarfing the losses at Midway, which were something like 150.
And of luck. Had that ONE late japanese scout plane spotted the American carriers earlier, everything could have changed. Amazing that the only search plane that could have spotted the Americans, was the only one that took off late.
When I was a boy, I think Feb. 1984, my dad took me took me to listen to George Gay of VT-8 recount his experience at Midway. I remember he seemed so very old then, and was fascinated with his story, especially when it got to him of playing dead in the water and watching one of the Japanese carriers burn so hot the hull glowed red in places.
Great vid! One footnote- they had a hard time sinking the carriers because they all started-off as Battleships but were converted to Aircraft Carriers mid-construction. SO they had Battleship thick hulls (10-12 inches) whereas your typical carrier had only 2 or 3 inches tops.
13:24 seeing as how there was an intense rivalry between the navy and the army in Japan, I assume they tried to also not inform the army? Or was that impossible due to Tojo being prime minister?
Interesting question I also have. Quickly researching the military structure of Japan in 1943, although Hideki Tojo is both Prime Minister and Minister of War, as well as army Chief of Staff, only the Emperor would have overall command of the Ministries of War and Navy, the latter which has its own Minister of Navy and Navy Chief of Staff. It seems possible that Tojo was kept in the dark as much as the rest of the navy.
Not sure about Tojo specifically but the Army as a whole were kept in the dark due to the rivalry. Potential History goes into it in his video on midway. I'm just imagining a conversation that goes like IJA:"Hey didn't you have more ships? also what happened to your big offensive plans that are gonna win the war for Japan huh? IJN: *Badly trying to hide their massive wrecks* "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about".
@@StickWithTrigger Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if Tojo was both aware and actively taking part in the cover-up for Midway, sure there was a rivarly but Tojo wasn't a total idiot so he knew that if he tried to exploit this defeat too openly there was a chance the information could leak to the public, if that happened the Japanese people would both demoralized by the defeat and very angry for not being told about it and would ask heads on a platter (and this being pre-1945 Japan it could mean literally) and Tojo knew his head would among those most likely to be offered to calm down the crowds. While there was probably displeasure among the Japanese public when they did find out it was both after the war and also most of them probably had come to terms with the loss (as they were told their loved ones were KIA just not how, where or when at least correctly) so wasn't raw open wound like it would have been in 1942.
Other than the 1976 and 2019 American films which are both named "Midway", another good film to watch about the Battle of Midway would be the 2011 Japanese film "Rengō Kantai Shirei Chōkan: Yamamoto Isoroku" (Isoroku). This film is generally about the life of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, but I feel that it does decently cover the Battle of Midway from the Japanese perspective in the film.
I have both of those Midway films on DVD. I bought both of them at Wal-Mart, even though both aren’t similar, they both contain historical people and I looked all of them up on the internet.
Well covered Indy! Right now I'm staring at a painting that I commissioned from an artist in Loch Sport, Gippsland (Aust.) called Meeting The Enemy! A one of a kind, it depicts a Brewster Buffalo and a Zero locked in battle as the first bombs are dropped on Midway. It always inspires me that the American Marines put up such a valiant fight against overwhelming odds in such outdated aircraft. It is a shame that the latest movie about the battle never mentioned VMF-221.
@David Gillman: Years ago I read a book called "The Ragged Rugged Warriors" by Martin Caiden which was basically about the experiences of units like VMF-221 and other allied air forces attempting to hold the line against their highly skilled and well equipped Japanese opponents during the early months of WWII. There is a section on the action at Midway which describes in sobering detail the nearly suicidal attacks launched on the well defended Japanese fleet by both land and carrier units flying obsolete aircraft. The bombing of Midway by the Japanese was not very effective, but, all morning the US air units were either being shot to pieces by Zeroes and AA fire, missing their targets with their bombs (B-17s) or, failing to locate them at all. After losing nearly all of the torpedo bombers which reached the enemy carriers, the Navy finally caught a lucky break when a Japanese destroyer unintentionally lead the main force of SBDs to their targets which were lurking at the extreme limits of the SBDs' range, and, even then, it was actually a mere handful of all of the bombs hurled at Kido Butai that day that hit at the just the right time and did the damage. For all of the advantages of intel and foreknowledge and planning that the Americans had, for many long hours, the victory at Midway was a very close run thing.
The Calamity at Midway. The Disaster. Seeing and understanding this battle from the Japanese perspective is very heartbreaking. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. And the cheer sadness from the sailors looking that the burning hulls of their beloved ships then reciving the order to scuttle them. Specially the Akagi. The flagship of the fleet. But the same goes for the American with the sinking of Yorktown. They did absolutely everything they could to keep her afloat, but the surprise strike from a silent hunter sealed her fate and that of Hammann. Great job putting up these videos. 10/10
An interesting not much mentioned bit of history is that, after Midway and then the Battle of Santa Cruz island in October 1942, the USA only had one operational carrier, so in December 1942 the British aircraft carrier HMS Victorious joined the US Navy as USS Robin. This helped both navy's out as it allowed them to learn from each others tactics and showed the advantages and disadvantages of an Armoured flight deck carrier to the Americans.
I knew about Santa Cruz making the Enterprise the sole U.S Pacific carrier but that's really interesting and thankful they gave us a carrier especially when the Japanese were threatening India at least by land still
Relatives of George Gay, the downed pilot from USS Hornet who got a moist front row seat for the battle, lived in my home town. When the 1976 Midway film came out, they sat behind us in the theater.
USS Yorktown CV-5, Thank-you for your defense of my home in the battle of Coral Sea and your sacrifice at Midway. You truly were a brave and fierce ship! May you and the crew you lost rest in peace. "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them." Lest we forget.
Another awesome video, i feel like the way the Japanese government covered up the battle and how they treated the men who fought in it gets glossed over in most media about the battle so it was great that you guys covered it; it's a real shame because they were the ones who did their jobs, while the commanding officers responsible got away with virtually no repercussions.
This is such a great series. I am kind of glad that I came to it so late because I can just power ingest these episodes and massive chunks throughout the day instead of having to wait like everybody else did. Course at the rate I'm going I'll be caught up to you in about a week and a half. But that's when I go back and watch all of the detail episodes. I have a cunning plan
Yamamoto : "remember when I told you we'd have 6 to 12 months to win the war, before american production overwhelms us ? Well, it's exactly 6 months since we attacked Pearl, and we've already lost the war before the Americans even take advantage of their production. Am I having a nightmare ?"
