Because the Japanese blinked. They lost a light carrier, We lost a heavey carrier Lexington and had Yorktown badly damaged and nearly missed Midway due to the damage. They got cold feat and pulled back. GOD helped us out at Coral Sea. IMO
A tactical draw; a strategic victory because the Japanese fleet turned tail and ran.
Midway was the turning point for two big reasons. We killed or crippled four Japanese carriers;and we knew we had broken their code which eventually enabled us to read their messages in real time.
A very fascinating and historical battle.
2 comments
1. Some of the Kiwis and Aussies get angry if you try and take too much credit for the USN. One guy got angry with me for writing about our (strategic) victory, he said I was not giving the RN enough credit. so I searched it. Out of the entire task force I think there was ONE RN light cruiser that actually saw some action and 2 others as support out of 21. Sure it helped but…2 cruisers and a destroyer in THAT battle didn’t have too much to do.
2. I knew it was the first naval battle where the opposing ships never saw each other but One thing I did not know until recently is how close the IJN and USN —-sorry ALLIED navies came to each other. At night they passed by each other just a few miles away in the dark at least once and maybe twice.
Apparently our radar was not very good at that date to pick up surface ships amongst islands and clouds etc.
Naval History ping
Serious men doing serious work. God Bless them All.
There were lots of “turning points”, Coral sea being one of them. But for me, still, the biggest one was Midway. All we really had to do was make this a “time consuming” war, giving us the time to beat the axis with our manufacturing might. Once the timeline got extended, neither Germany nor Japan had a chance.
And they knew they had to win fast. Actually, not “win”, but get us to negotiate a peace.
If there are any here that are not yet aware of it, I highly recommend this Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOperationsRoom
There are a couple of others as well, but this will get you started. I discovered it when I was recovering from heart surgery two years ago. I’ve seen all of the WWII ones (most multiple times) and many of the WWI ones. Really well done
One of the other ones: https://www.youtube.com/@KingsandGenerals
The “after guadalcanal” one is a personal favorite.
Another great channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB5hH3ksvKE
Ian Toll has a great trilogy regarding the Pacific Front from before Pearl Harbor all the way through to the dropping of the bomb and surrender. It was touch and go for a while there in 1942. Coral Sea delayed Japanese plans to invade New Guinea so in that respect, it was a victory. US forces did get mauled.
I recommend the audio book series. Granted its some $30 per book for the trilogy, but well worth the money and understanding you will get from all the nuances of the war. From the actions of the Navy, to the Marines to the Army. I have listened to this trilogy over and over and always pick up something new each time...
Nonsensical historical revisionism...
The Japs duked it out to a Mexican standoff...
The real significance was saving Australia from a pending invasion...
Also, it was the first naval battle in history fought over the horizon by air...
If you want “monumental” and “turning point”, there is just one clear American victory: Midway!
Guadalcanal was the so-called “turning point” of the Pacific War.
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The key to victory at Midway were the lessons learned at Coral Sea.
My Dad was there on the USS Perkins DD 377.
I was visiting my dad in 2008. He was 86 at the time. Came down stairs for morning coffee and he was sitting at his usual seat lost is deep thought. I asked what was on his mind. He replied “a question I never asked, and an answer I will never know. He continued, I had been aboard USS Yorktown for two years. My GQ stations had always been In Repair 5 as a hose handler on #2 hose team. The day before the Battle of the Coral Sea, I had the morning watch in the engine room (my dad was a machines mate striker) Go to the foot of the ladder in the space and the division Chief was there. He said “Kelley, next GQ you will be on the lower level of the engine room.” Aye, Aye, Chief, next GQ lower level of the engine room. I wondered why the chief had changed my GQ station. But in those days you did not as a Chief “why”, you just did as the man told you to do. Next day GQ early, the Battle of the Coral Sea was on. Nothing much that day, some sharp maneuvering to avoid Jap bombs, but no hits. Next Day, GQ, early in the afternoon, we felt a sharp shudder in the ship. Word came down, we have been hit, check for damage. I checked the lower level and reported no damage. A few minutes later we heard Repair 5 had been hit. Later on, we learned a Jap 500 lb. bomb had pierced the flight and hanger decks, exploding in Repair 5 area. Most of those men were killed. The fireman that replaced me on the hose team was dead. As I would have been, if the Chief had not changed my GQ station. I never asked “why” he changed my GQ station, and I will never know.” But he saved my life, by doing so. My dad was on Yorktown when it sank. Spent the rest of the war on USS West Virginia. He died 2010.
Midway was just that - a needed staging point to prosecute the war effort across the huge area of the Pacific Ocean. Carriers would not have been enough IMHO.