Battlefield S1/E3 - The Battle of Midway
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- I do not own, nor do I or intend to profit from this content whatsoever. "Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."
All right reserved to:
NBC Universal
Directed by Dave Flitton, Andy Aitken, Justin McCarthy
Produced by Dave Flitton (series prod.), David McWhinnie, Ken Maliphant, David Rozalla
Written by Dave Flitton, Andy Aitken
Narrated by Tim Piggott-Smith; Jonathan Booth
Music by David Galbraith
Distributed by Public Broadcasting Service
Release date(s) 1994
Running time 6 116-minute episodes
Country USA
Language English
This video is a great reminder of the difficult times around the Battle of Midway. I entered the fray a few months later when my first strike was on Iwo Jima July 3, 1944.
I had been assigned to Fighting Squadron I, then flying off Yorktown CV-10. The aircraft carrier and crews are chiefly responsible for the end of the Japanese dominance in the Pacific war.
I felt at home as a carrier pilot and for the next 20 years,
Mel Brantley LCDR USN retired.
can you answer a couple questions for me?
You are a great man!
@@sidv4615 he’s dead.
R.I.P Melvin, you were a true inspiration
@@a.nelprober-rl5cf holy shizzz. I didn’t see that the comment was 9 years old. Man I wish I had made it in time. He definitely Would’ve had some amazing stories from his time.
A 2 hour documentary solely about the Battle of Midway? I'm in heaven..
dont let the veterans hear you, lol
I never get tired of World War 2 docs... I love this Timeline series. I fall asleep to them every night..
There has never been a series as good as the Battlefield Series as far as History goes. Period.
crazy that today all that’s pumped out by “history” networks is reality tv and we have to rely on youtubers to pick up the slack
@@Mustacheman17plus Ron DEHITLER is banning books and wants to be president.
I, don't know, I think SECRETS of WAR is pretty darn good and for the most part, Charlton Heston doesn't misprounce as many words ast these narrators do. Plus he has a much better speaking voice for this kind of work. He actually delivers the lines like he's acting a part. These guys just read scripts...However if you want to take a nap, these guys will put you to sleep quickly.
@@Mustacheman17bc qp
Yep World at War for story telling, WW2 in colour for the footage, Battlefield for all details.
We only had basic cable growing up so when my Grandfather got Dish Network and had this channel going I was in 13 year old heaven.
Sir I am a Brit who is living where General MaCarthur came ashore and declared "people of the Philippines I have returned". I have just come down from hill 120 which is now a monument to the brave men of America that fought in the battle of Leyte Gulf. It is peaceful there and I was very moved and said a little prayer. Sir I salute you.
Corregidor Island, I was there in 2000 with the USMC. I was crew chief and crewed a ch-46 flight with a 3 star general and ambassador to Corregidor. The old structures there have artillery holes all over them.
The British also fought bravely vs the Japanese in Burma and Malaysia and Singapore
What an accurate blow by blow account. This happened on the day I was born, 5th June, 1942. Today at age 73, I have studied these events from real film footage that really took place. What a violent war it was. Japan was yet to fight WWII for yet another three long years until the atomic bombs were deployed in 1945. Today I live peacefully in Australia a pensioner.
Good Day to you mate ! From your friend's in the USA.
Hi there my American friends from the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave. Thank you all for the brave men - your ancestors - who fought so hard in both world wars for a peaceful life I now enjoy. God Bless America.
My Dad was in Macarthur's army down under for a time, Sidney and Darwin, before he was shipped off to New Guinea... he always spoke very well of the time he spent there...thanks for putting him up..
I misread your comment the first time. I thought you'd typed "I live in Australia a prisoner." That's actually not untrue, though, seeing as Australia is a penal colony.
Cheers our down under friend Mr. Boudville. My son, a Navy chopper pilot sent me an email about four years ago with the caption 'Guess where I am, Dad." Based on the building across the water from the rear of his ship, I told him that the opera house in the background was unique to the whole world. Those young bucks think we 72+ oldsters can't navigate. The early battles (i.e., the "slot" and all of the area around it) make for fantastic reading.
Still the best series of WW2 documentaries.
Marcos 989
Yes, I've watched World at War as well. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I like these older style of documentaries than the more modern ones.
+mikeyman2010 absolutely, the mix of the great narration, intelligent, interesting information and interactive maps puts this series at the very top
I kind of prefer world war 2 in colour, but it doesn't show enough of the pacific fighting
+Vorsicht14 ignorance
+Vorsicht14 did you have to study to be an idiot or was it inbred?
This Battlefield documentary is the best historical information on The Battle of Midway. It's well put together, laid out and complete. Here it's almost 30 years later and still the best there is for history.
I know right? No over the top flashy graphics, no ridiculous dramatic music, no "experts" chiming in every ten seconds. Just the raw history. I love it!
💯 all of them are. When I see this introduction you know you are getting the best laid out documentary
And all done by PBS. Now isn't that a thing?
@@17Scumdog😊
If you think that this is the best doc on the Battle Of Midway, then you obviously don’t know the history of this event.
This is what a documentary is supposed to be. No computer animation, no ugly interviews with "historians" born 30 years after the war. good job!
so because you are Born 30 years after the war you cant be a historian? Much sense.
Once it has been properly documented, there is no need of new computer animation. use the original film and photos.
Fully agree with OP. This format is just perfect to quickly understand and evaluate what exactly happened.
KLAUS MAARTENS
I get your point. There's a very matter of fact, direct purity to this style of historical story telling. But there's also nothing wrong with interviews with Historians. As long as they know what they are talking about.
I watched this series over and over again when I was a kid. Very well done.
I've seen several documentaries on Midway but this gives so much more information... by far the best. But interestingly the Battlefield series leaves out interesting facts and information that are covered extensively in other documentaries. For instance the American dive bombers that sunk the three Japanese carriers in 5 minutes found them because the Japanese fleet ran across an American submarine before changing course. Once they changed course the left a destroyer behind to try to sink the sub with depth charges (unsuccessfully). The destroyer later turned around to catch up with the Japanese fleet. The American planes spotted the lone destroyer and correctly guessed that it was headed toward the fleet. They followed the direction the destroyer was headed and found the fleet... and changed the course of the war.
