Midway - Nagumo's Greatest Victory

[Talkos]

Midway

Early Morning, June 4th, 1942

Seaplanes fill the air.

8:40 A seaplane from Midway spots a Japanese carrier group, a heavy and light carrier escorted by an unknown number of cruisers and destroyers, but is this the main group that US codebreakers have been warned about?

12:00
Midway command thinks so, for the next 20 minutes the Japanese TF comes under air attack. Heavy fighter cover and AA claims a heavy toll, the CAP accounts for 14 kills and 7 damaged, the AA damages 4 before the US fighters disengage, without a single successful strike.

16:40
A Search plane from Zuiho has detected a large US carrier force, 4 carriers. A strike is debated, but there is no way that the planes would arrive before sundown, and the smaller northern force cannot risk its air assets in a dusk strike, and even more dangerous, a nighttime landing.

June 5th

6:50
Dawn brings a strike at the Jap seaplane force anchored at Neva shoal....but not before the US carriers are revealed. Nagumo makes a fateful decision, to launch his full strike from the southern carrier force, but at 420nm it would remove 70 dive bombers to wait for his planes to form up, it will not be a cohesive strike.

7:55
Just as planes are leaving the Jap main striking force to the south and east of midway, a searchplane is spotted overhead. But it is too late to recall the fighters for CAP duty, the entire strike has been sent to attack the US Carrier force.

9:35
The Jap bombardment force, has snuck past the patrols, Midway is under fire, and the carriers Saratoga and Wasp are under attack, with planes on deck! Nimitz is obviously preparing to strike Nagumo's main force.

10:00+
Yorktown is also attacked, but its planes are up, taking a toll on the strike. At the worst possible time, Jap planes spot Hornet and Enterprise, bombs away! Wasp and Saratoga soon fall victim as well.

The toll, 21 planes downed, 29 damaged...but in return, 3 hits on Saratoga(presumed sunk), 1 on Hornet(burning), the CA Indianapolis also took a hit, but was still under control. Wasp and Enterprise both take 3 hits, and Yorktown takes 4, all three are presumed sunk by the Nagumo's pilots.

The Bombardment force however does not escape unscathed, by 14:45 the Mogami is sunk and all cruiser are damaged, with Suzuya on fire.

Near dusk a strike from the northern striking force reserve goes in. No American carriers are observed still afloat.

June 6
Dawn brings new sightings by the Northern force, now NNE of Midway, only 280nm from American battleships trying to flee.

Confident that the US carriers destroyed, Nagumo launches a full strike against midway from the SE, near Raita bank to relieve the pressure from the invasion force.

14:10
A full strike by the Northern force hits home, savaging the retreating American cruisers and destroyers.

June 7

It's all over except the cleanup. The invasion force ships have taken a mauling, but Nagumo takes his carrier striking force in to support them with fighters from his carriers. And before the day is over, Midway is denuded of fighters, and Jap marines are supported by heavy air cover.

After The Battle

Intelligence for the IJN reports 20 US ships sunk.
9 CA – Pensacola, New Orleans, Vincennes, Minneapolis, Portland, San Fransisco, Salt Lake City, Chester, Augusta.
3 DD – Anderson, Clark, Plunkett
1 BB – South Dakota
2 AV – Thornton and Ballard
5 CV – Enterprise, Hornet, Yorktown, Saratoga, and Wasp
They also report 293 Naval Aircraft destroyed along with 111 land aircraft

The IJN has lost 11 ships
4 CA – Mogami, Mikuma, Cuzukya, Kumano
4 TR
1 DD – Hayashio
2 AV
Carrier casualties include 101 Naval Aircraft lost, most in that first disorganized strike that eliminated the US carriers.


I got lucky, but it was lucky in a big way. With a search plane hovering over my striking force, I'm pretty sure that those planes on deck were meant for my carriers. But once that single, disorganized strike hit, it was a turkey shoot. The AI just kept its carrier groups way too close together.