After the Battle of Coral Sea and the Doolittle Raids, Yamamoto and his Japanese forces were ready to plan an attack on the U.S. Their plan included a surprise attack of U.S. naval forces and air base on the Midway Islands. Unfortunately for the Japanese, the U.S. Intelligence Service intercepted and deciphered the Japanese radio code which contained their plan for the attack at Midway. When the Japanese sent out a submarine reconnaissance, it arrived to late and failed to ambush the American fleet. Also the Japanese were not aware that the U.S. had more than two carriers because they believed one had been destroyed at Coral Sea. These failures led the Japanese into a tough situation in the Pacific.
The Tactics
Under Yamamoto, the Japanese forces were divided into three main groups: four big carries, the battle fleet, and the invasion force. Yamamoto believed that the U.S. troops had been demoralized due to their frequent defeats and was confident that he could defeat them once again. He began planning an attack and dispersed the Japanese ships in order to prevent American interference. However, Yamamoto and his troops were unaware that the U.S. troops had interfered their naval codes and were preparing to stop the Japanese and fight back. When the U.S. found out about the Japanese plans to attack Midway, they began getting troops together under Admiral Nimitz. Nimitz realized the need for every available U.S. ship and plane and began calling for all available equipment immediately. Under Nimitz, the air units on Midway were reinforced and the carriers were positioned to ambush Japanese carriers.