General Information

The empire of Japan launched its forces in Operation MO to take over Port Moresby as the beginning to a major campaign to conquer Australia. The invasion force was supposed to land on the island of Tulagi on May 3rd and at Port Moresby on May 10th. The fleet carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku (which had just participated in the bombings on Pearl Harbor) were to provide air cover, with additional planes coming from land bases. However the Americans were reading the Japanese communications and had the carriers Lexington and Yorktown waiting in the area. The ships stayed far apart and never saw each other. The two naval forces attacked each other with carrier planes in attempts to drive each other away. Miscommunications and navigation errors led to several ships being mistaken for carriers and sunk. Furthermore, the Americans had Admiral Halsey with an additional carrier group steaming south from the Doolittle Raid. While he arrived too late to take part in the fighting, his presence affected the decisions of the commanders. Even though the Japanese sank more ships, the losses they suffered forced them to withdraw the invasion forces. The damage to the Japanese fleet carriers changed the outcome of the battle of Midway and ultimately changed the balance of power in the Pacific.

This battle greatly changed the fortunes of the war and revived the sagging Allied fortunes in the war. Previously when Allied and Imperial forces engaged, the Allies had performed miserably. This battle was different. The Americans withstood the onslaught of the Japanese fleet and showed that this war would not be dominated by the Japanese. This battle also greatly changed the way that future naval engagements would be fought. For the first time in history two naval forces engaged each other while remaining over the horizon using naval aviation to engage the enemy. No longer was the battleship the center piece of the naval group. The aircraft carrier emerged as the dominant vessel. The damage suffered to the Japanese carriers forced them to withdraw to ports on the Japanese home islands for the next several months for repairs. They would not be able to join the other Japanese carrier groups in the pivotal battle of Midway. i n the engagement at Midway crippling the Japanese forces there. The Japanese erroneously thought they had sank both American carriers Yorktown and Lexington at the Battle of the Coral Sea. However, only the Lexington had gone to the bottom. The Yorktown heavily damaged, managed to escape north. After a quick refit at Pearl Harbor it surprised the Japanese at the Battle of Midway.

Objectives

Japanese:

1.) Conquer Port Moresby as precursor to invasion of Australia
2.) Draw the American Fleet out so they would be out of place for the invasion of Midway
3.) Establish control over the Solomon Islands

American:

1.) Stop the Japanese at all costs
2.) Reverse Japanese momentum

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