The Battle of Midway in the central Pacific, on the morning of June 4, 1942, marked a dramatic turning point in the Second World War, when Allied forces seized the upper hand from the Axis powers. Lincoln Prize winner Craig Symonds offers an account of the Battle from a global perspective, as well as of the first six months of the war.

• Introduction


• 1. CinCPac


• 2. The Kid? Butai


• 3. The Brownshoe Navy


• 4. American Counterstrike


• 5. Seeking the Decisive Battle


• 6. Pete and Jimmy


• 7. The Codebreakers


• 8. The Coral Sea


• 9. The Eve of Battle


• 10. Opening Act


• 11. Nagumo's Dilemma (4:00 A.M. to 8:30 A.M.)


• 12. The Flight to Nowhere (7:00 A.M. to 11:20 A.M.)


• 13. Attack of the Torpedo Squadrons (8:30 A.M. to 10:20 A.M.)


• 14. The Tipping Point (7:00 A.M. to 10:30 A.M.)


• 15. The Japanese Counterstrike (11:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.)


• 16. Denouement


• Epilogue

Craig L. Symonds is Professor of History Emeritus at the United States Naval Academy. He is the author of many books on American naval history, including Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles That Shaped American History as well as Lincoln and His Admirals, co-winner of the Lincoln Prize in 2009.