I appreciate that you address items, big and small, that are not always covered that well. For example, I did not know that there was such an efficient cover-up of the battle, and almost nowhere are the results of the invasion of Alaska covered. Thanks for this, and for the interesting and well-curated presentation style!
Not so hard for a nimble destroyer to dodge bombs, their top speed was likely around 35 knots or more and could almost turn on a dime compared to a huge hulking carrier. But to dodge 90 bombs, that takes a lot of luck as well.
I recently finished Ian Toll's three volume history of the war in the Pacific (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) and he covers Midway, including the aftermath in Japan in depth. I could hardly believe it. Indy, from an old history buff, yours is one of the best channels on RUclips.
You have done a great job to create 3 episodes for this week, the Midway battle was very complex and important to reassume in few minutes, and a lot of events took place in just few days.
@@houndofzoltan I think the operation wasn’t a concession, but probably driven by Yamamoto’s fear that Tokyo could be bombed again (like the Doolittle raid), so they should occupy Attu and kiska to prevent attacks from japans north (blocking the defensive perimeter)
Except that Japan STILL has naval superiority in the Pacific. If you think that the war is over then I have very bad news for you. See you on Guadalcanal.
@@krzysztofkulikowski4090 First Battle of Savo Island USN defeat due to poor leadership by an Aussie admiral abandoning the fleet without appointing a replacement. Cape Esperance loses nothing for Destroying Furutaka and DD. 1st Guadalcanal 2 Destroyers and a Light Cruiser for a Battleship and several Destroyers 2nd Savo US loses several destroyers and Smashes the IJNs Battleship and a DD. It was a Brawl but the USN absolutely beat the shit out of the IJN.
@@ravenwing199 Santa Cruz? Tassafaronga? Wasp? Operation Ke? Rennel Island? All those heavily damaged ships you didn't count that had to go back to USA for repairs? Even if you exclude the damaged ships you still have A LOT more American wrecks in Ironbottom Sound than Japanese. Yes, I know that IJN really blew that campaign by sending piecemeal attacks against USN, but the truth is that overall USN was getting wrecked much more than IJN in those battles.
...and now the IJN and USN are even up. Similar numbers of carriers and striking power. King and Nimitz are going to capitalize on this new situation...
How are they even? Americans have 3 and Japan has 6, am I wrong? Of the initial 11, Japan lost 1 at Coral sea and now 4. Of the starting 5 USA lost 1 at Coral sea and Yorktown now.
@@SuperLusername, Hosho, Ryujo, Zuiho, Junyo, Hiyo (not yet complete), Unyo, Taiyo are all light carriers. Only Shokaku and Zuikaku remain as fleet CVs immediately post Midway. So 2 fleet and 6 or 7 light CVs vs: Saratoga (just out of refit) Ranger (in Atlantic) Enterprise Wasp Hornet CVEs: Long Island So...in fleet CVs, the USN has the advantage...3 or 4 to 2. In light CVs, the Japanese have the advantage...but those are not generally useful for hitting hard targets...
@@dclark142002 Hmm thanks, but still 2 light carriers would have about the same complement of aircraft of one fleet carrier, right? Only CVEs have very small complements of 12-24 aircraft. So 7 light CVs would ccount for another 3 or at least 2 full carriers.
@@SuperLusername, in theory...but the IJN light carriers have other limitations as well...speed, range, lack of space for certain plane types and ordinance. For example, most IJN light carriers cant operate the type 99 bomber in useable numbers. In addition, these light carriers cant carry enough planes to both provide a CAP and an escort force for a strike. So, the IJN will have to develop doctrine to use these ships offensively rather than as convoy and invasion escorts. This does not happen quickly...and so in the Gudalcanal campaign you continue to see CVLs used as air defense platforms rather than strike groups.
I've just recently found this channel. I am in awe. Thank you so much for all the work that I know goes into this. I cannot wait to start at the beginning. Pro tip, the visuals are stunning. You should watch them, but these work really well as an audio podcast of sorts as well.
Outstanding as always, this became more to me than just a RUclips series, over years I followed you from ww1 to ww2 and it's incredible how good and well you guys do this. Thanks you for so many hours of entertainment and gut punching when Spartacus is hosting war against humanity
@@markfryer9880 Probably not. But at that stage of the war, Japanese dive bomber pilots would most likely have hit a similar target repeatedly, and with far fewer bombs.
What is interesting about CV-5 Yorktown was she listed back upright underwater at some pijt. When the wreckage was found in the 1990s, she looked as though she was still sailing, ready for battle.
Indy: "Kaga and Soryu are taken of the ship registry, while Akagi and Hiryu remain listed, but are listed as "unmanned", before they too are removed from the registry in September" Me: * checks ship names on Azur Lane *
Great as always - did not know Japan went so far in covering up the loss. Reminds me of that Japanese civilian who said they could guess they might be losing - but only by the fact the “Emperors Glorious Victories” kept getting closer and closer to Japan.
That was Imperial Japan. Moreover, the fear that the Americans would tow one or more of the crippled carriers back to the USA and exhibit them is the other side of the censorship drive.
Very well done on all 2 parts. The overall information and the explanation of each attack in suck great detail is amazing. These videos should be used as teaching tools in schools. They are definitely some of the best I've seen online about the battle of Midway. Excellent done guys.
Well. The Battle of Midway has come and gone and the war is a bit different afterward. I talked about stuff that was going on at home in Japan's High Command today, but for a good look at what civilian life was like in a bunch of belligerent nations, check out our On the Homefront subseries. The playlist is right here: ruclips.net/p/PLsIk0qF0R1j5Ug9lCaxygenFf3lzuGXap
Allied intelligence contributed a lot to the victory at Midway. We have a fairly new subseries on the intelligence war called Spies & Ties; you can check that playlist out right here: ruclips.net/p/PLsIk0qF0R1j5rv_TTlEuYJpRmWa1QCfZ0
And please read our rules of conduct before you comment, saves everyone headaches (and loads of time): community.timeghost.tv/t/rules-of-conduct/4518
& so the tide begins to turn.
It could be said that the Allies are about midway to their objective in the Pacific.
"the war is a bit different afterward"
This can certainly be considered what one may call "an understatement"
An episode that primarily dealt with the aftermath & reaction to the battle on both sides was interesting. I hope something similar is planned for the aftermath of Stalingrad.
Regarding operation AL. The Japanese can suck on that frozen ice tray of horrible for a while.
Gestapo: "We have ways of making you talk!"
Kempeitai: "We have ways of making you stay quiet!"
