[painter]

Based on the Japanese naval performance in World War I, the Japanese would have probably run after they rendered the German ship a wreck.

If Nagumo(sp) and Halsey had traded places we would have lost the war in the Pacific.

[TalonDJ]

“If Nagumo(sp) and Halsey had traded places we would have lost the war in the Pacific.”

No possible chance of that.

We cancelled more battleships at the end of the war than all the battle ships Japan ever made. We built more carriers during the war than every other country ever, put together.

[bus man]

If Nagumo(sp) and Halsey had traded places we would have lost the war in the Pacific.

Conversely, if Halsey had been in command of Task Force 16 at Midway, instead of Spruance, we would have lost that battle. Having attained complete air superiority by knocking out all four of the Japanese fleet carriers, there's no way Halsey could have resisted charging after the IJN surface fleet. This, of course, is exactly what Nagumo was hoping he would do. Our planes were grounded at night, and the dark silhouettes of the Enterprise and Hornet would have been easy targets for the Japanese battleships, cruisers, and destroyers that were out looking for them. Spruance did exactly the right thing by withdrawing during the night and then charging back after them the next morning, once his planes could go aloft again.

Halsey was a great leader, and he played an indispensable role in winning the Pacific War. But I believe that Spruance was the better admiral.