Control of Midway island was part of the Japanese navy’s plan to dominate the Pacific. American codebreakers had other ideas.

NEW: WW2 bomb explodes at a Japanese airport ... the U.S. was given free rein to wage a massive bombing campaign to force Japan to surrender. The strategic bombing campaign was one of the largest ...

Undeterred, the U.S. Navy’s Task Force 38 prepared a devastating follow-up campaign, aiming to obliterate Japan’s remaining naval strength in the summer assaults that would soon follow.