The Battle of Midway began on June 7, 1942, and lasted until June 11, the same year. The battle was fought six months following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and it represented a crucial and strategic fight during the Second World War. It also represented the turning point of the Pacific theater between the U.S and Japan. The Second World War events two years later led to the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. The D-Day invasion united all the allies against German troops at the coast of France in which the allies demonstrated their ability to plan and organize a large amphibious invasion that was both logistically and operationally demanding while involving thousands of troops with different targets. The D-Day victory finalized the liberation of Western Europe from the control of Germans and also marked the start of the end of the Second World War.
The current paper compares and contrasts the battle of Midway and D-Day invasion by exploring the different aspects of the battles including the number of countries involved in each battle, where the battle occurred, the importance intelligence and surprise attacks in the battles, and their strategic importance to the victors.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
D-day can be considered to be a multi-cultural battle that included mainly the United States, France, Poland, Canada, and Britain among others. D-day occurred on June 6, 1944, and lasted until August 1944. It involved over 300,000 British, Canadian, and American among other soldiers who landed on five beaches within a 50-mile Normandy stretch. It was the largest amphibious assault in the history of warfare and required substantial planning time before the actual attack (History.com Editors, 2019). The battle entailed both logistical and operational planning. The American troops focused on Utah and Omaha beaches during the operation. The allied misled the Germans to attack these two places. The American soldiers who landed at these beaches faced machine-gunning fire and mortar attack, which created chaos, casualties, and confusion (Martin, 2019). Nearly 2,000 soldiers died during this chaos (History.com Editors, 2019). The troops, nevertheless, continued with the fight in which they penetrated enemy positions and neutralized them to regain their sectors (Martin, 2019). The troops suffered great losses at Omaha, even though this did not decrease their morale. The Canadian and British forces, however, faced minimal resistance at Sword, Juno, and Gold beaches (History.com Editors, 2019). The allied troops suffered over 4,000 casualties during the invasion part only with more wounded or missing (History.com Editors, 2019).
Compared to the battle of Midway in which the United States’ military and industrial capabilities were still unproven and low respectively, D-Day occurred at a time when the allies were hardened through various battles and their industrial production was at a peak level (Martin, 2019). Midway, on the other hand, was fought by the United States only until its end. The battle of midway began on June 3, 1942, and lasted until June 7, 1942. While it occurred within four days, it represented one of the greatest victories for the United States in the Second World War. The battle was a crucial turning point for the United States as it was the most strategically important fight in the Pacific Theater for the American troops (Martin, 2019). The main reason for the battles strategic importance was because it prevented Japan from dynamically advancing from Midway to different directions across the Pacific (Martin, 2019). The battle also occurred early in 1942 before allies were certain of victory in the wider Second World War.
Both the Midway battle and the D-Day landings were fought on air and at sea. The battle of Midway occurred both via sea and air in which both America and Japan engaged in aerial bombings of each by aircraft launched from carriers. The Japanese attacked first in which their aircraft from four carriers targeted a US base in Midway Island and inflicted severe damage. The U.S knew in advance about the impending attacked and had moved most of its aircraft from the base. The United States followed with a counter-attack in which its bombers inflicted substantial damage on the Japanese fleet. Three Japanese carriers including Soryu, Kaga, and Akagi were severely damaged to the point that they could not continue with the fight. Japanese responded with another attack where they severely damaged one US carrier, the Yorktown. The US troops on Midway also fought the advancing Japanese until they retreated (The National WWII Museum, 2019). During this war, the industrial and military abilities of the United States were less powerful when compared to the abilities the country had reached by the time it engaged in the D-Day battle in 1944 (Martin, 2019). The allies in general including America had suffered numerous defeats (Raid on Dieppe in France, and the battles in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Wake Island) during early 1942, which reduced their morale (Martin, 2019).
While D-Day battles occurred through the sea and air, it also involved land battles. The battle involved 5,000 ships and landing craft that transported supplies and troops through the English Channel to France supported by 11,0000 aircraft (History.com Editors, 2019). Thousands of paratroopers had landed on the battlefield by June 6, 1944. The landed troops had secured the beach by June 11, 1944, in which 100,000 tons of equipment, 500,000 vehicles, and 326,000 soldiers had landed on the beach (History.com Editors, 2019). Paratroopers mainly focused on capturing small towns and other strategic locations such as bridges and roads (Kennedy, 2013). The air bombings started first in which the bombings targeted the rear echelon of the German troops, which then turned to the immediate coastal defenses, interdicting the roads leading to Normandy beaches (Kennedy, 2013). Monitors, cruisers, and battleships then followed with heavy bombing of the beaches, which was followed by rocket-firing landing craft and destroyers that moved closer and continued firing to cover the approaching small landing crafts carrying equipment and troops (Kennedy, 2013). No troops came out to fight during the Midway battle as the fight mainly occurred through bombings by aircraft from the air. Airborne troops were also not involved in the midway battle as the war mainly occurred at the sea. At sea, the allied troops in the D-Day invasion faced several obstacles such as mines that exploded and sank a substantial number of crafts and troops while damaging many more vessels such as Admiral Vian and the cruiser HMS Scylla in which some crafts were towed back to Portsmouth (History.com Editors, 2019). Mines were not involved during the battle of Midway.