+Steve Carey The luck factor is never appreciated.
+Steve Carey Many accounts also fail to mention the submarine base at Pearl. It lost only one boat; a very old tug whose seams burst because of all the blast concussions during the attack. It was said, lovingly of course, by many an old sea dog that she died of fright ! The submarine base certainly ranks with the fuel farm and dry dock facilities as an extremely important oversight.
A lot of emphasis on carriers,I think subs would have been a more worthwhile investment.
+Steve Carey can you add a link.
+colin copp /watch?v=C4dya7mMSLE - first foreshadows around 17:00 and more importantly starting at 25:00
That three million people have watched this restores my faith in the human intellect. We're not all keeping up with that reality-show family.
Fantastic episode; great series. 20 years ago people complained that The History Channel was the "Hitler" or "World War 2" Channel. I wonder if they're happier now that it's the Ice Road Truckers and American Pickers Channel?
so true now,, it"s a bit of realety shows thrown in ,,
It definitely shouldn't be called the History Channel anymore
Yes, but why would they do any genuine history anymore if someone can steal if for "fair use" and give it away for free.
I especially miss the Modern Marvels episodes. and their sub series engineering disasters.
Q
What I love about this series is it feels like it's told 500 years from now from perspective of someone not taking sides.
Admiral Nimitz should have been awarded the Medal of Honor for his brilliant strategy that sent four Japanese carriers to the bottom of the Pacific. Admiral Nimitz was a naval genius.
MOH requires bravery and skill in personal peril
He wasn't that type of leader. He inspired the people below him to do great things, then he awarded them for doing it. Very humble man, cool calm and collected. He is Americas best Navel leader, if not our best military leader. We had lots of good ones, but Admiral Nimitz was special.
@@TSemasFl all navy commanders were sound and humble men, admiral spurance rejected 5 stars general and thought admiral halsey (the man whom he replaced in this battle) deserved it more.
Nimitz showed up at the scene of the greatest massacre of Americans in history and stayed there.Pearl could have been attacked a second time easily enough,the admiral without a doubt showed bravery,was indeed in personal peril nearly single handedly destroyed the Japanese Empire.MOH notwithstanding.
@@reallyhappenings5597 and yet they gave one to MacArthur.
Amazing how good intelligence (American reconnaissance and radar) and a couple breaks (good luck, timing) totally shifted the balance here.
There was also the results of the Coral Sea battle as well. When the Japanese originally drew up plans for the Midway operation, they presumed that they would have all six of the elite Pearl Harbor strike group (Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku & Zuikaku) available to participate in the campaign. However due to bomb damage and aircrew losses on the latter two carriers, they weren't able to participate in the battle.
Imagine what the battle would've been like had Shokaku & Zuikaku been able to be in the battle and presume actual events transpired (i.e. Kaga, Akagi & Soryu get blown to pieces). Nagumo would still have 3 carriers in play and in numbers, would've easily taken out Yorktown in the first wave and possibly both Enterprise & Hornet as well in the following strike waves.
+Robert X That's the problem with historical "what ifs". They mean nothing at all. The only thing that matters is what actually did transpire. Any historical "mind games" of "what if" and "imagine if" are truly a waste of even the effort to imagine scenarios as any scenario that can be imagined is open to thousands of counter plausible "what ifs". It hardly means one is unimaginative not to dwell on such matters, merely the very definition of being pragmatic.
Singular Purpose
I agree to a certain point , but some 'what ifs ' are more acceptable in my opinion then others ...e.g Japan really HAD those extra carriers so putting them at midway would have been possible ....if you would say 'suppose Japan had 1000 subs waiting for Pearl habor then THAT would be an IMPOSSIBLE scenario as they simply did not exists !...so not all 'what ifs' are totally impossible and others are ..or at least much less likely
And offcourse it doesn't change anything THAT part is true ...but at least for me they are intresting sometimes
Robert X Yeah, I completely agree with your assessment regarding what ifs like if Japan had 1000 subs, etc. Agreed that wouldn't be a legitimate counter what if, exactly why I stated that there would be plausible counters. As they would, of course, have to be something which could have happened at the time. Agreed.
tc sir, and thanks for not being like most ppl on YT and making or taking it something personal, which it isn't nor was never intended to be. The hallmark of someone mature. tc sir.
Singular Purpose
yw :)
Btw I agree (again :) ) that it's a shame some ppl take things far to personal
I love that "scratch one flat top" lol
Actually that quote was from the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Filmmaker John Ford was the cameraman on the ground at Midway, I believe.
He was, Frank Capra too.
These young men were some of the best and bravest in American history.I was raised by folks who lived through ww2. They were not like people of today. They had a inner strength that developed during the war years that you don't see at all these days.
Richard Vert I agree - whole heartedly
Here! Here!
I know right?! Starting with the boomers, continuing through my generation and right up to the present crop of kids, they're all selfish, self centered, no care for the consequences of their well intentioned by unwise feelings....very frustrating!
Peter Diggler, war makes better humans, than what peace makes. So... we really need to understand what proper education should be like. Because sure as hell its not just how much money you will pay and what salary you will get afters
There are still some good, honest, strong, and hard working people out there. The kind of people who have always made America great. Unfortunately in America today it is no longer popular to be hard working and honest. I hope we're just in a bit of a slump and this isn't the new normal.
Actually, the Battle of the Coral Sea was the first naval battle in which the opposing surface fleets were never in visual range of each other, not Midway.
That said, this is probably the best documentary on this fight and the same can be said about this entire series.
Thank you for posting this.
I don't know who wrote this or if it had been a combined effort but ,this may be one of the best laid out comprehensive documentaries on this engagement ive seen yet
The Battlefield documentary series is amazing. Every episode is this good.