*also: Twitter, farcebook, & the RUclips’s
NKVD: Amateurs.
I used to love that line on shows like Carol Burnet......"Ve have vays to makes youz talk"..LOL
@@wombatwilly1002
I now know that you’re at least 45 years old or older. lol 😜
Italian secret Police : yeah we know we suck too
“There’s no defeat at Midway” has the same vibes as “There’s no War in Ba Sing Se”
“You do not see graphite because it’s not there.”
What or where is Midway?
"You need a vacation in Lake Lao-- err... I mean the Solomon Islands."
Admiral Yamamoto, the Emperor has invited you to the Solomon Islands.
“There’s no such thing as the Mafia.”
When I was a teen, one day my mother told me that we were going to visit one of her co-workers. She was quite aware of my fascination with the Battle of Midway. It turned out that her co-worker was a sailor on the USS Hammann. We spent a warm summer evening sitting in lawn chairs in his front yard while he recalled his memories of the battle.
What a cool mom!
Yes, I do have to say that I have a very cool mom.
The spelling of that destroyer's name looked a bit strange but apperantly it's correct. DD-412?
Yes, that is the ship.
Share!
The information about the extent of the Japanese cover-up of the defeat and treatment of their own personnel that fought at Midway is complete news to me. And here I was thinking that the Imperial Japan wouldn't surprise me with its strange cartoonish villainy any further.
Edit: For the record, I am aware that these actions are far from the worst things they did. Maybe I'm so desensitized to hearing about all their atrocities, that comparatively mild things surprised me more.
True fuck I rather live under Nazis than IJA
Indie almost understates it. The IJN virtually immediately re-vectored the surviving pilots to the Solomons.
Some attempt was made at fake (dated) correspondence -- possible because of routine mailing delays.
Families were even led to believe that their sons were on missions so far from home that mail would be delayed for quite some time.
( Hinting at India and Africa... wherever. )
Then the bad news was simply trickled in so that it would largely appear that their guys died via attrition -- anything but via a catastrophic military battle.
The Solomons campaign was soon so bloody that it soon proved easy to tuck Midway fatalities into its stats.
Of course, per tradition, the Japanese families already had hair and finger clippings to bury.
@@Snp2024 You're fine if and only if you are seen by the Nazis/IJ as first class humans. There isn't a big difference in how they operated.
Well summed up Artur. I mean, what a coverup absolutely staggering in it’s scale.
I think it's similar to battles in ancient times, where generals would declare a victory or straight out not mention a defeat in their correspondence home.
Can we take just a moment to appreciate the team for working hard to get 3 episodes to do the battle of Midway justice
I appreciate these folks every time they air something. WWII has been an interest of mine since childhood. Now it's an immersion.
Absolutely although I cringe every time Indy calls the Aleut people the Aleutian people
its a good vid, but i dont think it quite does it justice. I feel like Montemayor probably made the best series of videos on Midway as it in depth on the battle and proceedings with excellent graphics and a good and clear explanation for what is happening. This series has more historical info such as what happend at the alutians and the events that happend as a result of the battle however.
Damn, Yamamoto sure can do his calculations, and unfortunately for him, they are right, the 6 months window is up, playtime is over
I hear marching feet on the water are we introuble now?
America laughing hysterically as we launch a new ship every 12 hours
Yamamoto had lived and studied in the US so he knew America's power. As such, he was never under any illusion that Japan could beat us. Ordered to make war on the US, he gave it his best shot, and did so well enough to buy those 6 months of running wild, followed by about 6 more of fairly even struggle. After that it was just a continuous and accelerating slide into ruin.
Self fullfilling prophecy ? No, this is actually more simple,it does not mean he was right, it means that he acted upon his calculations, rightly or wrongly. You will note the addition to the USA's fleet carrier force started in May 1943, when the USS Essex set off to join WW2, and this was at a time when the USA was doing anything possible to get fleet carriers ready for the war. It just was't possible to complete Essex faster. What they did do was accelerate USS Intrepid, so that Intrepid was built in a shorter time frame overall, and was war ready along side Essex, in May 1943. This makes sense , that the follow up ships can be built faster than the pilot keel. Often the first keel laid down is completed second, as the fixes to it delay its timeline... Yamamato got it wrong. He could have sent all six fleet carriers to the Coral Sea, and/or Midway ... he could have delayed Midway until such time as the Kido Butai was back up to six fleet carriers, up until May 1943..11 months later. What he didnt know was that the American's had elected to only build the one wartime built Yorktown class, CV 8 USS Hornet, which had already been built for Midway ANYWAY. He might have thought USS Essex, Intrepid would be built in a faster time frame and joined in a late 1942 Battle of Midway.
@@subpargamer1119 you are not we
That Pearl Harbour thing is *not* a mini-series, it is massive.
Sadly, covid made them change it from what they originally wanted to do but its still a fantastic series of episodes
And it was worth every second.
@@Lcngopher They also couldn't film Barbarossa the way they wanted to either.
Funny enough, I said they should've waited a year before beginning the series, so they'd meet the 80th anniversary for all the events.
It was amazing
@@matthewbadley5063 In which case there would be no series at all and we wouldn't be here because we would have had to get other jobs to survive. Do not forget that this is what we do for a living- we don't have the luxury of "waiting a year".
and there's also the point that on the 80th anniversary of the out break of the war, when people looked it up they'd- in your case- see our first episode- whereas in reality they have a whole year of material to watch. The year thing is was and always will be a non starter, the important thing is the week by week chronology.
"It's not a defeat if the operation's cancelled" - japanese navy probably
I mean, how can you be defeated in an operation that never existed, right?
@@warwickeng5491 Right, unless said operation was so crucial for future success but the enemy denied you that opportunity.
What operation? (IJN High Command)
You can't fire me. I quit.
They didnt lose, merely failed to win
FYI, the natives in the Aleutians are Aleuts. The island chain is named for them.
Cool tidbit of information.
What's the difference between "for them" and "after them"?
@@kaltaron1284 I’m not sure you understood my distinction. The Aleut people, by that name, lived on those islands long before they were given a name. Each island has a name, but the chain was named for, or after the people. It isn’t correct to call the native inhabitants Aleutians. They are Aleuts. I am not Aleut, but I grew up in Alaska and that is part of our history.
Talk about bad luck.
@@MacDorsai If you want to talk about what they're actually called, you'll call them Unangan or Unangas. Aleut is an exonym.
