Midway 1942: Turning Point in the Pacific (Campaign) [Paperback]

Mark Healy (Author)

Book Description

Series: Campaign | Publication Date: January 27, 1994

Osprey's Campaign title for one of the most important naval battles in the history of World War II (1939-1945), Midway, which was fought barely six months after the devastating Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The badly damaged USS Yorktown was repaired in just 48 hours and with Enterprise and Hornet set out to meet the Japanese. In a battle marked by great heroism on both sides the United States dealt a devastating blow to the Imperial Japanese Fleet sinking four of her most powerful carriers. In this superbly illustrated volume Mark Healy tells the whole story; espionage, daring, luck and extreme heroism. A fascinating read supplemented by genuine photographs of the battle in progress.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Highly visual guides to history's greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, tactics, and experiences of the opposing forces throughout each campaign, and concluding with a guide to the battlefields today.

About the Author

Mark Healy was born in 1953. He has a Master’s degree in Political Theology from Bristol University. He is by profession a schoolteacher and is head of the Humanities faculty in a large school in Somerset. He has written a number of Osprey titles including Elite 40 New Kingdom Egypt and Campaign 16 Kursk 1943.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (January 27, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855323354
• ISBN-13: 978-1855323353
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #966,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good overview, but poorly detailed., November 2, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Midway 1942: Turning Point in the Pacific (Campaign) (Paperback)

Midway 1942 provides an acceptable overview of the battlebut some of the illustrations are improperly captioned,the author also duplicates some charts for no apparent reason. He also confuses unti designations making it hard to interpret the details he provides. On the positive side this book provides many good pictures and diagrams of Japanese ships and aircraft.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Editing Could Have Been Better, March 11, 2010

By 

NL31532669 "N" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midway 1942: Turning Point in the Pacific (Campaign) (Paperback)

I picked up this book with the goal of learning more about the details of the Battle of Midway (which I knew little about). The book generally does so, however, having read the book in its entirety and (as of recent weeks) other books about Midway, some criticisms on Healy's book are noted. The aircraft loss numbers he presents do not always agree. The index is not sufficient, even for simple, obvious subjects. The tables presented disagree with the actual text at times. There are more typos in the text than should be allowed. The many abbreviations presented are not compiled in a list which makes it confusing for the beginner. Also, even though this is an introductory study, the opening chapters do assume a certain degree of knowledge on the reader. This book also follows a common trend in Midway histories--it tells the Japanese side but only as the story of an epic and (typically) inevitable failure. The images/maps/diagrams are beautiful but I found the legends to be somewhat lacking. Also, at least one map runs into the crease which just isn't nice on the reader.

Overall, this does not take away from my esteem for Osprey books. Looking back, I just wish that they did better with editing on this one. I still would recommend it as an introduction to Midway.

3.0 out of 5 stars The Good outweighs the Bad, July 16, 2010

By 

Dave Schranck "Dave" (Anaheim Ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Midway 1942: Turning Point in the Pacific (Campaign) (Paperback)

The book begins with the Doolittle Raid on Japan in April of 1942 and the subsequent debate on how Japan would retaliate and safeguard her homelands from further incursions as well as to keep her momentum going. Among the alternatives, Adm Yamamoto's invasion of Midway was chosen as the best candidate to achieve both concerns. It would reduce American influence in the Pacific, give Japan control of an important strongpoint in the Central Pacific with an existing airfield and if Pearl ever wanted to be invaded, Midway, though small, would be a good launch or control point. The author also discusses the US intelligence coup of breaking the Japanese code and uncovering the plans for the Midway invasion which allowed Adm Nimitz to prepare for it which included the miraculous refit of Yorktown. Without this intelligence, it would be safe to assume Midway would have fallen and the bulk of the Japanese Fleet would have survived. It was also pointed out how little intelligence the Japanese had on the US Fleet and this lack of knowledge would prove to be a huge hindrance to the Japanese when it was time to launch on June 4th.

Though this first chapter was interesting, its length will take away from the planning stage of the book which was too brief. The American side was especially too brief. The Japanese plan developed by Yamamoto was not comprehensive but adequate. It describes the diversionary attack on the Aleutian Islands to draw the US fleet out of Pearl Harbor as well as the deployment of Yamamoto's different fleets and their respective responsibilities.

In the Opposing Commander chapter the top brass of both sides are discussed. On the Japanese side Yamamoto, Nagumo, Nagano and Yamaguchi while on the American side Nimitz, Fletcher, Suprance and Halsey are covered. The coverage is good but no one under these commanders were covered.
In Opposing Forces, the carriers and planes that will take part in this pivotal battle are described with easy to follow tables included. Orders of Battle are included for the various Japanese fleets as well as TF 16, TF 17 for the American side.

The actual battle coverage begins on page 40 and includes the attack on the Aleutian Islands at Dutch Harbor, Attu and Kiska. The next day, June 4th, Yamamoto attacks Midway and the two fleets begin their search and destroy missions. For an Osprey Campaign, this battle coverage was good and easy to follow. It includes the time sequence of events that were so critical to the US victory as well as the descriptions of the brave assaults of the pilots in their various planes and the sinking of the carriers.

To help with the story, five 2-D maps and three 3-D maps are included. The first 2-D map is a large scale map of the western Pacific that includes the Aleutian Islands in the north and the northern tip of Australia in the south and shows the route taken by the Japanese to their intended targets as well as the sphere of Japanese occupation. The remaining four 2-D maps show the different carrier battles. The three 3-D maps show the attack on Midway Island, the sinking of the Atagi and the Yorktown. All the maps were good but the 3-D maps also contain crib notes that will help the reader follow the action.

As Aftermath explains, this was a monumental event with far reaching impact for the rest of the war for both sides. The US fleet, going up against a far superior force, was wagering its only three Pacific carriers that could potentially had grave consequences. The US prevailed and the Japanese Fleet lost four carriers that day and would never recover from the lost. Wargaming and a suggested Reading List is also included.

Even with the miscues, the book with its great photos, many illustrations and good narrative of the individual sinkings of the carriers, decent maps and an excellent three page Chronology with minute by minute accounts would still make a good introduction.