And books written about Midway are even better, much more thorough, and have lists of sources used by the author(s) to write their books to do further reading. *No one ever got to be fully informed about any subject through watching documentaries,* and doing so causes people to think they know far more than they really do-I call them “TH-cam geniuses.” It is classic passive learning, not requiring much intellectual effort except perhaps that of memory, and this can never, EVER surpass the knowledge gained by _active_ learning, i.e. *R E A D I N G!*
@@voraciousreader3341 Relax!!!! Why would you go into a rant like that?? What makes you think the people here don’t t read as well?? Do we have to bring that up every time we comment on a documentary??
These Battlefield history documentaries are the best out of any existing. I have watched literally dozens upon dozens of different documentaries and these are straight forward, contain very little opinions, lots of facts and details as well as visuals.
There is a slight error at 1:15; the narrator says that Midway was the first major fleet encounter where both fleets never saw each other. This distinction actually belongs to the Battle of the Coral Sea.
narrator also says both sides' flight crews were equal, but i read that the Japanese launched 108 planes in SEVEN MINUTES (!!!), while it took our side ONE HOUR to do 117 planes! YIKES.
Growing up in AMerica, i always knew this was the fakest, most inept nation EVER. (We literally can't even repave streets or win wars against 1000 guys in caves in Afghanistan!) EX: of the 2 NYPD killed in duty in 2019... BOTH , in separate impossible fuckups, were SHOT TO DEATH BY THEIR FELLOW NYPD, while the criminals escaped! (The other 11 dead NYPD in 2019 killed THEMSELVES!) (I think there were a few others, where NYPD killed NYPD DELIBERATELY, like a lover's quarrel.)
WE ARE THE RICHEST NATION EVER... yet we had to BORROW THE MOST MONEY EVER (??!!) ... and from the Commies (CHINA)???
WE ALSO HAVE TO PAY RUSSIA TO FLY OUR ASTRONAUTS TO THE ISS. The commies LITERALLY destroyed the USSA in almost every category.YEEEEESH.
@@dumpygoodness4086 It takes a wise and strong person to admit that their country is fooked. Kudos. Maybe we can rebuild better after this clown show collapses.
@@dumpygoodness4086 Don't believe everything you read on the internet and the media kid.
@@j.a.3138 GOOD POINT!!
MURICA ISN'T THE RICHEST NATION ON EARTH!
We're like in the middle RIGHT?
AND WE DON"T BORROW MONEY!!
WE LEND IT!!
COMMIE CHINA BEGS US TO LEND THEM MONEY!!
YOU are Sooooo right!!!
AND THERE ARE NO POTHOLES IN MURICA cuz it's a great nation!!! YAY!! And remember when they won the wars in Vietnam, and Iraq, and Afghanistan?!!
HEY!! REMEMBER WHEN AMERIKKKA HAD MORE SCHOOL SHOOTINGS THAN ALL OTHER NATIONS ON EARTH..........COMBINED?
WICKED AWESOME!!
"THE INTERNET M ADE UP AMERICA'S CRUMBLING STATE!!!"
@@dumpygoodness4086 back to your oblast igor
Excellent documentary. Although the emphasis on superior damage control by US force on the Yorktown is well taken, omits any discussion of ship design as a factor in the destruction of the Japanese carriers. The hangar decks on Japanese carriers were enclosed, enhancing the blast damage when bombs explode due to the overpressurization. On US carriers, the hangar decks were not completely enclosed, allowing the blast from exploding bombs to dissipate more.
I think in a way all the success early on warped the Japanese way of thinking about damage to their ships. I think they actually believed their ships weren't going to take a hit, and who can blame them. Up to the Coral Sea they got away relatively scott free as far as damage to their ships was concerned. I really think the major difference as far as damage control went was that the US Navy learned its lesson about damage control from the Coral Sea while the Japanese didn't. The Japanese were lucky that there were no aircraft in the hangar deck of Shokaku when she was bombed at Coral Sea or she might have gone up in a fireball like Kaga did at Midway. The fact that she didn't probably fooled the Japanese into thinking their damage control was adequate.
CaptainColdyron222 'Victory Disease' the Japanese later called it.
CaptainColdyron222 The Battle of the Coral Sea was a month prior to Midway.
American damage control measures were in place long before that.
Carl Lindmark The Bofors 40mm is the unsung hero of Midway
Para Digm hi the Bofors 40mm was used by all sides in ww2 we had a double barrel 40mm Bofors at the end of our street in ww2
I watched this in 2005 on the Military channel.Thanks for posting.
The Best Documentary on Battle of Midway June 4, 1942.
go look up shattered sword talks with john parshall..even better
One of the best documentaries I have seen. Straight forward, no obtrusive music, no ill informed historians or poor speakers.
I could watch this over and over. Always catch something new.
That was a really impressive victory by the US Navy at Midway. God bless all the US military personnel that fought and died at Midway.
FUN FACT!
TRUMP WAS SUPER-LIBERAL.
SHILLARY WAS SUPER-CONSERVATIVE.
FACT:
Shillary is STILL with her FIRST husband. That's a CONSERVATIVE ideal.
FACT:
Rump is with his 3rd WIFE. And he sleeps with other gals, cuz he's VERY LIBERAL (LIBERty)!
FACT:
SHILLARY WAS AGAINST EQUAL RIGHTS FOR GAYS and VERY LOUD ABOUT THIS.
FACT:
TRUMP WAS RAISED IN NYC AND KNEW GAY PPL HIS ENTIRE LIFE and didn't think it was a big deal. HE WAS LIBERAL.
FACT:
SHILLARY'S HOMES HAVE ALL BEEN VERY CONSERVATIVE.
FACT:
TRUMP'S HOMES HAVE ALL BEEN VERY LAVISH AND LIBERAL!!!
FACT:
SHILLARY SAID WEED SHOULD NEVER BE LEGAL. CONSERVATIVE.
RUMP said "LET EACH STATE DECIDE" cuz he wanted more LIBERTY (LIBERal) than SHILLARY DID.
I CAN NAME MILLIONS MORE OF THESE.
