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The Battle of Midway... The Battle of midway, fought in June of 1942, was one of the most decisive battles in World War II. Japan was on the offensive, capturing land in the Pacific and Asia, before The Battle of Midway. Japan had planned to capture Midway and use it to their advantage, but the U.S. surprised Japan by being fully prepared and forewarned about their little surprise due to the advances in communication during this time. America sank four of the Japanese carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor six months earlier. Japan's Strategy: Admiral Yamamoto, the man responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor, had one strategic primary concern, and it was to eliminate Americans remaining carrier forces. He thought this was the main obstacle in the Pacific campaign. His concerns heightened during the Doolittle Raid on April 18, 1942 in Tokyo. The raid was pretty insignificant but it came to a shock to Japan and proved that Japan had poor defenses around it's home islands. Japan's plan: sink American Carrier Forces and capture Midway which happened to be the only strategic islands besides Hawaii in the Eastern Pacific. The attack on Pearl Harbor, which was Americas main carrier base, was done to bring America into war. Japan was successful with the attack on Pearl Harbor of course, completely shocking America and taking American defenses off guard. America did enter into war because of this.