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4/5 ⭐s | Good narrative but with omissions of Midway battle plan

Mr. Symonds produced a solid account of Nimitz’s leadership through four years of war, and shows how FDR was rewarded with his confidence in Nimitz when he told him: Get out to Pearl Harbor and don’t come back until the war is won.

However, there is no description of crucial elements of the Midway battle plan formulated by Nimitz. Early authors such as Samuel Eliot Morison, Richard Bates and E. B. Potter, who had the opportunity to interview battle participants during and after the war, acknowledged the plan in their writings. Adm Fletcher also details it in his after-action report of June 15, 1942.

The battle plan formulated by Admiral Nimitz called for the Pacific Fleet carriers to approach the Japanese carrier fleet under cover of morning darkness on June 4 and be 200 miles directly north of Midway at 0600. This position would allow a simultaneous attack on the Japanese carrier fleet with planes from Midway in a concentration of force while half the Japanese total air complement was away attacking defenses on Midway. Execution of the plan could have produced a victory by 0800-0815. The plan failed when the Pacific Fleet carriers engaged in unplanned scouting and were out of range at the appointed time. Over three hours, scattered, piecemeal attacks against the Japanese all failed, and the Japanese, after a series of serious misjudgments, finally were preparing to launch a devastating attack on the Pacific Fleet carriers at 1045. However, three Pacific Fleet squadrons of dive bombers managed to find the Japanese carriers at 1025. The rest is history.

Admiral Nimitz has never been given credit for a brilliant battle plan that probably would have produced an early victory with minimal losses. Even when victory was achieved in a last-minute hail-Mary attack no one was going to complain about not following the Nimitz plan, least of all Nimitz. Consequently, the battle plan has been overlooked until now. Full details of the Nimitz battle plan is contained in Diplomats & Admirals, 407 pages, Aubrey Publishing Co., New York, Dec., 2022.

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