Of course we all know much about the actual Battle of Midway, but all the stuff about the Japanese reaction after their defeat was new to me. Why I like this channel.
Knowing what they did with the battle of Cagayan, it was rather obvious.
Of course not, I haven't heard about Midway before this channel.
@@serbangroza Things are obvious depending on what you know. What I meant is that knowing how the japanese censored the battle of Cagayan for centuries, them censoring Midway was a matter of course.
Even more bizarre is the fact that this face-saving cover up is still in operation today. It is still illegal to teach students about Japanese atrocities. As a result, most of the Japanese population today either knows very little about it or does not believe the rumors...
Not just this channel but this entire approach to teaching history. Telling the story in real-time sequential order instead of skipping around from major battle to major battle puts things into perspective and gives us so much more insight into why things went the way they did. Every other documentary series and college course I've ever taken about it skipped completely over the immediate aftermath of the battle.
So how many times Japanese had to write "Cause of death: Slipped on the banana peel, tried to pet a shark, flied his plane way up to the skies and ended up in space..."
"Tried to discover if there truly was any utility to a screen door on a submarine."
"Mixed a grenade with his rations to add "flavor" "Wanted to know what Sharks smelled like, asking for a friend" "Thought it would be fun to crash planes on purpose" etc.
"Prisoner accidentally fell on bayonet 45 times"
"Climbed into the barrel of a battleship during target practice."
"Tried to shave with katana. Slipped and cut his own head off."
After Midway, the Japanese had two carriers in port for repairs and aircraft replacement. The Americans had two carriers still in the Pacific, and were about to be joined by a third.
At this time, Japan had one new carrier in production. The United States had seven in production.
American Industrial Capacity goes brrrrrr
Also the quality of the pilots for those new planes wasn't the same as the ones lost.
The USA had a far better program to call back exceptional pilots to train new ones rather than hurling them into battle after battle until they would finally meet their (glorious) demise.
Are you including the Independence class in that total?
@@neilbuckley1613 I would imagine partly. The need for more carriers became apparent after Pearl Harbor, and nine Independence class light cruisers were reordered as carriers in the first half of 42.
@@crapsmalloy7273 they were Cleveland class light cruisers
My Emperor, we have lost 4 carriers at Midway... but don't worry, we have killed Mr. Jones on Attu...
Oh... 😔
LOL.
I think you meant Dr. Jones.
Mr jones is dead, america has fallen.
Billions must surrender to the Japanese
It’s still crazy how this one battle puts Japan on the defensive. I know we still have another two years before the true end of the IJN but midway is one of those decisive victories that really changes the course of the war.
It’s basically the United State’s version of Trafalgar.
*just remembered that Leyte was in 44’ instead of 43’*
From now on it's the Americans that are doing the invasions and Japanese doing the defending.
Wrong the Japanese are still on the offense!
WW2 was full of key turning points that totally change the state of war for the Allies.
@@mikaelcrews7232 Where? Except CBI, which is a whole different war.,
@@mikaelcrews7232 Well at least it was a turning point in the war in the Pacific.
Bit strange to spend 2 extra regular episodes on a battle that never happened. Highly educational though!
Which battle?
@@craigclemens986 There was no battle comrade, he is delusional. Take him to the infirmary!
lol. Hirohito has you under his spell still . I get it.
I really enjoyed that presentation. a big old pat on the back and a gold star for you young man!
I can’t tell if you’re joking but it isn’t only Indy Neidel running this channel. He has an entire team behind him
This is such a wholesome comment
... Gold Star
@@lobaandrade7172, I know that and it is only understated British humor I think the world of all the guys and girls on this adventure to the past.
@@1701enter It is also humourous to describe Indy as a "young man." What are you Indy, into your 50s now?
The Hammann was the ship that picked my father out of the water in the Coral Sea when he had to abandon ship (the Lexington) He always remembered how great the guys on the Hammann had been to all the guys they picked up.
USN: We sunk 4 enemy carriers!
IJN: We sunk one carrier 3 times!
That is priceless... if only they could have it come back one to perl for one more time - you know - another 48 hour repair and back into the fray.
@@robertkras5162 or a twin to yorktown. Japanese wouldve been completely unnerved
4 times actually...
1st time at Coral Sea
2nd time by Hiryu's planes
3rd time by Hiryu's planes (again)
4th an final time by I-168
Can we all just appreciate how badass the USS Yorktown is? The carrier was damaged in the battle of the coral sea. Repaired in less than 48 hours. Then hit by Japanese bombers at midway, survives, then survives torpedo hits by a Japanese sub. Finally is too low in the water to be towed and still defiantly sinks. What a ship!!!
Also note Yorktown took almost the exact hits Soryu did but better damage control got her in shape. USN better damcon doctrine was a huge factor
Staggering stuff.
Churchill apparently said, "The annals of war at sea present no more intense, heart-shaking shock than this battle, in which the qualities of the United States Navy and Air Force and the American race shone forth in splendour. The bravery and self-devotion of the American airmen and sailors and the nerve and skill of their leaders was the foundation of all."
Well done Indy and team, as always. I was startled at how emotional this made me.
The Naked Gun, Leslie Nelson, "Nothing to see here." as the fireworks store explodes.
8:04 it was the the USS Tambor not Taybor, just a heads up. My grandfather captained her.
Its probably just his pronounciation. I don't know if a submarine named Taybor exist in the US navy at the time.
The loss of the carriers hurt the Japanese Navy, but even more damaging was the loss of most of their experienced naval aviators. Japan was not able to train replacement pilots nearly as quickly as the US could. A major factor was Japan's lack of petroleum reserves. While American pilots would come out of training with hundreds of hours of flight time, new Japanese pilots had only a few hours of flying experience because they couldn't spare the fuel needed. The Imperial Japanese Navy would never recover from the loss of pilots at Midway and from this point on, Americans pilots would outclass the Japanese pilots in nearly every encounter.
Don’t forger loss of aviation mechanics, another precious component of naval aviation; it is they who keep the warplanes combat ready.
That is actually a bit of a myth about the battle.
While Japan lost 261 planes it did not lose 261 pilots. Something like over half of all those pilots survived the battle.
Midway was certainly the turning point of the Pacific War but the significance was not the death of Japanese naval aviation - which was still more than capable of going toe to toe with their American adversaries - but rather the loss of a capability to project that potent naval air arm offensively.
