The Battle of Midway - Myths, Legends and Greatness (with Jon Parshall)

[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@jamessumpter2199]

With which battleship class was there the greatest difference in combat capability at time of commissioning between the lead ship, and the last ship of the class?

[@blogsblogs2348]

Possible cruisers armed with the superb 9.2 inch gun if Washington treaty had not destroyed the heavily armed cruiser concept... also the truely awesome 9.2 inch battery in gib

[@rossmcgregor7938]

You've mentioned previously that the Bismarck Class' design was lacking in some aspects. I've heard of the flawed 3 prop design, but what else made those ships not as great as they could've been?

[@ph89787]

Had Stanhope Ring and the rest of Hornet’s air group followed John Waldron and VT-8. What are the chances of them inflicting some form of damage to the Kido Butai and how would it affect the rest of the battle?

[@s.31.l50]

@@ph89787 If I’m guessing, Hiryu probably wouldn’t have made the strike on Yorktown

[@lukeueda-sarson6732]

My compliments to Parshall for being such a good interviewee.

[@raygiordano1045]

Drach is a good interviewer too, letting Parshall talk, but adding interesting stuff too, as well as asking great questions.

[@hisdadjames4876]

Like Admiral Fletcher, we have two guys here who don’t let their own egos stand in the way of achieving overall success. 👏👏👏

[@peterdrieen6852]

It's easy to see that he's talking about what's his passion - and I enjoy listening to both of them, too.

[@AdamMGTF]

Great to see an American expert on midway that doesn't imply that the outnumbered American eagles, used the national anthem as a super power, to wipe out the hordes of Japanese. Before finishing the last of the bad guys by hitting them over the head with miniature replicas of the statue of liberty. I'm buying his book. Bravo

[@ajalvarez3111]

@@AdamMGTF Waaaaaaah! Try a pacifier.

[@reaperking2121]

Some channels pump out ten minute click biat garbage every day that is both uninspired, not funny and not educational. Then you have drach who makes 1 hours mini docus weekly that are all of the above plus more. I don't think I will ever regret my subscription for this channel or the fact I hit the bell on it. Thank you drach for the great content.

[@SlavicCelery]

I'm pretty sure it's partly due to the fact that history channels used to do stuff closer to this....and then they turned into reality tv generators. So people have created this amazing community in response! Love all of their efforts.

[@RCAvhstape]

@@SlavicCelery Even in its heyday History Channel was never this good. There was always filler and recap BS to make sure the whole thing could make it an hour in length, which was really only about 45 min after commercial breaks. Drach actually has to work to keep things from getting too long and nobody here complains when it runs long. I really get tired of all the comparisons of Drach and Mark Felton to History Channel. HC was always bush league compared to these guys.

[@SlavicCelery]

@@RCAvhstape Oh they're much better. But don't underestimate the power of nostalgia. I was around 10 when it rolled out. So, for a history loving kid... it was pretty awesome. I have since gone back and watched that stuff and it's not as good as I remember, but lowest common denominator.

[@RCAvhstape]

@@SlavicCelery Some of the stuff that used to be on public TV holds up, like Secrets of the Dead and Frontline.

[@danielbackley9301]

@@RCAvhstape ABSOLUTE TRUTH

[@hmskinggeorgev7089]

On a Side note about carriers, today marks the 80th anniversary of HMS Ark Royal's swordfish attack against Bismarck.

[@Maritimesgestein]

Yes the fairey swordfish the best naval strike aircraft to ever get built.

[@blogsblogs2348]

Hurrah .... Stringbags TSR0 vs a truely flawed BB... TSR0 wins... well done for the forces of light...

[@s.31.l50]

@@Maritimesgestein Laughs in SBD

[@frankbarnwell____]

Reading about the sea state they flew off the deck makes me wooooh... Splat

[@bigblue6917]

I saw one some years ago and I was surprised how big the Swordfish is in real life. I was so impressed I went out and bought the Airfix model.

[@wyatthawthorne9541]

Montemayor does Midway from the Japanese perspective including the fog of War it is a little like three parts and over 2 hours long. Would recommend.

[@bandit6272]

Seconded. Montemayor does good work

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

Drach with Parshall?! This is awesome; Drach has been killing it with a bunch of great guests recently. I remember reading Shattered Sword when I it came out (many years ago now).

[@PalleRasmussen]

I did this, and I could not be happier to see it succeed 😁

[@sse_weston4138]

@Nihil Patel Same here, took ages to deliver by mail but its also one of my favorites now too!

[@1987palerider]

I have the Craig Symonds book that Parshall talks about. It's pretty good. Been meanin to snag a copy of Shattered Sword

[@jonparshall]

@@PalleRasmussen Yeah, I appreciate you getting us in touch with each other, Palle; that was great of you!

