Battle of Midway order of battle

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet (comprising all combat vessels) and mastermind of the Pearl Harbor Attack, was tasked with drawing up the operational plan.

The Japanese Naval General Staff, responsible for strategic planning, required him to include a diversionary move as part of his detailed battle plan; they told him to include a side operation that would result in the capture of two islands in the Aleutians chain, believing that the occupation of even a tiny portion of a US possession would be sufficient to draw out the bulk of the Pacific Fleet.

[1] US Navy code-breaking, breathtaking Japanese overconfidence and the courage of American carrier fliers combined to create both a strategic and a tactical defeat for the Japanese: they failed to capture Midway and they suffered much greater losses in ships and planes than did the Americans (the loss of experienced naval pilots would prove to be particularly costly as the war dragged on).

Ships involved in the Midway operation[2][3] Losses indicated by *, counts in parentheses Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto[a] Commander, Combined Fleet The only significant combat, both offensive and defensive, was experienced by Nagumo's First Striking Force.

Kurita's transports were bombed with limited success by B-17s of the US Army Air Corps, but the vast majority Japanese ships saw no action during the entire Midway campaign.