The death of Japanese naval aviation will actually occur during the Guadalcanal campaign in late 1942 into early 1943. The fierce air battles over the Solomons islands will inflict heavy casualties on both sides but the U.S. will emerge out the end of it with a 2:1 kill ratio overall, and for a variety of reasons was better able to endure the pilot attrition. Japanese pilot & plane losses in those battles will also dwarf that of Midway, with over 1,000 lost.
The Guadalcanal campaign in many respects, particularly on the impact to Japanese naval aviation, was the Kursk to Midway's Stalingrad.
I hadnt heard that, thanx. I thought it was the way they didnt rotate experienced pilots to the flight schools to train new pilots. The warrior's path, as it were. I suppose the two put together made the situation worse. One thing about Kamikaze school: You dont have to teach landing.
I really enjoyed the last three days about World War 2
So you're telling me the Yorktown is damaged in the battle of the Coral Sea. Hastily repaired at Pearl Harbor, and participates in Midway. Takes 4 bombs, from dive-bombers, STILL doesn't sink. Is torpedoed from a submarine on it's way back to Pearl, shrugs the damage off, until it's too deep in the water to be towed back. What a tank that ship was.
Superior damage control is one of the big reasons the US won at Midway. The others are intelligence (both signals and scout planes) and radar.
@@whydoineedaname11 No amount of damage control will save a ship that's had all of its ordinance and fuel detonate throughout the entire interior of the hull along with the bombs that detonated it all. Akagi, Kaga and Soryu were absolutely doomed that day. They _may_ have salvaged Hiryu, or the planes from Enterprise and Hornet _may_ have spotted her limping away and finished her the way I-168 finished Yorktown.
yorktown be like that badass character in a movie who was fighting till the end, taking multiple hits, refused to be brought back home and said "go on without me"
Coral Sea is partially the reason why she can survive those bombs at Midway. As the fuel officer on it, Oscar W. Myers, after watching Lexington burn to the water line comes up with a way to reduce the fire risks on his ship. And because the fire is almost out by the time the 2nd Japanese strike arrives they believe Yorktown is undamaged and go after her again and not the other 2 US carriers.
ruclips.net/video/lN79g34wjQA/видео.html
The USN damage control was superb. Contrast that to HMS Ark Royal which took one torpedo hit which was followed by a catalog of mishaps resulting in the ship's loss.
Ironic that "Operation MI" turned out to be "Mission Impossible".
They lost cause they are not IMF
13:10 this is like something you hear out of warhammer 40,000 in terms of covering up massive battles
Heretic how dare you question information straight from servents of Emperor.
Where else do you think Warhammer get their inspiration from?
Big bruh and F for our hated IJN bros there and death to the IJA
Tanikaze:"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming...".
*Tanikaze upon surviving 90 bombs* : "SERPTINE MANUVEAR BABEY"
"What do you mean, we are supposed to have four more carriers? Er, the thing is... that... we decided we didn't need them! Yes! Give the enemy a sporting chance, and all that, you know?"
What carriers? What battle? What so call "Midway"?
That would have been a good phone call for this episode.
"Dont worry we also killed 3 of them!"
-Japanese intel probably
Apologizing to his emperor must have been a nightmare for Yamamoto. Even the thought of doing it must have felt horrible.
So maybe from Y's pov being shot down by the enemy you respect is a kind of blessing...
A friend of my parents’ when they lived in Alaska was Charles “Muktuk” Marston who formed the Alaskan Home Guard made up largely of Inuit and indigenous Alaskan recruits in case the Japanese invaded the mainland. They never saw combat, but Marston was instrumental in forming Alaska’s state constitution and guaranteeing civil rights for indigenous peoples.
If you’re really interested in the gritty details of Midway, I’d recommend 3 videos by Montemayor. They’re incredibly detailed, but these videos were a great overview.
Yeah. Solid stuff by Montemayor.
@R W nah he just does a good job showing from both sides. His first 2 videos are from the Japanese perspective so he puts you in their shoes
Brilliant videos which make it alot easier to understand. Great if you like detail
I've played a bit of Hearts of Iron as of late (playing as Japan). Loosing 4 carriers would've been devestating in that game. So I did feel a sting of hopelessness when Indy talked about the loss of experienced crew and the scuttling of the carrier, viewed from the perspective of a non-ideological Japan.
But as for the historical Japan: go team allies! Midway was a great victory indeed.
The High Command was quite gentle with the men that survived Midway. Sending them on vacation on Guadalcanal
A rather literal and exceedingly modern implementation of live by the sword, die by the sword. One can only imagine how the battle would have gone if the American Mk 14 torpedo was actually functional. This is still a critical blow mind you, but it could have been bigger. Though with Japanese training practices being what they are, it's hard to imagine a more decisive blow to Japanese carrier aviation. The best pilots, the best mechanics, the best crews, carrier officers and captains all either died or were disgraced at Midway, the absolute beating heart of that community, decades of effort, ripped out of the IJN's chest like a bloody sacrifice to a dark god. One wonders if the differing American practice of rotating experienced pilots back to the states to train and prepare others, or shifting the same to other combat squadrons over time will have some sort of long term impact.
Breaking time line, this is of course the functional end of Japanese carrier aviation in the strategic sende. The IJN will attempt to rebuild their carrier force over a year, only to lose nearly every pilot trained in a single day during the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. With the best of the best gone, you're left with the rest, and the rest already had some significant casualties at Coral Sea. With skilled personnel at a premium, far lesser quality pilots who even with extensive training cannot match their far more numerous adversary, and machines in abundance, we see the roots of the shadow that will eventually cast itself over the ships of the USN and their Allies. Kamikaze.
Not really their end as a functional force; yes in a massive scale, but this year alone we still have two additional carrier battles around Guadalcanal. A lot of crew survived from Midway. It will be Guadalcanal what will make the Japanese lose so many pilots that they will stop seeking another carrier battle for a year .
@@Dustz92 NO. It was the loss of those hulls. In the Solomons the IJN had to stay put and let the Americans bob and weave. The campaign went on and on because the Americans didn't have their new stuff, and the pre-war fleet had been devastated. While in the Solomons, the two enemies were temporarily hanging on by their fingernails.
BTW, breaking the time-line, Tokyo never quite picked up on how terribly their Guadalcanal operations were proceeding. The officers commanding there were sending back phony reports. (!) Finally, HQ in Tokyo sent a captain on down to get the truth. Upon receiving his report, Tokyo terminated the Guadalcanal campaign -- PDQ.
HQ simply did not understand how hostile the climate and terrain were for offensive action on land. They were losing most men to the island -- not the Americans. All this on top of terrible battle results when they DID finally reach the American's positions.
