Quote:
Originally Posted by m21sniper
The offensive operations the Japanese conducted post Midway were for the mot part aimed at strengthening their defensive perimeter.
The threat to Aus was gone after the Battle of the Coral Sea.
The Hawaiin Islands were never in play, nor would they ever be in play. Japan simply lacked the assets to take them. Every single post war study on the subject has borne this out ( AFAIK).
There was never any real Japanese threat to the West Coast. In retrospect the entire notion was laughable. |
The move down the Solomons was an extension of their empire...a gamble on their part..
Coral Sea did not end the threat to Australia..the move over the Owen Stanley's and a subsequent base on he Australian side of the island would have endangered Australia.
A loss at Midway would have opened the Hawaiian islands up to attack, thus making them a more unstable base of operations. Also the West Coast would have been opened up to Japanese raids...the end result is that the war in the Pacific would not have been the foregone conclusion it was but would have eventually ended the same way only it would have taken longer.