US Navy Crypto Group and the battle of Midway.
As in any great endeavor, luck did indeed play a role, but Nimitz’s “Incredible Victory” was no
miracle. Gordon Prange, the distinguished historian, noted that “Midway was a positive
American victory not merely the avoidance of defeat.” General George Marshall, the U.S. Army
Chief of Staff, in his comments on the victory, perhaps said it best, “ as a result of Cryptanalysis
we were able to concentrate our limited forces to meet their naval advance on Midway when we
otherwise would have been 3,000 miles out of place.”
In the end, Yamamoto’s worst fears had become a reality. Due to an impressive mix of
leadership, determination and skill on the part of Admiral Nimitz, the officers and men of Station
Hypo, and the pilots soldiers, sailors and marines who carried the fight to the enemy, Japan
would be on the defensive for the rest of the war.
I just finished reading Prange’s book.