The Battle of Midway took place on 4th June 1942 in the Central pacific. It was initiated by admiral Yamamoto whose primary strategic goal was the elimination of America's carrier force, which had evaded the attack on pearl harbour six months earlier. These carriers had become an increasing threat to Japanese ambitions ever since. Aircraft launched from a carrier had bombed the Japanese homeland in April and thwarted the Japanese attempt to take port Moresby during the battle of the coral sea in May. Yamamoto decided to end this menace once and for all by drawing the U.S. carriers into a battle on favourable terms to the Japanese navy.

Yamamoto selected Midway, a tiny atoll approximately 1,300 miles from Hawaii as the setting for what would become one of the most decisive battles of World War II. If the Japanese could take Midway it would put them within striking distance of the main US Pacific Fleet Base at Pearl Harbour. This led the Japanese into thinking that the Americans would have no option but to do everything they could to defend the island. Midway also had the benefit of being lightly defended and was relatively close to the Japanese home island naval bases.

The Japanese planned to split their forces into 4 widely dispersed task forces led by the carrier strike fleet which would clear the way for the following midway occupation forces. After Midway had been invaded and the air base taken over, they would transfer Shorebased Aircraft to operate from the airfield to augment the strength of the 4 fleet carriers which would be lying in wait for the American counterattacking fleet sailing from pearl harbour.

What Yamamoto did not know was that the U.S. had broken parts of the main Japanese naval code. U.S. crypto analysts were able to provide Admiral Nimitz with a complete Japanese naval order of battle and determine the date of the attack as 4th to 5th of June. As a result, The U.S. had the critical advantage of entering the battle with the knowledge of where, when, and in what strength the Japanese would appear during the battle.

The battle of Midway would turn out to be the Most decisive Carrier battle of the Pacific Campaign.