Buddha or whoever bless those 3000 Japanese who had the shit*iest luck imaginable. Not that their superiors did anything to increase their luck beforehand
Although not part of US Navy, my grandfather also brought down many Japanese naval planes. He was the worst mechanic the Imperial Japan ever hired.
@@chiensyang😂He’s a hero in my book,if all sides in the war had your grandfather’s lack of skill millions and millions of lives could have been saved.
There is no god.
"In the space of five minutes, the mightiest carrier fleet in existence had been shattered." Later, "Japan had not only suffered the greatest defeat in her history, but had, in one day, lost the Pacific War." I still get goose bumps.
Can you imagine being Nagumo? Guy probably had to be restrained from doing hari kiri EVERY TIME a carrier went down.. Almost like some weird comedy but COMPLETELY REAL,, I'd sure s*** a brick every ship that went down...
Can you imagine these MEN,, seeing the pussy bitches of today with their safe spaces and no gender pronouns
@@buttgoomagoo6919 If they had seen what has become of the country they fought for, they probably would have gone over the Japanese side.
All these sissiy's with their tender feelings and sense of entitlement are a disgrace to memory of those brave men who fought and those who gave their lives for their country in this battle and many others.
All the Japanese carriers and no Radar equipment ? radio silence ? no communication, they really screwed up. USA was the under dog yet they pulled it off , I agree these brave men fighting for country and if they sen what is become of it. they throw up im sure. roll over in their graves, .. i agree with wolffu and buttgoo
All that rice gone to waste.
Yamamoto's tragedy was brilliant understanding of enemy's strenghts while total misconception of enemy's mindset.
Nagumo was responsible for this. Yamamoto was the overall commander, but Nagumo was in charge of the carrier task force.
Kudos to the US military forces that achieved a brilliant victory at Midway! God bless them.
God? They fought so that today God would not exist in America. They fought so that wh1te people would become r-placed, so that trans and lgbt agenda would be in kindergartens, and so that a hostile tribe of merchants would enslave us.
Watching this video, I'm amazed by the pivotal role intelligence and teamwork played in the American victory at Midway. History in action!
Wow--incredibly well done. Offers historical specificity in detail, illustrated by highly informed maps showing the geo-strategic situation and authentic film of the day. Includes maps of battlegrounds leading to Midway, viewed in their larger geo-political context. A more in depth presentation than I've seen anywhere else before...
This documentary is made more interesting (to me, at any rate) with its descriptions of the aircraft involved. Fantastic! I have a sort of love affair with military aircraft. Have no idea where it came from. I really lucked out when my mom married my stepdad who flew the B-26 Martin Marauder (he was an Ace in Korea and also flew in Vietnam). He was a wonderful firsthand source of information. Miss him terribly.
+Melanie Hamilton This is the most interesting comment on here. I'm kind of a combat pilot groupie. I would listen to your stories of your step father with interest.
justjohn dangit The general tone and focus of his stories differed with each war he participated in. I could detect how age and wisdom colored his views. He also flew during the Berlin Airlift. That seemed to change his overall outlook on life more than any specific event. Vietnam was the one that never sat easy in his mind and the one he was most reluctant to discuss, even with my mother. The subjects of his tales were overwhelmingly the guys he flew with, second were his close calls tied with his opinions of the planes he flew. He said the P-51 was the closest he ever got to flying a plane with only his thoughts. It was apparently designed with the pilot's comfort and proximity to controls very much in mind. Thanks so much for your response. For me, it's a way to honor his memory and his willingness to fly in combat.
It's cool that you were friends with your Stepdad and that you admired him so. What did he fly in Korea? Sabre? What did he fly in Viet Nam?
justjohn dangit When he first went to Korea, the US was still flying P-51s which he was in for a little while. He flew two tours in Korea during which he mainly flew the F-86 Sabre, another plane he truly enjoyed. He became an Ace in Korea and we have some great pictures of him, his planes and his invaluable ground crews taken while he was there. In Vietnam he got assigned to "Puff". He wasn't crazy about it, but that was his job. It was essentially an automated flying weapons platform which could decimate a target - usually a village - in no time flat. The most difficult aspect of it was that the pilot and co-pilot could see the damage they delivered. After Korea and until he officially retired as a major, he belonged to the Air National Guard and his duties, when he was needed, were many and varied. That gave him a lot of experience flying planes stateside that he never flew in combat. He was a stickler for pre-flight checks which annoyed some guys in his wing, but he wouldn't budge. As he always said, the pre-flight check exists for a reason. One of my favorite of his stories involved a general who, a few months after WWII had ended, needed to be flown from Fort Knox to a base up north and Sam (my stepdad) was assigned to fly him there. The weather became increasingly stormy and Sam refused to make the flight. His CO gave him hell, but the general backed him and thanked him for his good sense. Turned out the flight was only delayed a couple of hours until the storm had passed. The CO had gotten his knickers in a twist over nothing.
I could read you all day.
My pa was a Marine Corp. Corsair pilot. Not the plane but the F8. He never saw combat....That B26 must have been a booger to fly...
I want to be your Fb friend.
Figures you must be pretty interesting yourself.
Best Midway description I've ever seen.
Sorry
go look up shattered sword talks with john parshall...even better
One of the best documentaries on the Battle of Midway that I have seen. Really makes so much of the material so clear compared to much of what I have previously seen. Really enjoyed it and it increased my understanding of this most significant event of American, indeed world, history.
I LOVE these WW II programs. As one who History 107-WW II in college, you can just about learn all you need to know to darn near get a degree in history. There is SO much info available on TH-cam and everywhere else in videos that there is no excuse for anyone to be ignorant about anything when it comes to history or whatever else they need to know about.
This channel reminds me of the old Time/Life video series on WWII. Used to watch those with my gramps. Thanks for the memories. 🥲
Damn... Yorktown took multiple lickings and kept on ticking. Damaged during the Battle of Coral Sea and out survived its Japanese counterpart. Only 3 day repair and still damaged she pulled out to sea for Midway and after taking more hits managed to recover planes, fuel, and relaunch. All thanks to outstanding damage control training by her crew. Respect.
