Midway, 1942: Facts & Documents  

 

On June 4, 1942, near a tiny atoll midway America and Asia, a battle took place that radically changed the course of the Pacific War. Many years have passed since then, but to this day historians—both professional and amateur—have not stopped arguing about what really happened there, and what was the causes of that “In­credible Victory”. I haven't got a de­fi­ni­tive, indisputable answer to this question too. So I have created this website for those who, like me, are seeking an answer. I try to amass in one place as many the Battle of Midway related facts and documents as pos­sible, thereby fa­ci­li­tat­ing the work of new researchers.   Dauntless Courage © David J. Gray   Project News

Jan 14, 2021. The CinCPac Estimate of the Situation ad­ded to Docu­ments.

Sep 12, 2017. The short reference guide on the USN and IJN naval ranks and rank in­signia added.

Dec 31, 2016. The Ja­pa­nese Story of the Battle of Midway ad­ded to Docu­ments.
Documents Order of Battle Visual Research Ships & Aircraft
Source Documents Order of Battle Visual Recearch Ships & Aircraft
The constantly expanding collection of the Battle of Midway related pri­mary so­ur­ces (war diaries, action re­ports, etc.) con­ver­ted into a text form to make them more accessible and han­dy for re­se­archers. Learn more ››› The most detailed Order of the Battle of Midway and Aleutians, including au­x­i­lary and ashore units, com­mand­ing officers, numbers of operational pla­nes available, ships classes, and a lot more information. Learn more ››› The attempt to simulate visually the units' relocations during the Battle of Midway, ensuring the maximum pos­sible pre­ci­si­on of timing and position referencing based on primary sour­ces and historical studies. Learn more ››› The strategical and tactical decision-mak­ing to a large extent is based on ar­ma­ment capabilities. It's a brief il­l­u­strated reference guide on the ships & planes in­vol­ved in the action in the Midway area. Learn more ›››
New Publication
The Battle of Midway Including the Aleutian Phase, June 3 to June 14, 1942: Strategical and Tactical Analysis  

This research was prepared by Captain Richard W. Bates, Head of the Department of Re­search and Analysis of the U. S. Naval War College, in 1948 as part of a series of similar studies de­vo­ted to the major naval bat­tles of the World War II. The research was classified as “Confidential” (unclassified in 1968) and was never printed as a book: it was restrictedly distributed as photostats of the original typescript.

Notwithstanding the classification of this research, it served as the basis for such well-known books about the Battle of Midway as classical Samuel Eliot Morison’s “History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions” published in 1949 and Walter Lord’s best-seller “In­cre­dible Victory” published in 1967. Although over the decades that have passed since the making of Bates’ re­search historians have obtained access to a number of additional sources, this study nevertheless remains an authoritative source of information, especially concerning the U.S. side of the battle. References to this re­se­arch are found even in the most recent books on the Battle of Midway.

This is the first time that “The Battle of Midway Including the Aleutian Phase, June 3 to June 14, 1942: Strategical and Tactical Analysis” by Richard W. Bates is published as a book. The text formatting was kept as close to the style of the original typescript as possible, including the original pagination for correct quo­ta­tion. All the charts have been redrawn. Glossary of special terms and abbreviations, as well as bibliographic records, have been added. It is believed that this book will be useful to anyone interested in or studying the history of World War II in the Pacific Theater.    Buy on Amazon.com ›››