Just a moment...

We still would have won the Pacific War. The longer we engaged Japan the more the Japanese would face severe attrition. Case in point is destroying all her aircraft carriers. There was a point in the Pacific War that losses of those ships outstripped Japan's production capabilities. Eventually she lost all her aircraft carriers. The so what is without the carriers Japan could not attack our fleets nor defend her fleets. We owned the sky and the Pacific Region. Without naval air power Japan could not resupply the soldiers in various countries and islands so they atrophied. After we accomplished air superiority, we could focus on the ground war of reclaiming various islands and the Philippines. Once we secured islands then we owned the air and the ground. This was catastrophic for Japan as we progressed closer to Japan.

Interesting. Thanks, @CPT Jack Durish.

I am not enough of an amateur historian to counter the statement that Midway is the second most important battle. Personally, I would reckon Lexington and Concord, and/or Fort Sumter which launched the Revolution and Civil Wars, respectively, Yorktown and/or Saratoga, which were the final and turning points in the Revolution, Ardennes, and D-Day would certainly be worth consideration as rivaling.

But, as I said, I cannot actually refute that claim.

I do, believe, though, that had we lost Midway, it would not have lost the war for us. Ultimately, what decided the war was the bomb. It would have been one HELL of a lot bloodier, fighting a stalling retreating fight across the Pacific. And we may have lost not just Pearl, but all of Hawaii. But I believe we could have stalled long enough to get to the completion of the Manhattan project.

But, as I said, I am only an amateur historian - and not much of one even then.


Either way, great history share.