Yep' our tax payers sure got our moneys worth out of that Carrier. May she and her crews RIP
I just realized that Midway Island was named because it's mid-way through the Pacific...
I'm glad for you.
That's the problem with most modern history. "The Battle of..." is all that is said. There is so much more to these fights that most have no knowledge of. Excellent documentary!!
Well you can't squeeze days into minutes...
My father was on the USN Dobbin , a destroyer tender, in Pearl Harbor. Because Australia was actually bombed which I learned from this series, my father was sent to Sydney, Australia, where he met my Mom. I was born in 1943 so this series was really interesting to me as I could think, ok, I was alive or it was before I was born. I also enjoyed the European Theater parts as I am reading a book now callled "Hitler's Last Gamble" about the battle of the bulge. This series makes the book information much clearer as I can see the tactics used and the results of the campaigns. Thanks for presenting this material.
Entertaining and highly informative for anyone actually interested in the unfolding of real events...
Those young men in the US torpedo planes...I can't help but feel for their sacrifice: they sacrificed everything.
Yep, those American torpedoes on those torpedo bombers were crap and didn't hit anything through the first four carrier battles. Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz...
@@ronclark9724 It didn’t matter whether the torpedos worked or not, or if the planes were good. Having any bomber to fly near an enemy aircraft carrier that has good fighter protection without fighter protection of its own is a suicidal mission.
Don't forget dive bombers
Brilliant documentary and very well done, respectful of both sides. Thanks so much for sharing.
The standard for WWII documentaries. Top notch.
16:04
Great documentary, thanks for uploading, God bless 🙏
Excellent Narrative. Tim P Smith rocks it !
Sadly he pased away in 2017.
Excellently done documentary! Great narration, great graphics and great detail when describing leaders and their strategies employed. I remember seeing it when it first aired on TV. Luckily I have a chance to see it again.
I lived in Hawaii for 3 years, I wish I knew more about its history before I left. Its amazing to be there and to think about everything that has happened on that island, even before James Cook showed up. Thank you for posting this video and everyone that has commented below with pedagogic feedback. This has been very beneficial to my history education.
All of these wwll documentaries heavily remind me of my Grandad and my GreatGrandad , they were both full-time professional Army officers in the Greek Royal Army. Miss you guys❗
Thankfully its my day off, I can watch this stuff all day. Documentaries don't come much better than this. That 'one pilot' who survived was named George Gay & I've always been fascinated by his story, I can only imagine the view he had to one of the greatest Naval victories, while in his life raft with Japanese ships & pilots that ditched their aircraft all around him. I'm sure if the American dive bomber pilots would have opened their canopies they could have heard him hooting & hollering in approval.
These battlefield doc's are first class..the details from both sides is outstanding
Chain of events are but there are many things that are secrets to this very day. Americans were conned into entering the war and many good men lost their lives. Corruption is so rife in our western governments.
The Imperial Japanese Navy rolled the dice at Midway, and came up with snake eyes.
Compliments. this upload is far more revealing than Hollywood's version. From the B 17 Flying Fortresses making the initial raid on the landing force through the repeated attacks which were initially repulsed and after wearing down the Japanese finally caught them in a vulnerable position and eradicating the Aircraft Carriers. The effect of damage control procedures in protecting the Yorktown clearly shows the predisposition of the Japanese to consider their personnel expendible as opposed to the American approach of considering theirs valuable assets. The battle boils down to sacrifice versus creative agression. Many thanks. I came away with a far greater understanding of events than I previously had.
If you've ever worked for a Japanese company then the idea that only specific people are trained or assigned to a task, such as damage control, is familiar. Not only that but there's a rigid chain of command so even if you spot a problem and know how to fix it if it's not in your area of responsibility you're supposed to report it to your bss and them to their boss. Eventually it makes it's way to whoever is supposed to actually fix it but it takes more time then it should. You get in more trouble for showing initiative and taking care of the problem then reporting it and waiting until the person responsible shows up to fix it. I'm not saying that all Japanese companies are like this but all the ones I've worked for in the last 20 years have been.
The battlefield series is one of the most informative of all the Tv series concerning WW2, in my hunble opinion.
Desoxyn Man
I agree 100%
Desoxyn Man Agreed, especially this episode. I love Victory at Sea, but I understand it to be early 1950s propaganda. Its depiction of the Battle of Midway does not represent reality, but Battlefield's perspective is one of the best. Tim Piggot-Smith's voice is engaging and his narration superb. He is wonderfully accurate pronouncing foreign names, perhaps second only to the legendary Alexander Scorby.
Desoxyn Man We "dehumanize" our enemies in all wars. Our dehumanizing of the Japanese during WWII was a reflection of the racism and prejudices already ensconced in white Americans, who could trace their origins to Europe, many of German and Italian origin. Japanese-Americans being a much smaller group were served up as convenient scapegoats.
The repair the americans did on the yorktown is really incredible... 3 days?!! And credit admiral Nimitz for predicting where the imperial carrier fleet would come from. The carriers defense shield was shredding our planes at first, the fact though, that we hit all 4 carriers on one sortie... just plain crazy! American public may have been isolationists b4 pearl harbor, but afterwards, the total effort of civilians and military alike was far more then japan could handle
Yes and the amazing fact is that three of them (Japanese carriers) were destroyed within five minutes of the first successful attack by the American aircraft.
It's never been publicly admitted, but I've always wondered whether the torpedo bomber flight was deliberately sacrificed to lure down the Japanese top cover, in order to give the dive bombers a better chance. Neither had any fighter escort so the only hope for either was for one to occupy the Japanese fighters so that the other could actually have a chance to strike.
Edvorticus Snorticus
The American forces were not that well organized.
That prediction came about because Station Hypo and Joseph Rochfort's efforts in breaking the JN-25 naval code!
The US hit three carriers. The Hiryu was not seen until after it had launched it's strikes against Yorktown.
