Carrier-launched naval aircraft began and ended the opening phase of the Pacific war. The Midway campaign chronicles the rise of this new military combination before and during World War II, clearly identifying those commanders on both sides who failed to see the significance of this new arm and giving due recognition to those who saw its possibilities. In the early months of the war, vigorous and seemingly invincible Japanese forces quickly overran Britain’s and America's obsolete colonial garrisons. The Midway campaign nonetheless shows how Japan’s own miscalculations and faulty preparations laid the groundwork for her eventual defeat. -- From the book jacket.

List of maps : a sense of proportion ; Pearl Harbor ; Pearl Harbor on eve of attack ; The initial attack ; Midway operations ; the advance South ; Japanese frontline, January- February 1942 ; The fast carrier raids ; Japanese frontline, March- April 1942 ; Coral sea, 0800 5 May ; Coral sea, 0800 7 May ; coral sea 1600 7 May ; Japanese front line, end of June 1942 ; December 1942.

The Japanese situation -- The American situation -- The Commonwealth situation -- Air raid Pearl Harbor -- The fall of the Philippines -- The Malayan campaign -- The fall of Guam, Rabaul and Wake -- The fall of the Indies -- Burma and the Indian Ocean raid -- The early carrier raids -- The Battle of the Coral Sea -- Midway, the turning point.