@@davidhimmelsbach557 The Japanese would come to call Guadalcanal "The island of Death."
Not using their skilled plots to train new ones, thats just part of it. The other half of the equation is the failure to push their aircraft development to newer models. The Zero was a killer plane at the start of the war. By war's end it was only good for human guided bombs.
@@Dustz92 This.
That Japanese naval aviation died at Midway is sort of a myth about the battle. Yes, it was *the* turning point of the Pacific War but the crucial factor was not really the loss of pilots (half survived) but the loss of carriers with which to project air power offensively.
The death of Japanese naval aviation will occur in the fierce air battles over the Solomons Islands in late 1942 and 1943. While losses of planes and pilots for both sides will be high, the U.S. will finish with 2:1 kill ratio and for a variety of reasons was better able to withstand the pilot attrition. Japan will also lose over 1,000 pilots in those air battles, dwarfing the losses at Midway, which were something like 150.
This battle is a win for american intelligence and an example of the importance of intel.
And of luck. Had that ONE late japanese scout plane spotted the American carriers earlier, everything could have changed. Amazing that the only search plane that could have spotted the Americans, was the only one that took off late.
Sun Zu would nod in approval.
@@ryanhorsley9965 Damn that is sad AF
@@Marinealver Frankly the enemy was way beyond listening at this point
@@mohammadalibakawi6617 Yep; early success, overconfident.
When I was a boy, I think Feb. 1984, my dad took me took me to listen to George Gay of VT-8 recount his experience at Midway. I remember he seemed so very old then, and was fascinated with his story, especially when it got to him of playing dead in the water and watching one of the Japanese carriers burn so hot the hull glowed red in places.
Great vid! One footnote- they had a hard time sinking the carriers because they all started-off as Battleships but were converted to Aircraft Carriers mid-construction. SO they had Battleship thick hulls (10-12 inches) whereas your typical carrier had only 2 or 3 inches tops.
13:24 seeing as how there was an intense rivalry between the navy and the army in Japan, I assume they tried to also not inform the army? Or was that impossible due to Tojo being prime minister?
I'm not sure how accurate the rivalry is, most videos on it are sourceless and filled with hyperbole
Interesting question I also have. Quickly researching the military structure of Japan in 1943, although Hideki Tojo is both Prime Minister and Minister of War, as well as army Chief of Staff, only the Emperor would have overall command of the Ministries of War and Navy, the latter which has its own Minister of Navy and Navy Chief of Staff. It seems possible that Tojo was kept in the dark as much as the rest of the navy.
If I remember correctly it took them a week or more to tell the Army about the full magnitude of the loss of Kido Buttai.
Not sure about Tojo specifically but the Army as a whole were kept in the dark due to the rivalry. Potential History goes into it in his video on midway.
I'm just imagining a conversation that goes like
IJA:"Hey didn't you have more ships? also what happened to your big offensive plans that are gonna win the war for Japan huh?
IJN: *Badly trying to hide their massive wrecks* "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about".
@@StickWithTrigger Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if Tojo was both aware and actively taking part in the cover-up for Midway, sure there was a rivarly but Tojo wasn't a total idiot so he knew that if he tried to exploit this defeat too openly there was a chance the information could leak to the public, if that happened the Japanese people would both demoralized by the defeat and very angry for not being told about it and would ask heads on a platter (and this being pre-1945 Japan it could mean literally) and Tojo knew his head would among those most likely to be offered to calm down the crowds.
While there was probably displeasure among the Japanese public when they did find out it was both after the war and also most of them probably had come to terms with the loss (as they were told their loved ones were KIA just not how, where or when at least correctly) so wasn't raw open wound like it would have been in 1942.
And a classy number to finish. 3.5/5
Not the best tie, but I do like the ensemble! Very 1980's boiler room trader. Although no Di Caprio.
I’ve studied this battle a lot but never knew the Japanese had covered it up. Well done Indy, I learn something every episode
4:17 that's enough to make a grown man cry
Other than the 1976 and 2019 American films which are both named "Midway", another good film to watch about the Battle of Midway would be the 2011 Japanese film "Rengō Kantai Shirei Chōkan: Yamamoto Isoroku" (Isoroku). This film is generally about the life of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, but I feel that it does decently cover the Battle of Midway from the Japanese perspective in the film.
Thanks.
I have both of those Midway films on DVD.
I bought both of them at Wal-Mart, even though both aren’t similar, they both contain historical people and I looked all of them up on the internet.
Excellent. No other channel talks of the post battle days.
We do our best! Glad you’re enjoying :)
Well covered Indy! Right now I'm staring at a painting that I commissioned from an artist in Loch Sport, Gippsland (Aust.) called Meeting The Enemy! A one of a kind, it depicts a Brewster Buffalo and a Zero locked in battle as the first bombs are dropped on Midway. It always inspires me that the American Marines put up such a valiant fight against overwhelming odds in such outdated aircraft. It is a shame that the latest movie about the battle never mentioned VMF-221.
@David Gillman: Years ago I read a book called "The Ragged Rugged Warriors" by Martin Caiden which was basically about the experiences of units like VMF-221 and other allied air forces attempting to hold the line against their highly skilled and well equipped Japanese opponents during the early months of WWII. There is a section on the action at Midway which describes in sobering detail the nearly suicidal attacks launched on the well defended Japanese fleet by both land and carrier units flying obsolete aircraft. The bombing of Midway by the Japanese was not very effective, but, all morning the US air units were either being shot to pieces by Zeroes and AA fire, missing their targets with their bombs (B-17s) or, failing to locate them at all. After losing nearly all of the torpedo bombers which reached the enemy carriers, the Navy finally caught a lucky break when a Japanese destroyer unintentionally lead the main force of SBDs to their targets which were lurking at the extreme limits of the SBDs' range, and, even then, it was actually a mere handful of all of the bombs hurled at Kido Butai that day that hit at the just the right time and did the damage. For all of the advantages of intel and foreknowledge and planning that the Americans had, for many long hours, the victory at Midway was a very close run thing.
The Calamity at Midway. The Disaster.
Seeing and understanding this battle from the Japanese perspective is very heartbreaking. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.
And the cheer sadness from the sailors looking that the burning hulls of their beloved ships then reciving the order to scuttle them. Specially the Akagi. The flagship of the fleet.
But the same goes for the American with the sinking of Yorktown. They did absolutely everything they could to keep her afloat, but the surprise strike from a silent hunter sealed her fate and that of Hammann.