Fascinating account & analysis of the pre-battle situation, course of the struggle and aftermaths. One of the best episodes of that excellent, memorable series. A highly effective way to produce serious and reliable documentaries, NBC Universal!
Vasile Luga, you are a dearest guy, honest.
Classic WW2 series full of authentic footage rather than lame reenactments & CG graphics! This is a real war documentary.
Why is this so darn good?
This documentary series is one of the very best. I become addicted with this videos. Battle of midway one of the greatest and decisive battles ever. Brilliant doc.every detail perfectly done. Love from Sri Lanka ❤️🔥🇱🇰🤝🏴
This is a God damn incredible documentary. Such detail and facts about EVERYTHING.
I have to save this and watch it about 10 more times to REALLY understand it all.
Great series I can't stop watching them ,but for some reason I find myself back in the Pacific theatre over and over again.
It must be that it's closer to home and the fact my grandad was in this theatre.
Either that or I just love the battleships and aeroplanes hmmm.
Midway is a fantastic example of how a few pilots launching off carrier decks turned a war encompassing the entire Pacific Ocean around.
This whole series of documentary are well done very insightful
The best documentary I've found to date. What actually happened is still being researched and revised, which is only to be expected.
I am really glad the Japanese did not have radar on their ships. If they had seen the American dive bombers approaching, Midway would have been the end of the American Pacific fleet, not the end of Japan's quest for dominance of the Pacific.
dont know about that, it crippled them but even had the outcome been different, it just would have delayed the inevitable. The US was going to win because of their superior manpower, technology, and industrial strength. Also assuming no interruption in developing nuclear weapons, they just may have been used a few more times.
TheFarmanimalfriend Ironically they had the klystron technology before the allies. They used it for cooking! They had microwave ovens in their galleys. Keystones or their cousins, magnetrons, couple with a timing circuit, are the principle components of radar.
nah...USA could replace any losess easily..IJN couldnt. japan was never going to win that war
The Battle of Midway may have been the most impressive military victory of all time. The Empire of Japan essentially lost the war in Pacific in a single day.
January 6 insurrection was still worse than Pearl Harbor.
What Lee did during US Civil War is more remarkable
@@herbertlewis8442 I hardly know anything the civil war or ww1. I've been hesitating learning it thinking there wasn't any massive guns or huge ships etc and probably much worse video than ww2. I've been hearing all kinds of rumors lately about Robert E. Lee so I guess I better bone up.
@@herbertlewis8442 What? lose the Battle of Gettysburg and thus the Civil War for the South? Yeah that was real good. Loser
@@Softail77us Pardon the really late reply...I would definitely study The US Civil War & WWI. Both ushered in the use railroads, total war as well as other advancements
Admiral Spruance was the deciding factor.
I was hoping someone would mention Spruance. This documentary doesn't do him justice. It was Spruance's decision to turn east and steam in a circle the night of June 4th, placing his forces back in position to defend the island the next morning. If Halsey had been in command, he would likely have charged ahead that night and gotten sunk by Yamamoto's battleships in a night battle.
Lucky for the U.S. that Spruance was in command in a situation that required cool, strategic thinking.
It's incredible to see the timing and sheer coincidences that occur in warfare. Timing is literally everything in warfare.
Superb Documentary! Very interesting
I am a Brit. I am back in UK but I live in Leyte Gulf and was up, until the Haiyan Disaster, Maintenance officer of Hill 120 which was our monument to Americans that liberated our people from the Japanese. I grew up on prejudice against the Americans because they entered the war late. The truth is America saved our arse. Where I live the only other white people I meet are American missionaries and always I support and salute my American friends. Our politicians are shit and betray us. When it comes to the people, I have met on my travels, I confess, the American people have kinder and more conscience hearts than my British patriots. My people in Dulag Leyte will always have a warm welcome for Americans. I salute you.
Peter Harwood
That is very nice of you to say about Americans. There are so many countries on this planet that hate America, call the Federal government Imperialists, and other nasty names. Not all Americans were in favor of getting involved in the wars the US rightly or wrongly participated in, started or ended. Wars are such a waste. However, the alternative of letting every country fend for themselves may not be the best idea. Not every country can grow enough food to feed their own people and many are run by dictators that don't care about anything but themselves. The world policeman role has not been appreciated.
An excellent series. Really showed little thought about aspects of battles. For instance, the US insistence of safety and damage control. The protection of the pilots. Something Japan did not feel necessary.
It should also be pointed out that the Japaneses lost more pilots in their attack on Pearl Harbor than the previous 10 years of war with China.
I never knew that they lost so few pilots in those 10 years; they only lost 29 airmen (pilots, bombers, gunners, navigators) over PH (plus the midget sub crews.)
+indy_go_blue60 29 planes. 50+ air crew.
+shawnc101. Thanks, I confuse those numbers sometimes.
That I did not know...interesting fact. Thank you.
Japan did not consider Pearl Harbor as big a "Victory" as the narrator would have you believe. They were not use to having any casualties and most of these were from one carrier.
This series is, IMHO, the best ever. And you really produced the best documentary I've ever seen of the most crucial battle of WW2 PTO.
God bless these men. They're all with God now. I wish I could have met one of them. Those of you who were lucky enough to have had a dad who participated in this & other WW2 battles are the luckiest offspring in the whole country. 🫡 🇺🇸 🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️
Historical footage, maps and a voice-over. That's what war docs should be like
Me and my family lived peacefully while all of this was happening. God Bless to all those who fought and their families!
+MrVinnyable1
do you mean you were American? America was perfectly safe during WW2. probably the only belligerent that was. the Germans couldn't even reach the Urals to bomb the munitions yard seven times the size of the UK dedicated to building tanks, aircraft, ammo, guns, artillery, everything. not a single German bomber could reach that far east of Moscow.
they seriously should have bombed the railways, railyards.
but Germany was doomed by not KOing USSR before the winter. even if they had what were the troops going to do with summer blouses and summer equipment? not a single thought had been put into "when we take Moscow how will we handle the cold".