Both battles also involved surprise attacks in which the opponents did not know that they were being attacked. In the D-Day battle, during the initial war plans, the allies made different plans to confuse the Germans. The allied made the enemy expect an attack from the Pas-de-Calais, not Normandy (Kennedy, 2013). The allies also misled the enemy that they could also be attacked through Norway and other places. The tactics used to mislead the Germans included double agents, fraudulent radio messages, fake equipment, and phantom armies (History.com Editors, 2019). The invasion confused the German ranks given the absence of their commander, Rommel, who was on leave (History.com Editors, 2019). Hitler initially thought that the attack aimed to distract his forces from the main attack north of the Seine River (History.com Editors, 2019). In turn, he did not reinforce his forces quickly at Normandy for a counterattack or defense. Effective air support from the allies also interfered with Germany plans because air attacks destroyed important passageways, which compelled the Germans to take long roads. Effective naval support by the allies also protected advancing troops (History.com Editors, 2019).
During the Midway battle, America won mainly due to their ability to break the Japanese codes that allowed them to stage an ambush. The Navy cryptanalysts broke the Japanese communication codes during the battle and enabled the Navy leadership to exactly know where and when the Japanese planned to attack including the order of battle of the enemy (The National WWII Museum, 2019). Following initial Japanese air attacks against the US base located at Midway air, the Americans surprised the Japanese and destroyed a single heavy cruiser and three heavy carriers through counter-air attacks (The National WWII Museum, 2019). Air attacks between the two forces continued until Japan could not launch aircraft after the US destroyed its only remaining carrier in the battle through air bombings. At sea, the US attacked the Japanese until the Japanese retreated.
In both battles, the allies emerged victoriously. In the D-Day battle, the allies won by the end of August 1944 in which they had liberated Paris while the German troops left every location of Normandy completely on May 9, 1945 (History.com Editors, 2019). The battle was significant as it turned the tide against the Germans who suffered mentally. The Germans could not send reinforcements from France to the Eastern Front to prevent the Soviets from advancing (History.com Editors, 2019). The allied suffered over 9,000 casualties and significant numbers of warships due to mines (Kennedy, 2013).
America emerged victories in the Battle of Midway in which it destroyed four aircraft carriers of its opponent (Akagi, Kag, Soryu, and Hiryu) for a loss of one aircraft carrier, which greatly contributed to its victory. The victory of the U.S was vital also because it was part of a grand strategy for the entire war in which America used combined arms, joint forces, and offensive operations to defeat the enemy (Martin, 2019). The effectiveness of the combat ability of the U.S against an experienced opponent emerged during this battle because the war the country had engaged in earlier mainly involved enforcing naval blockades and protecting convoys in the Atlantic ocean while supporting allies through the provision of materials (Martin, 2019). The main losses that the United States incurred during the Midway battle included the destroyer Yorktown, USS Hamman, nearly 362 soldiers, and 145 aircraft. Japan lost one cruiser, nearly 3,057 soldiers, 245 aircraft, and four carriers by the end of the four-day fight (The National WWII Museum, 2019). When the losses are compared, they reflect the basis of the United States achievements.
Both the Midway battle and D-Day invasions were major turning points for the involved forces including the United States and the allies in the course of the Second World War. The D-Day invasion laid the basis for the upcoming victory for the allies on the European front. The battle of Midway also represented a strategic victory for the United States in the Pacific Theater that halted the advancement of Japan. Both battles involved air bombings and firing from sea crafts even though the D-Day invasion also entailed land battles on the Normandy beaches. In both battles, the allies emerged victorious even though they also suffered losses. The losses were, however, less than expected given what the allies had estimated. In both battles, intelligence contributed greatly to victory because the allies knew in advance the plans of their opponents, which allowed them to ambush their opponents and engage them in surprise attacks forcing the opponents to go on the defensive. The D-Day battle, nevertheless, involved troops from different countries while the battle of Midway involved the American troops only. Troops in the D-Day invasion were also many compared to the troops involved the battle of Midway even though the Midway fight mainly occurred in the air.
References
Kennedy, P. (2013). Engineers of victory: the problem solvers who turned the tide in the Second World War . Penguin UK.
Martin, C. (2019, June 7). Why the Battle of Midway Is a Bigger Deal than D-Day. pdf.
The National WWII Museum (2019, December 5). The Battle of Midway.pdf.
History.com Editors (2019, June 5). D-Day.pdf.
