THE BATTLE of MIDWAY
How with grit, courage and camaraderie, the outnumbered Americans helped turn the tide of WWII...
STILL wounded after World War I and struggling from the Great Depression, America had little interest in getting involved in ‘another European war’ as Nazi Germany started its fascist march across the continent.
That all changed two years later, on Sunday, December 7, 1941, when hundreds of Japanese planes descended on the US naval base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Despite the destruction of the base, eight battleships, 20 other naval vessels and 300 planes, it was the toll of human life that was the real cost in this unexpected attack, with more than 2,400 Americans dying and a further 1,000 wounded.
America could no longer keep its distance and declared war on Japan on December 8. And so the countdown to one of the greatest comebacks in military history began – the Battle of Midway. A heavily depleted US Navy headed into the Battle of Midway outmanned and outgunned by the Japanese – but what they did have was grit, camaraderie and a determination to avenge the men who perished at Pearl Harbor, as well as a greatly underestimated intelligence operation.
That is where Midway, the sweeping spectacle from director Roland Emmerich, starts. The into the tactical orders the navy’s top brass made on the back of cracking Japan’s codes, before strapping them straight into the cockpit of a bomber during the clash between the US Japanese Navy which marked a turning
GUTS AND GLORY
MIDWAY is a story of three parts, pilots striking at the Japanese ‘Dick’ Best, Clarence Dickinson and Bruno Gaido, who bombed four aircraft carriers.
Then there is work of Edwin Layton and Joseph Rochefort, before taking the audience behind the scenes for the orders of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto and
Japanese officers Tamon Yamaguchi, Tomeo Kaki and Chnichi Nagumo.
The Battle of Midway is one of the most fascinating stories of World War Two,' explains producer Harald Moser. `Midway is the event that transformed the war in the Pacific, basically preserving democracy and freedom in the US and the Western world. This was the day freedom was won.'
Midway is a film that not only celebrates the bravery of the men who fought fascism to keep their country safe, but also the intimate and emotional stories behind every war hem.
The Battle of Midway is one of the most fascinating stories of WWII