A lot of people don't really understand history say that the nuclear weapons won US the Pacific war, but in reality the battle of Midway did.
Anakin Yang The battle of Midway turned the table and showed the world we would not bend. The Atomic bomb shorten the war and thus saved lives on both sides. Iwo Jima was the winner! Took the wind out of the Japanese.
Actually from a historical perspective, regardless of the outcome of the Midway battle, the US would've eventually prevailed. By the time of the Midway battle, there were keels already laid down for 6 Essex class aircraft carriers with 3 more started by the end of the year. So even if the Japanese would've destroyed Yorktown, Enterprise & Hornet at Midway as well as the Wasp and Saratoga, we still would produce more carriers than they did.
Here's one fact---During the entire length of the Pacific War (December 1941-August 1945), the Japanese built 12 aircraft carriers of various types while the US built nearly 3 dozen Essex & Independence class aircraft carriers as well as escort carriers. Had the U.S lost at Midway, the war would've been extended at least 6 months to one year max imo.
Anakin Yang
Okinawa showed that Japan would fight to last man, woman & child with operation downfall invading the home islands, a half million purple hearts minted anticipating that many deaths and millions of Japanese as well. there is well founded speculation that the high command had detonated an atomic bomb in what's now North Korea. Japan was also sending fire bombs to the US with the jetstream.
This is a pretty solid, and mostly accurate chunk of history! well done!
Excellent. No ads! Worth following.
Excellent documentary. Thank you.
this series is awesome! cant believe there are 4 seasons of it, i know what ill be doing!!
Pretty accurate description of the battle, less a few details. Thanks for sharing. There is a video somewhere of the pilots of the Dauntless dive bombers, the ones who actually dropped the bombs that sank the four Japanese carriers.
Well done documentary. Thank you.
Grandad flew PBY'S until he caught Malaria on Tulagi.
And to this day our proud Navy has its chief fighting force the carrier as our military's greatest war machine. Right behind the carriers are the submarines and the backup ships including the cruisers and destroyers.
and yet STILL the number one killer of OUR SOLDIERS is... THEIR OWN MILITARY!! (Friendly fire kills half our soldiers, just like it killed BOTH NYPD in 2019 who were killed in the line of duty! NO IMPROVEMENTS yet!)
The Afghanistan Report that was just released PROVES the Pentagon's ONLY GOAL was to MURDER AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN AFGHANISTAN!! The brass had LIED TO USE 100%, as the PRESS had lied to us 100%, for 18 years!
THEY KILLED 2300 AMERICANS AND MAIMED 20,000 MORE AND STOLE $3 TRILLION and counting from us.
WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY... and it is the USSA GOVT and USSA Press... both owned by greedy wall st.
For a short while the Kaga, or "Increased Joy," became Hono No Zoka, or "Increased Flames"
My uncle fought bravely out there. rip
to your uncle... thanks for your service. I i am guzzling beers down and wolfing wings down because of brave folks like him while watching this
RIP Uncle Bridges. Thanks for your service!
So sorry, so glad we nuked those fucks for revenge for your uncle.
3 of my dad's brothers fought in WW2; 2 in Europe (one was a medic, then a doctor in Korea,) 1 in the Pacific. Then another brother (besides the doctor) served in Korea. 2 of my mom's brother's served in Europe. Thankfully none of them even got a scratch.
not a scratch? congrats dudeguy
Excellent documentary...... kindly do more such documentary...
Absolutely LOVE this film!
A few key factors determined the outcome of this battle.
1. Americans cracked the Japanese code, which probably wasn't as crucial as many think, though. As Japanese also frequently cracked American code during WW2, until the latter started to use the native Indians:)
2. Japanese ships didnt have Radar, while the Americans did.
3. The damage control on the Japanese carriers were terrible, or non existent, all 3 carriers were lost because bomb hits set off the ammunitions and fuels. The American ships did excellently in this regard
4. Brilliant performance from Adm. Nimitz, his planning, stratety, forces disposition, and judgement were a master stroke in military history. whereas Yamamoto made a huge mistake by spliting his fleet on useless places like Alucian islands, he could've facerolled the Americans with his vast superiority in number
Japan never broke American ciphers. But cipher machines aren't used on the battlefield. That's where the Navajo Code Talkers were able to protect communications between front line Marine units.
It wasn't Yamamoto's idea to split forces and occupy the Aleutian he fought against that. It was forced on him by a senior commander.
@@IrvinGisher The IJN splitting their force to hit the Aleutians was a huge mistake. Most documentaries related to Midway do not highlight this point enough. It was not a small task force either. That Aleutian fleet consisted of 2 other aircraft carriers Ryujo and Junyo along with 40 fighters, 21 torpedo bombers, 21 dive bombers, and 4 reconnaissance aircraft. That’s 82 total planes plus 3 cruisers and 5 destroyers.
In addition, what these historical documentaries don't point out is the IJN decided not to take the Aircraft Carrier Zuikaku with them. The main reason why is because they had a shortage of aircraft and aircrew from the Zuikaku but in reality they could have taken some of the aircraft and aircrew from the Shokaku which was damaged during the Battle of the Coral Sea.
The Zuikaku had an aircraft capacity of 84 aircraft. Even if they could only muster up 50 planes...the additional landing carrier space would have prevented the IJN from getting caught flat-flooted.
Not having these 3 additional aircraft carriers was huge.
Another point which isn't highlighted enough. The IJN had additional 2 aircraft carriers which stayed closer to Yamamoto's fleet instead of using them in the Battle of Midway. These two carriers were the Zuiho which had 30 aircraft and the smaller Hosho which had 15 aircraft.
With 5 additional aircraft carriers and an additional 177 aircraft there is no way the IJN would have had to switch out their bombs.
Most folks don't realize is that the US Navy had a plane advantage of 360 vs IJN's 248. The US had 127 land based aircraft and 233 carrier aircraft. I don't see how most see this as an "upset".
