At Midway, Fletcher carried the long history of the United States to its finest hour
Generations shall pass, and the world will remember the courage of Chester Nimitz, the man who sent his small fleet to Midway, against all opinions. His notable decision, really illuminated the logistic and strategic level, perpetuating, in one stroke, the brilliant qualities of the great commander that he, no doubt, was. But “the days of Midway” – owed to Nimitz – are in history today, thanks to Fletcher.
At 1530 on June 2nd, 1942, Frank Jack Fletcher became Commander of the Carrier Striking Force as Senior Officer Present Afloat and Officer in Tactical Command with authority over three carriers and their escorts. In his first decision, Fletcher ordered Spruance’s Task Force 16 (carriers Enterprise and Hornet) to keep operating ten miles south of his own position on board carrier Yorktown (TF17). Thereby began a masterpiece of strategy and leadership, very few times equaled throughout military history.
The inspiration of this admiral and his skill in the course of the command made the United States win in the Pacific. In fact, also effectively and in a single day, the Second World War. It’s the commander who wins a battle, because he’s the only one who can lose it. He makes the decisions, and his these are the ones that win or lose the battle.
Fletcher won the Battle of Midway because his decisions were the correct ones.
Even when surrounded by news that spoke of victory, his sense of potential danger showed his strategic nature and his hierarchy for combat command. A demonstration of devotion and responsibility in searching and tapping each and every possibility for victory, even amidst very harsh circumstances. No other naval battle in the twentieth century could match the accuracy of analysis, the correct judgment in the decision and the opportunity in execution that Fletcher showed at Midway.
Moreover, Fletcher began to win the Battle of Midway when he left Shokaku damaged and Zuikaku without planes and pilots at Coral Sea. So, Nimitz created the Battle of Midway, but Fletcher won it. Nimitz said in his battle report: “The whole situation was a most difficult one, requiring the most delicate timing on the part of our carriers”. When Nimitz pinned Fletcher with the Distinguished Services Medal and the star that made him a vice admiral, he could have repeated the same concept that he had transmitted to King in a letter:
“I wish to retain him (you) as a Task Force commander for the future”
Frank Jack Fletcher was Senior Officer Present at the carrier battle of Coral Sea, and Senior Officer Present and Officer in Tactical Command at carrier battles of Midway and Eastern Solomon Islands. Even though he faced the most unfavorable circumstances, always as the under dog, he was the most successful combat commander in the American Navy in all its history, and in all the world history since Trafalgar.
He obligued the Japanese Fleet and its invasion forces to retreat at these three battles, sinking six of the enemy carriers, including four big carriers of the six that had attacked Pearl Harbor. His cost was only two carriers. No other commander in history destroyed so many carriers in all history. These were 60% of all carrier battles in history
He was the real victor at Midway, despite Samuel Morison’s wrong conclusions, who generated confusion in all the people together with many historians. He wrongly gave the merit of that victory to the notable admiral Raymond Ames Spruance, who was a great commander, but not at Midway.
Spruance’s TF16 made several serious mistakes in that battle which cost carrier Yorktown
He recognized this in his battle report He also recognized Fletcher's merit as the victor in a letter to him. At Midway, Fletcher spelled out the objective of the Carrier Striking Force and constantly structured the situation to ease the tactical process for Spruance and TF17 flyers. He made them focus on the attack of the enemy carriers. He separated his own to prevent a simultaneous attack. His timing had been perfect when he flawlessly evaluated the evolution of probability of an attack on Midway.
His decision in placing the fleet at 200 miles northward
of Midway, to start the battle from there, was excellent.
Moreover, he managed the situation incredibly well when scouts failed and only spotted two of the enemy carriers. At 0607, through an order rarely seen in war history, he separated his two task forces without ever losing control. During one hundred minutes, while planes of TF16 were flying to the target, his flagship’s planes were the only reserve the fleet had. However, they participated, together with those of the main attack, showing an unparalleled management of reserves. He was the OTC at the time the first three enemy carriers were destroyed. He was the OTC when he sent ten scouts to search for the fourth and they found it. And he was the OTC when the last flight of his dive bombers at day 4th destroyed Hiryu, the last of the enemy big carriers there. The sinking of the Hiryu was the doing of fourteen planes originally from Yorktown and of ten ones from Enterprise. According to some authors, he had given the order, already from cruiser Astoria.
Tactically wise, it only took him thirty five planes to sink
Soryu, for he could anticipate the moves of the enemy.
Spruance needed one hundred and twenty one planes to sink Kaga and Akagi, because TF16 didn’t foresee Nagumo’s possible change of course, and so sending the attack to a wrong position. The combined management of the entire force by Fletcher, until June 4th at sundown (about 1800) was inspired and timely. But the crucial point of the victory was the decision to keep the carriers separated. The consequence of operating in this fashion were, simply put, victory in battle, victory in war.
By destroying Japan’s offensive capacity Fletcher enabled the Allies to concentrate their efforts on the North of Africa, thus eliminating a serious strategic threat. It also enabled them to go to Guadalcanal to destroy the enemy’s intentions in Australia once and for all.
Midway was the battle of a thousand fathers, that of the forgotten victor, the one that got the “hinge of fate” going. Masterpiece of nerves, brain and intuition in command, and unforgettable gem of courage, astuteness and heroism, guided the darkest, cruelest hour of America (and humanity) in its notable turning point.
A turning point in a much bigger one: “the Second World War”.
The War of the Pacific, even though it extended for more than three years, was over on June 4th, 1942. It was the saddest day in the history of Japan. Midway wasn’t only its first defeat in hundreds of years but also, literally, a catastrophe. It was their Waterloo. And like Waterloo, doubly distressing because with victory practically in their hands, suddenly they were defeated.
If Winston Churchill hadn’t come up with that famous phrase the day Great Britain was left alone in front of Hitler, he could have well said when he found out: “If the United States lasts for a thousand years, men will still say: Midway’s was their finest hour”.
Fletcher never received the fifth star. And he didn’t need it.
“MIDWAY WAS HIS FIFTH STAR”
The public starts to look towards Fletcher...
According to important search engines, there are more than 20,000 sites to which you arrive by searching for “Admiral Fletcher”.
Not long ago, they were a few hundred.
There are more than 700,000 sites looking for “Battle of Midway”
Not long ago, this was not possibly to be thought.
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