Ok time to wrap up the battle of the Coral Sea in June 1942 a
much more crucial sea battle was to take place this was the battle of Midway. By
mid-May Allied Intelligence had discovered that the Japanese intended to attack
the U S territories of Midway Island in the Central Pacific and the Aleutians
in the North Pacific.
This would give the Japanese a strategic superiority in the
Pacific, and that wasn’t something the Allies wanted so the Americans sent the
carriers USS Enterprise, USS Hornet and USS Yorktown to an are north of Midway.
A Japanese Carrier
The Japanese commander, Yamamoto ordered his four large carries,
Kaga, Akagi, Hiryu and Soryu south from Japan to attack Midway Islan.
On the 3 June both sides saw each other, and the next day U S
aircraft sunk all four Japanese carriers, the main lose for America was the
Yorktown.
So, the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway put an end to Japan’s
naval superiority.
Of course, these things didn’t stop the Japanese war machine
from attacking the east coast of Australia. On the night of the 31 May-1 June
Japanese midget submarines entered Sydney Harbour, two of the subs were sunk but
not before they managed to hit the depot ship Kuttabul, killing 19. Townsville
which had an important airfield was also attacked on the 26 July.
Troops at Guadalcanal
The battle of the Solomons inn August 1942 was significant among
the many sea battles in the Southwest Pacific Area. It was fought mainly by the
US Naval forces as they attempted to land troops and supplies on Guadalcanal. Three
Australian ships were part of the force supporting the US supply ships. It was
during this operation that the HMAS Canberra was sunk, north of Guadalcanal.
The Battle of the Coral Sea prevented a seaborne invasion of
Port Moresby and is thought by many that it also saved Australia.
From 1946 to I don’t know when there was something called Coral
Sea Week Celebrations with marches by servicemen from both countries and social
functions to express our thanks to the USA for its part in the battles and support
given to us from the Americans in World War 11.
Next week we move on to the Kokoda Trail.
Can you just imagine being on one of those ships? Brave men .. every one. Glad the U.S. helped out! Way too many lives lost in that war.
ReplyDeleteBrave men indeed
DeleteI do remember hearing about the Battle of Midland. Probably the only one I had heard of, even though I know little about it. War is so crazy bad.
ReplyDeleteYes I think more people have heard of the Battle of Midway the the Battle of the Sea
DeleteAnother great history lesson, Jo-Anne. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteI so appreciate your posts. So much is unknown or forgotten about those battles.
ReplyDeleteSo true, I feel they should not be forgotten and thank you for coming and reading and it makes me feel good that people appreciate the posts.
DeleteIt's good that history is remembered.
ReplyDeleteI think so
DeleteAre we all monsters? I used to believe we had to go to war, but none of this had to be.
ReplyDelete