4 June in military history: Battle of Midway, 1942

Quick answer

On 4 June 1942, off Midway Atoll in the central Pacific, American carrier dive bombers set three Japanese carriers, Akagi, Kaga and Soryu, ablaze within minutes, and that afternoon wrecked the fourth, Hiryu, whose planes had crippled USS Yorktown. Japan called off the invasion of Midway. In 1940 Operation Dynamo ended at Dunkirk.

The Battle of Midway, 1942: five minutes that turned the Pacific

4 to 7 June 1942 · 84 years ago

The US won Midway in June 1942: dive bombers wrecked three Japanese carriers in about five minutes, and all four were lost for one US carrier. With maps.

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The Brusilov Offensive, 1916: Russia's greatest victory of World War I

4 June 1916 · 110 years ago

General Brusilov's Russian armies launched a vast offensive against the Central Powers in Galicia and Volhynia on the Eastern Front. It became Russia's greatest success of the war and a deep crisis for Austria-Hungary, at a huge cost in lives.

Read the full story of The Brusilov Offensive, 1916: Russia's greatest victory of World War I ›

Frequently asked questions

How did the Americans know that the target was Midway?

American codebreakers had read enough of the Japanese signals to know that the blow, aimed at a target the Japanese orders called "AF", would fall at Midway, so the US carriers were waiting east of the island.

Did the dive bombers sink three carriers in one morning?

They set Akagi, Kaga and Soryu on fire within minutes that morning, and Hiryu that afternoon. All four carriers were lost.

What did the United States lose at Midway?

The carrier Yorktown, the destroyer Hammann and some 144 to 150 aircraft. Counts of the American dead run from 307 to about 362.

What did Japan lose at Midway?

Four carriers, a heavy cruiser and hundreds of aircraft. Estimates of the Japanese dead run from about 3,057 to 4,800.

What happened at Dunkirk on 4 June 1940?

Operation Dynamo ended, and Churchill told the House of Commons that the Navy had carried over 335,000 men to safety, warning that "Wars are not won by evacuations".