The Battle of Midway was the most important naval battle of World War II's Pacific Theater. Midway is an island northwest of Hawaii and as its name implies, it is halfway between North America and Asia. This island would make a great staging point for Japan as it tried to take over Hawaii. Japan was pushed to acquire bases farther from their homeland after the U.S. launched raids on the Japanese home islands. The U.S. had a base on Midway and the Japanese decided they would sneak up and take out the American fleet while also taking Midway.  This plan was mostly thwarted by U.S. code breakers who learned of the plans and strategy the Japanese would use. The Americans formulated their own plan to combat the Japanese.

The U.S. had three aircraft carriers and the support of their Midway base. The Japanese had four aircraft carriers, but they were smaller than the U.S. carriers. Because the Japanese expected this to be a surprise attack they didn't factor in the size of the U.S. fleet and the strategy that awaits them. The U.S. launched a scout mission to identify where the main fleet was and then launched their attacks. The U.S. sent a squadron of torpedo bombers first, with reported successful hits. Attacks against each other's aircraft carriers were carried out using torpedo bombers and dive bombers from high above. The battle raged on four days and the U.S. prevailed with a smaller, but more skilled, group. The Japanese took a great loss as their four aircraft carriers were destroyed. U.S. casualties were 307, and the Japanese lost 3,057. This battle was called the turning point in the Pacific, and the first major victory against the Japanese. Along with a victory for the U.S. this battle proved the worthiness of "code breaking."