Midway From The Japanese Perspective

It's June 4, 1942, the Battle of Midway - a decisive battle of the Pacific War. The Japanese fleet also known as the Kidō Butai prepare to strike the decisive blow to the American fleet. But an unexpected set of events leads to the loss of 3 out of 4 Japanese aircraft carriers. The Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi has a task of changing the course of the battle. Leading the aircraft carrier Hiryū he is to destroy the US ships: Enterprise, Hornet and Yorktown.

00:00 Kidō Butai is on its way to Midway
01:09 Hiryū is attacked by TBF Avengers
02:04 The planes are rearmed to charge Midway
03:01 The Americans are trying to destroy Hiryū
04:26 Zeros desperately try to stop TBD Devastators
05:11 World of Warships
06:05 Kidō Butai is making maneuvers to avoid torpedoes
06:43 SBDs’ severe attack on the Japanese fleet
08:38 The attack has been finished: only Hiryū survives it
09:32 It’s time for a Japanese revenge: dive bombers are on the go
10:10 Wildcats vs Japanese bombers
13:02 Tomonaga’s squadron attacks Yorktown
15:20 American planes bomb Hiryū to her bitter end
16:22 Yamaguchi’s last words to his men
17:33 Captain Kaku and Admiral Yamaguchi face their last sunrise

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[TechLeafRanger]

Midway is the ultimate example of how luck and the fog of war have such a huge impact on the battlefield. This battle plays out as it does because of a series of errors and mistakes on both sides culminates into the eventual outcome. The fact that the one scout plane that WOULD have detected the American carriers was late in launching, that the American planes arrive in the pattern they did, that an American sub draws off a destroyer that would inadvertantly lead the American dive bombers to the carriers, and a dozen other small details all perfectly line up the battle to occur the way it does. Remove a single element and it completely changed the entire outcome.

[Skipjack]

I have been a barber for around 30 years, I only say this because my first job was at a Barbershop that had 3 WW II vets working. My boss had been a machine gunner in the 4th Marine Division, the other was on a destroyer in the South Pacific, and the 3rd was with those Rangers that went up that cliff on D-Day. Bearing in mind that most WW II Veterans were from 63 years old, to 67, and the shop was very popular, we had Vets in there all the time. One of my favorites was a guy named James Olsen, who was a carrier pilot duringvthe war. He was flying Wildcats at first, and was coming back to his carrier during the Coral Sea fight. He told me the carrier (cant recall which, sorry) was on fire. Procedure was to fly around so the gunners could see the stars on your wings, and wouldnt shoot you down. Then "ditch" the plane and hope for rescue! He did, and an hour later someone sent a launch out to get him. He was recovered, then got transferred to the Yorktown and had the same thing happen to him at Midway! He used to say his name was easy to remember because it was thevsame as "Supermans friend, " Jimmy Olsen. He liked to kid around, and told me he was "the worst pilot the Navy ever put in the air." I asked him why, and he said "Because every time id get back to my ship, my plane was on fire, full of holes, etc." He told me he crash 11 planes, either on take off or landing under fire, on rough seas, etc. I said "dont you get in trouble for that?" He said "Hell yes, they put you in another plane and send you right back up!" He flew Wildcats, then Hellcats, then Corsairs, which he loved. He also told me that when the U.S. flyers first got out there, theyd go on patrols, and if they saw some Japanese fighters, theyd start climbing, and go to engage them. He said sometimes, if the Zero pilots saw them coming, they would spread out their flight pattern, and start doing tricks, rolls, etc, just to taunt the Americans before engaging. Crazy stories ive heard from hundreds of war veterans over the years.. Just thought id share his. R.I.P. Jimmy Olsen!

[PBPkitty]

During WWII, my dad flew the PBY Catalina, the US navy's patrol and rescue flying boat. Thanks to this video, I can now understand why he told us kids why he didn't want to be assigned to the torpedo bombers-- they were slow and an easy target. Dad was lucky to survive, so many did not. Respect to all of the fallen on both sides.