Great job putting up these videos. 10/10
An interesting not much mentioned bit of history is that, after Midway and then the Battle of Santa Cruz island in October 1942, the USA only had one operational carrier, so in December 1942 the British aircraft carrier HMS Victorious joined the US Navy as USS Robin. This helped both navy's out as it allowed them to learn from each others tactics and showed the advantages and disadvantages of an Armoured flight deck carrier to the Americans.
I knew about Santa Cruz making the Enterprise the sole U.S Pacific carrier but that's really interesting and thankful they gave us a carrier especially when the Japanese were threatening India at least by land still
C: Three episodes! I'm so excited I can hardly cope.
*sprays cainsy with water filled water bottle* calm down, damn you! 3 more years to go!
Relatives of George Gay, the downed pilot from USS Hornet who got a moist front row seat for the battle, lived in my home town. When the 1976 Midway film came out, they sat behind us in the theater.
Yamamoto: "We lost all the carriers...."
Hirohito: "Say sike right now"
3 brilliant episodes. Thank you so much guys. It's material like this that reminds me why I'm a Time Ghost Army member. Looking forward to next week!
USS Yorktown CV-5, Thank-you for your defense of my home in the battle of Coral Sea and your sacrifice at Midway. You truly were a brave and fierce ship! May you and the crew you lost rest in peace.
"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."
Lest we forget.
Indy keeps going on about Midway like it was some sort of pivotal battle in the Pacific. 😉
I think the Germans are getting ready to assault that silly city on the Volga.
@@Yora21 Based on last year's results, I see a swift victory and complete control of the Caucasus oil fields. 😉
Every week Indy finds the biggest battles and makes them bigger!
@@JenniferinIllinois I know right. No way these feable russians are going to hold one more summer
I can just imagine the absolute stress the helmsman of the Tanikaze must have felt. "Right. Left. RIGHT. LEFT. RIGHT! LEFT! SO MANY BOMBS!"
Another awesome video, i feel like the way the Japanese government covered up the battle and how they treated the men who fought in it gets glossed over in most media about the battle so it was great that you guys covered it; it's a real shame because they were the ones who did their jobs, while the commanding officers responsible got away with virtually no repercussions.
Thanks!
Great sub-series episodes on battle of Midway, extremely interesting to watch, keep it up, you guys are the best!
This is such a great series. I am kind of glad that I came to it so late because I can just power ingest these episodes and massive chunks throughout the day instead of having to wait like everybody else did. Course at the rate I'm going I'll be caught up to you in about a week and a half. But that's when I go back and watch all of the detail episodes. I have a cunning plan
Yamamoto : "remember when I told you we'd have 6 to 12 months to win the war, before american production overwhelms us ? Well, it's exactly 6 months since we attacked Pearl, and we've already lost the war before the Americans even take advantage of their production. Am I having a nightmare ?"
@@ronbutler3431 Nimitz : "remember when I promised to kill you last ?"
Yamamoto : "that's right, you did !!!"
Nimitz : "I lied"
@@Duke_of_Lorraine That way a strategic error. Yamamoto could have ended the war earlier. He was not one of those far-right lunatics.
Even if the Japanese won, America is building like ...2 dozen carriers.
@@Duke_of_Lorraine 😆😁😆😂🤣
@@Duke_of_Lorraine Perfect.
Akagi - Red Castle
Soryu - Blue (or Green) Dragon
Hiryu - Flying Dragon
Kaga - named after a province in Japan
Wonderful description of the events. Thanks so much.
I appreciate that you address items, big and small, that are not always covered that well. For example, I did not know that there was such an efficient cover-up of the battle, and almost nowhere are the results of the invasion of Alaska covered. Thanks for this, and for the interesting and well-curated presentation style!
We thank you for being the best audience!
*"just dodge"*
-Katikaze
Not so hard for a nimble destroyer to dodge bombs, their top speed was likely around 35 knots or more and could almost turn on a dime compared to a huge hulking carrier. But to dodge 90 bombs, that takes a lot of luck as well.
I recently finished Ian Toll's three volume history of the war in the Pacific (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) and he covers Midway, including the aftermath in Japan in depth.
I could hardly believe it.
Indy, from an old history buff, yours is one of the best channels on RUclips.
So close to saving the Yorktown, damn.
You have done a great job to create 3 episodes for this week, the Midway battle was very complex and important to reassume in few minutes, and a lot of events took place in just few days.
I've read that the invasion of the Aleutian islands was a concession from the navy to the army in order to gain support for the operation on Midway.
Don’t think so. What would the army want with some random Alaskan islands
@@shivmalik9405 But Japan did invade "some random Alaskan Islands", so why did they?
@@houndofzoltan I think the operation wasn’t a concession, but probably driven by Yamamoto’s fear that Tokyo could be bombed again (like the Doolittle raid), so they should occupy Attu and kiska to prevent attacks from japans north (blocking the defensive perimeter)
I have seen videos and read books about the Midway Battle countless times. But your ( Indy Neidell) narration is par excellence!
When yamamoto predicts almost the exacy day when the japanese will lose their naval superiority.
*suffering from success...*
Yes, a term has come to be used for it: "Victory Disease." Japan expanded well beyond what it was able to defend and was on its heels thereafter.
The Treaty of Versailles is no peace. It's a 20 year ceasefire.
Or something to that effect said by a French guy.
Except that Japan STILL has naval superiority in the Pacific. If you think that the war is over then I have very bad news for you. See you on Guadalcanal.
@@krzysztofkulikowski4090 First Battle of Savo Island USN defeat due to poor leadership by an Aussie admiral abandoning the fleet without appointing a replacement. Cape Esperance loses nothing for Destroying Furutaka and DD. 1st Guadalcanal 2 Destroyers and a Light Cruiser for a Battleship and several Destroyers 2nd Savo US loses several destroyers and Smashes the IJNs Battleship and a DD. It was a Brawl but the USN absolutely beat the shit out of the IJN.
@@ravenwing199 Santa Cruz? Tassafaronga? Wasp? Operation Ke? Rennel Island? All those heavily damaged ships you didn't count that had to go back to USA for repairs?
Even if you exclude the damaged ships you still have A LOT more American wrecks in Ironbottom Sound than Japanese.
Yes, I know that IJN really blew that campaign by sending piecemeal attacks against USN, but the truth is that overall USN was getting wrecked much more than IJN in those battles.
Its ashame that the footage on the attack of ijn carriers was destroyed. That was a gem lost forever.
