“INCREDIBLE VICTORY” DISEASE

From Guestblogger G. Contaoi, his comments on “Midway is our Trafalgar” by Commander Brian Fort, USN (pp. 62-66, June 2006 U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings).

The following is a rebuttal that I made to the editors of Proceedings but it wasn’t published since, in general, reader comments appear to be printed only for articles in the past two issues and I missed that window. Thanks to YTP for offering a venue.

Commander Fort argues well that the U.S. Navy should equate its victory at Midway (June 4-7, 1942) with the British victory at Trafalgar but the idea does not resonate with me. Anyone who thinks that Midway should be the U.S. Navy’s Trafalgar and continue to paint it as the “Incredible Victory” should read Jonathon Parshall’s and Anthony Tully’s “Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway.” Putting aside the arguments about the weaknesses of the Japanese strategy and battle plan, etc., my disagreement with Midway being treated as the epochal battle of the U.S. Navy is that it is “one-dimensional” or aviation-centric.

My reason for making this argument is not to take away from the skill and bravery of the aviators who achieved victory at Midway. I simply fail to see how Midway can resonate with the entire Navy. Despite my standing firmly in the Spruance camp in the Halsey-Spruance debate, I would argue that the Battle of Leyte Gulf is a better candidate. Even after the losses at Midway, the Solomons, the Philippine Sea, and the inevitable outcome of the war in the Pacific, the Imperial Japanese Navy was still a significant and capable adversary during the invasion of the Philippines.

The real reason that the Battle of Leyte Gulf is better suited to be declared the American Trafalgar is that despite the Japanese playing Admiral Halsey perfectly with Ozawa’s decoy carrier force, American Bluejackets rose to the occasion and proved their mettle in all areas:
–Submarines sinking two of Kurita’s cruisers and crippling a third in the South China Sea
–Air actions against Japanese surface forces in the Sulu Sea, Sibuyan Sea, and off of Cape Engaño
–The smashing of Japanese surface forces at Surigao Strait
–The desperate but successful defense of the escort carriers of Samar by aviators and surface ships
–The amphibious invasion itself

At Leyte Gulf, the U.S. Navy finished the Japanese Navy and came of age in all warfare areas. By comparison, how can Midway resonate more than Leyte Gulf as the epochal battle of the U.S. Navy?