145c - Midway pt.2 - A New War? - WW2 - June 7, 1942

June 7, 1942

Two days ago I talked about this week’s action in the central Pacific Ocean- the fighting

in the Aleutians and the beginning of the Battle of Midway.

I’m going to pick up now right where I left off.

I’m Indy Neidell; this is an extra regular episode of World War Two that focuses on the

action this week in the Pacific Ocean.

The 4 damaged Japanese carriers of Kido Butai- the First Air Fleet- burn well into the afternoon

of June 4th, and a couple of them into the night and the morning of the 5th.

Although they have suffered devastating damage from bombs and internal explosions, their

hulls beneath the waterline remain intact.

This meant that they don’t just sink but instead become lifeless hulks drifting on

the water, as the fires slowly burn themselves out.

Several Japanese destroyers have been guarding the wrecks the whole time while trying to

fish survivors out of the water.

There is great fear among Combined Fleet Commander Isoroku Yamamoto’s staff that the Americans

might capture the hulks and tow them back to Pearl Harbor.

Although their military value is pretty much nonexistent by now, the fear is that they

will be shown off as trophies and exhibited in newsreels and newspapers, and that would

be unbearable.

Fire and smoke rise into the sky from the wrecks like from bonfires, easily drawing

the attention of American planes and submarines, but if the Americans won’t put an end to

them, the Japanese will themselves.

Reports of Kido Butai Commander Chuichi Nagumo withdrawing the rest of his ships westward

are received by Yamamoto aboard his flagship, the Battleship Yamato.

His staff officers are furious and quick to accuse Nagumo of cowardice and incompetence,

blaming him for the still unfolding catastrophe.

Nobutake Kondo, commanding the Midway Occupation Force and Covering Group, is given orders

to rally his and the rest of Kido Butai’s surface forces, bypassing Nagumo, and form

an offensive battle line.

With luck they can engage the American carriers in a surprise attack sometime after midnight.

However, the longer they head east that night, the night of the 4th, the more Yamamoto begins

to doubt this new plan.

So far there have been no new reports of enemy contact, and the night is dragging on.

Are they heading into another trap?

When daylight comes, will they fall victim to further waves of enemy aircraft?

Stress, sleeplessness, and overall fatigue take their toll on the commanding officer’s judgement.

No one wants to acknowledge defeat, but they are, in fact, running out of options.

Landing troops on Midway without air cover is impossible.

The idea of bringing the light carriers down from the Aleutians in the hope of launching