...and now the IJN and USN are even up. Similar numbers of carriers and striking power.
King and Nimitz are going to capitalize on this new situation...
How are they even? Americans have 3 and Japan has 6, am I wrong? Of the initial 11, Japan lost 1 at Coral sea and now 4. Of the starting 5 USA lost 1 at Coral sea and Yorktown now.
@@SuperLusername,
Hosho, Ryujo, Zuiho, Junyo, Hiyo (not yet complete), Unyo, Taiyo are all light carriers. Only Shokaku and Zuikaku remain as fleet CVs immediately post Midway.
So 2 fleet and 6 or 7 light CVs vs:
Saratoga (just out of refit)
Ranger (in Atlantic)
Enterprise
Wasp
Hornet
CVEs: Long Island
So...in fleet CVs, the USN has the advantage...3 or 4 to 2.
In light CVs, the Japanese have the advantage...but those are not generally useful for hitting hard targets...
@@dclark142002 Hmm thanks, but still 2 light carriers would have about the same complement of aircraft of one fleet carrier, right? Only CVEs have very small complements of 12-24 aircraft. So 7 light CVs would ccount for another 3 or at least 2 full carriers.
@@SuperLusername, in theory...but the IJN light carriers have other limitations as well...speed, range, lack of space for certain plane types and ordinance.
For example, most IJN light carriers cant operate the type 99 bomber in useable numbers.
In addition, these light carriers cant carry enough planes to both provide a CAP and an escort force for a strike.
So, the IJN will have to develop doctrine to use these ships offensively rather than as convoy and invasion escorts.
This does not happen quickly...and so in the Gudalcanal campaign you continue to see CVLs used as air defense platforms rather than strike groups.
@@SuperLusername Also as weird as it may sound, in 1942 Japan finished more carriers than the US
3 regular episodes in one week. Y'all are too good to us. Keep up the great work guys. Look forward to your content every week
Japan December 1941: If we don't wrap this up in six months, we're screwed.
Japan June 1942: We're screwed
I've just recently found this channel. I am in awe. Thank you so much for all the work that I know goes into this. I cannot wait to start at the beginning. Pro tip, the visuals are stunning. You should watch them, but these work really well as an audio podcast of sorts as well.
I wonder what will happen to Yamamoto now, he's gotta know the war is lost for Japan? Maybe a tour of the frontlines to boost morale?
I think the USAAF will have a flight of P-38's show up and greet him.
@@DylansPen Fat Tony on "The Simpsons" - " I think we will meet and greet this individual"...
Outstanding as always, this became more to me than just a RUclips series, over years I followed you from ww1 to ww2 and it's incredible how good and well you guys do this. Thanks you for so many hours of entertainment and gut punching when Spartacus is hosting war against humanity
1 destroyer dodging 90 dive bomber bombs 😱😱
That was pretty damn amazing and something that doesn’t get mentioned in the history books.
I wonder if it would have avoided the next 10 bombs if they had been available?
@@markfryer9880 Probably not. But at that stage of the war, Japanese dive bomber pilots would most likely have hit a similar target repeatedly, and with far fewer bombs.
Thank you......all of you, who make this channel happen.
Thank you to the TimeGhost Army, without them the channel wouldn't happen!
The story of Foster and Etta Jones Is quite interesting. I recommend you look it up. Never forget.
@R W Pretty cool. What a brave and strong man.
Work output this week was uncanny. The world thanks you for this timeless document.
5:40 Ok my curiosity is killing me. I need to know what happened to the dog.
The Japanese took care of it, apparently, and it was there to greet the Americans when they retook the island a year later.
@@arashimiyazawa8165 That's nice.
Love the long pause for thought & reflection at the end of each episode.
Yamamoto's prediction was off by one day, go figure.
I guess it would depend on which side of the international date line he made the prediction...
its almost like he planned this stupid colossal @#%^ up himself.
FAILURE. Shun him!
What is interesting about CV-5 Yorktown was she listed back upright underwater at some pijt. When the wreckage was found in the 1990s, she looked as though she was still sailing, ready for battle.
That happens with a lot of ships that sink in deep water in mostly one piece I'm pretty sure, especially carriers tend to be rather bottom-heavy.
Indy: "Kaga and Soryu are taken of the ship registry, while Akagi and Hiryu remain listed, but are listed as "unmanned", before they too are removed from the registry in September"
Me: * checks ship names on Azur Lane *
Try running the Yorktowns alongside the 1st and 2nd CarDiv carriers. Soryuu's gotten over it, Akagi really hasn't.
@@chazzerman286 It be hard getting over it when you're at the bottom of the sea
@@chazzerman286 Boy that pretty much defines Akagi in Azur Lane, she hasn't gotten over anything
Since I'm an older generation ... all the Evangelion characters were named after IJN ships. Makoto Hiryu, Ritsuko Akagi, Asuka Soryu ...
@@specialnewb9821 wow I had no idea
Drachinifel has a good video comparing Japanese and American Damage Control. It is vastly different.
"In battle, do not think that you have to win. Think rather that you do not have to lose"
- Gichin Funakoshi (船越 義珍)
Great as always - did not know Japan went so far in covering up the loss. Reminds me of that Japanese civilian who said they could guess they might be losing - but only by the fact the “Emperors Glorious Victories” kept getting closer and closer to Japan.
Japanese sailor: "Hundreds of fighters and bombers could not kill me."
Motherland: (passing her beer)
Thanks Indy and team!
Its amazing how well the USA damage control was, they almost left the battle with no aircraft carriers destroyed
Cinefilm 🎥 and photography is so important.
We should be grateful for all the historical footage.
Defeat is bad. But hiding it and acting as if it did not happen is even worse.
That was Imperial Japan. Moreover, the fear that the Americans would tow one or more of the crippled carriers back to the USA and exhibit them is the other side of the censorship drive.
I never knew of Attu. I will NEVER forget.
Thank you for the video! We, the Europeans, tend to underestimate the significance of the Pacific theatre.
Very well done on all 2 parts. The overall information and the explanation of each attack in suck great detail is amazing. These videos should be used as teaching tools in schools. They are definitely some of the best I've seen online about the battle of Midway. Excellent done guys.
Thank you for your kind words John!
The ways the japanese high command covers the Battle of Midway is very similar to 1984 novel.
Thank you that was great, you never really hear about what happened right after the battle. Really appreciate this new point of view
Hearing that the Japanese were in tears after Midway puts a smile on my face.
Very good about the whole battle of Midway!! Thanks!