[mclary]

That was actually a very good and very well made video of the history behind Midway. Thank you for your expert work

[junibug]

Adding actual photos of the people and ships involved is a great touch and adds a very sombering touch of realism to the video. Excellent job, Yarnhub!

[psychobeam]

Can you do a video on the USS Enterprise? It was the only carrier to survive the entire war in the Pacific theater, saw more action than perhaps any ship today, and the government rewarded the ship with its astounding record by selling it for scrap.

[insomanac]

Spicy fish written on the torpedo is chefs kiss 🤌

[GreenTreeSketch]

Congrats for hitting one million! I think this channel is super underrated and should be at atleast twice its current subscriber count! I have only recently discovered you channel, but you have become one of my favorite channels. The story telling is amazing and better than any other channel out there all while having super clean animations! Congrats!

[THB]

HOLY SHIT CAN’T WAIT! ! ! The Japanese voice actor is GOAT! ! !

[rwarren]

Having watched Midway as made by a studio in Japan, there is no comparison in graphics. But here the writing really told a story. No American point of view lets us think a little differently and in this, your team was superb.

[KC_Smooth]

It’s amazing to me how the difference between a hit and a miss is subtle arm movements on a control column.

[SnackPack]

WW2 has created so many truly unbelievable stories of heroism and atrocities it’s hard to believe it’s actual real history. So many of these stories you could not even think up as an accomplished fiction writer. WW2 is endlessly fascinating. Horrifying but fascinating. God bless all those who served back in the day, you were the best of us, truly the greatest generation.

[jasonjiao]

Yamaguchi addressing his sailors was golden just like the movie. I like how they dedicated a whole minute to it. In the Midway movie and Storm over the Pacific I believe he said this too: "The loss of this battle falls upon your superiors, not you and for this reason I will remain on board" I think they are joined by a third sailor, but he refuses

[marloweelijahpatria]

I love how the scene from the Midwat movie aligns with 8:27

[johnavast]

So the first time I've ever seen any of your videos - I am absolutely amazed! I've never hit the subscribe button faster! I am blown away by this, ! Great work everyone and thank you

[prsm]

That WORLD OF WARSHIPS transition was absolutely insane.... LOL

[BuckScrotumn]

Imagine the feeling of desperately searching for hours for the Japanese fleet until you’re nearly out of fuel and told to turn around, only to accidentally find the entire fleet on your way back. Not only that, but you notice your boys in the other company right over the horizon, who have coincidentally stumbled upon the Japanese fleet at the same time your company has, where you both go on to pull off a victory when morale couldn’t have been lower. I get goosebumps and the hair stands on my neck every time I see a show about Midway.

[robertgoss]

Excellent video! Amid the turmoil that was midway, you fairly reported on both sides, both equally heroic. Nice work

[samanderson]

Even with all the damage that she suffered the Yorktown still didn't sink right away. Even a couple days after the engagement she was under tug and headed back to Pearl to see if she could be repaired, again, since she had been rushed out after suffering damage at the battle of Coral Sea about a month earlier. While under tug and crew onboard working to drop weight (guns, aircraft, ordinance, ect...), and pump water to ease the tugging operation she was hit by two more torpedoes from a Japanese submarine, that same sub also sank the Hammann when it fired its torpedoes at the Yorktown. Still, even after taking heavy damage during the major engagement on June 4th and then getting hit by two more torpedoes in the afternoon on June 6th the Yorktown would stay afloat for 15ish more hours until finally sinking around 0700 on June 7th. Her wreckage was found in 1998 and pictures of it are posted on the internet.

[trinalgalaxy]

The real loss for the japanese that day wasnt the destruction of the Kido Buti, but the loss of so many experienced airmen and the loss of competent leaders. While the material loss was never something the japanese could hope to replace, the personal loss completely crippled the japanese in very short order