Famous Texans: Fleet Admiral Nimitz

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz is best known for his plan for the defeat of the Japanese eet at the battle of Midway, June 3 to 7, 1942. Midway was a naval carrier air force battle where the combating ships were never in sight of each other. e entire battle was carried out by naval aviation of both sides. e U. S. Navy broke the back of the Japanese Navy by sinking four of their 10 carriers. It was sweet revenge as these were four of the six that had brought airplanes to the attack on Pearl Harbor. e American Navy lost only one carrier, the USS Yorktown and one destroyer the USS Hammann. e battle was set up by an intelligence unit that broke the Japanese naval code. Once Admiral Nimitz knew where and when the Japanese planned to strike he set in motion a plan to trap their naval forces. His plan created the false impression that the U. S. carriers were hundreds of miles away and not a threat to them. Although Army Intelligence had a di erent take on much of the same information and had concluded the main attack would be in the Alaskan Aleutians islands. However, Nimitz was convinced the Alaskan move was a feint and he was correct. Chester Nimitz was born in Fredericksburg, Texas, Feb. 24, 1885. His father Chester Bernhard Nimitz died six months earlier due to rheumatic fever. His mother, Anna Josephine Henke Nimitz moved in with her husband’s parents.

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