The IJN has way more screening vessels but again many were not used during the Battle of Midway. The IJN battleships were not put to use effectively. They had a huge advantage of 7-0. Since Yamato and Musashi were very large and slow it's better for them to hit a stationary target like an island. The IJN was afraid to get in close. Had the IJN used their battleships and destroyers to shell Midway Islands then the IJN really needed to only dedicated probably 30 land bombers at most. The rest could be fighters. There is no way the US land based planes could re-land and re-arm under this scenario.
One last night, in order to truly finish off the US carriers then the mindset should have been for its faster destroyers and smaller battleships to chase and surround the US aircraft carriers and to first bomb them with planes and slow them down. The battleships would have shelled the US carriers. The IJN had way more than enough fighters to protect their own vessels.
Revised match up:
Carriers - Japan 9 US 3
Aircraft - Japan 425 US 360 (233 aircraft carrier based and 127 land based planes on Midway.
Battleships - Japan 7 US 0
Heavy Cruisers - Japan 5 (2 extra that were not used and 1 from the Aleutians operations) vs US 7
Light Cruisers - 3 (1 additional not used and 1 from Aleutians) US 1
Destroyers - Japan 17 (5 additional from Aleutians) US 15
Submarines - This is the one area where the US would have had an edge but they were all spread out and couldn’t make a difference.
I have given other scenarios about Midway also. This is the least favorable too for Japan. Other scenarios are where the IJN should have hit Midway islands after attacking Pearl Harbor. Had the IJN done this there is no way the US would have had 127 land based aircraft with a workable runway.
Also had the IJN never further pursued the South Seas, then the Battle of Coral Sea would not have taken place. The IJN could have had both the Shokaku and Zuikaku and Shoho aircraft carriers for the Battle of Midway and the US would have only had the USS Lexington. IJN 11 aircraft carriers vs US 4 .
Planes would have been like 665 for IJN and probably around 400 for the US. US would have had less land based aircraft on Midway but had around 100 or so more from the Lexington and more aircraft available for its other carriers had the Battle of the Coral Sea not take place.
Had the IJN simply use more of what they had available in any scenario then the outcome may have been much different.
@@f430ferrari5 In that conditions, while swimming into American trap, they would have probably just got larger and even more decisive beating.
Piotr Dudała highly doubtful. Explain how. Things just don’t “magically” happen.
If you think Midway was “magical” there is nothing magical fighting a battle with pretty much even numbers of assets or in fact how the US had the advantage in planes 360 vs 248.
Most practical US historians know that the Us would have gotten clobbered had the IJN used the right battle plan. They accordingly purposely avoid the discussion.
It is a great documentary
BBC England has the best ww2 documentary...
Not British program, just the speaker is a British actor
Excellent Documentary. You can't help but admire the brilliant strategy of Admirals Nimitz, Spruance and Fletcher, along with the courage of the US Navy pilots, and all the members of the US Armed Forces who served in the Pacific during WW2.
Pat Buchanan was against World War II.
Wrong. He was against Winston Churchill conniving (his fellow 33 degree Freemason) FDR, to get the US into WW2.
If the US had remained neutral in 1917 there would never have been WW2.
Agreed. There's no doubt about that.
The US wanted a war with Germany and Japan to end the depression caused by the 1928 Wall Street crash.
Excellent! As a surviving military pilot I so very much respect those who went before us! Thanks for the video!
Hard to believe that one little man started this war.
Never under estimate an idiot.
There are many like him willing to listen.
Actually two little men started the war : Stalin and Hitler.
@@raminomelu actually 3 little men started the war, Hirohito, Hitler, Stalin, & Mussolini.
StL Busker I think you stupid. You said 3 and named 4 lmao.
A traditional Americans took over the next 75 years. Starting dumbass wars
Its interesting to learn the details of the battles so thoroughly, usually its just conflicting documentaries on how excellent the genius or talent of the winning side is against overwhelming odds propaganda. Knowing just how close the fights are is enlightening.
Midway was not only most decisive navy battle of WW2: it was actually most decisive battle of WW2. Others, those land battles played relatively smaller role because losing few hundreds of tanks or tens of thousands of mostly bulk infantry soldiers here and there were not crucial. When Japanese lost so many aircraft carriers on sea they knew it well it was impossible to replace those losses fast enough. Those carriers were expensive, took lots of time, material, plans and developments.
+bandwagon22 That is debatable whether it was the most decisive when ranked alongside Stalingrad or Kursk
+bandwagon22
Yes they are decisive, a U-boat uses a lot more steel than a tank but a lot more tanks can be built than one U-boat. Naval war is indeed important but it is on land that wars are won, ships do not conquer territory and occupy enemy capitals. Naval warfare allows for the transportation of troops and suppliers, all that is needed to keep the war on the land going, in short the war at sea is fought to support the war on land as it is on land that the final outcome of the war will be decided
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+likesmilitaryhistory Alan Moore For the fact it was a naval battle and the fact that if the US we not well armed compared the Japanese Navy, Consider it could of been a different battle if the Japanese even had 24 hour notice of the area of US Navy before the battle. There is a another video that states the odds were still long even with the US Navy setting up the battle, if there was no AF notice Midway would of fallen.
+bandwagon22 In my not so humble opinion, there were three decisive battles in WW2. Midway (June 1942). Stalingrad (August 1942-January 1943) and Kursk (July 1943)
+Rory Gallagherfan Midway, yes. But don't forget the Battle of Britain (10 July - 31 October 1940), and the Battle of the Atlantic (esp March-May 1943).
These are old as dirt but man do I love each and every one. Thank you to whoever uploads these so we can watch them. History is very important to me and it's shaped who I am and my priorities. I know so many sacrificed their whole being so we can remain what we as a country evolved into. I don't think some of these newer generation cares past the history test.
I love the in-depth stuff on these. Well put together for what footage they had. Keep em coming.
Once the Japanese naval code was broken, the Japanese were not ambushing the Americans anymore but sailing into an ambush themselves. Winning the battle on military intelligence was so critically important.