[@PalleRasmussen]

@@jonparshall it was its own reward. You are exceptionally nice and a great historian, Drachinifel seems very nice too, and is also doing great historical research/propagation. It seemed logical to me that you two should do something together, and that you would both hopefully benefit from it as you deserve. It makes me feel good that it worked.

[@jimreilly917]

I love that Drach asks the questions THEN SHUTS HIS MOUTH. Parshall is amazing to just listen to. And the questions asked were intelligent and succinct. SUBSCRIBED.

[@sundiver137]

After a bit it's more of a dialogue than an interview. Alex lets Jon talk and then asks questions based on Jon's earlier answers.

[@kennethdeanmiller7324]

​@sundivxqqqqqqqqźer137 Yes, but that was after the pre-planned questions had been asked & answered. And the dialog was actually about how & why Fletcher got a bad rep cuz of Richmond Kelly Turner blaming everyone but himself for the annihilation of the cruiser force at Guadal Canal. IMHO he should have taken the Cruisers & all of the other ships out of harms way as well so everyone could get some rest. Being on high alert for 48 hours means that no one has gotten any rest in 2 days. And if they were going to be on the coast of Guadal Canal they definitely needed to be on high alert! Rabaul was NOT very far away and was considered too large of a stronghold for the USA to attack so early in the war. Although MacArthur wanted to go after Rebaul first thing Nimitz & King shot that down as too heavily defended. The Navy had better reconnaissance & Intel in the Pacific than the Army had. And Nimitz wanted to start off with something smaller & less heavily defended, in which Guadal Canal fit that role perfectly.

[@txtifosi]

I helped Tony Tully by proof reading several chapters of Sword. I’m so thrilled to see how timeless Sword is.

[@arsenal-slr9552]

It's legendary! Great work!

[@Paciat]

How can you tell its timeless if it is about events that happened less than 80 years ago?

[@txtifosi]

@@Paciat I’d say because it came out in 05 and is still required reading at USNWC.

[@Paciat]

@@txtifosi Sure. It must be timeless if so much quality historian work supported with tons of data. Cause it sometimes takes a decade to go thru everything that was written. The best history books about the eastern front were written after Russia opened their archives (40% of 1941-1945 history in witch they were loosing). So the part of Western written history is completely based on German accounts. (History was written by the losers) This makes me skeptic to books written in the XX-th century. But a 2005 book used by USNWC must be good.

[@davidtuttle7556]

Just started working my way through Shattered Sword. Interesting take thus far on Yamamoto as a organizational leader.

[@marcscott2229]

Flecther was important in the early years. He was fighting a defensive war. Stop or slow the Japaense offensive while keeping the fleet intact. The latter, at that point being extremely important (as we were outgunned). Halsey was important for his ability to fast strike raids. In and of themselves they didn't do much, but they learned a lot that would aid them in developing tactis for the coming offensive to push them back. Later in the war, Fletcher became less important. Halsey became front and center as, being the Patton of Pacific, his "attack, attack, and attack some more" attitude worked well on offensive as the navy was getting new ships online almost daily. But it was Fletcher who got us there, stopped the Japanese in their tracks, and kept the fleet as intact as possible to fight another day. It's so much a mater of who was the better admiral, but who was better for the job at that stage of war.

[@fouraces9137]

Personally I think Halsey was a fool, and he left honorable men in the water to die at Leyte Gulf. Using excuse of possible submarines in the area. Pffft, send a couple of destroyers, one searches and picks up while other guards, or if there does prove to be japanese sub or subs, dump some rafts over the side and tell em, we'll be back once we deal with these guys. Better than being stuck in the shark infested water with lil hope. Talk to the survivors see what they think of that Halsey guy.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

@@fouraces9137 well,..he wasn't too good on weather reports either..."Where oh where is task force 38?"...just picked up a new book on Samar..."Last Stand of the Tin can Sailors"...they used to build those DE's right up the road and float 'em down the river along with the LST's.....

[@CS-zn6pp]

@@frankpienkosky5688 that's a great book.👍 Halsey was a reckless commander.

[@wellsbengston4132]

I believe that Fletcher would have done as well as Halsey at every stage of the war. He learned quickly and consulted with the younger aviators. He helped develop and championed tactics that would be later used to great effect. I don't believe he would have made the big mistakes that Halsey made. The one thing which is hard to quantify is the positive morale effect that Halsey had an the naval forces, and what that effect had in operational efficiency and results.

[@CorePathway]

I could have won the war in charge of the US Navy in 1945 tho…the biggest issue would be to keep all those ships, so so many ships, and wait even more ships from running into each other. No, really.

[@jaxkommish]

I love seeing the StarFury model on the shelf! My grandfather Cleston Moredock served on the Yorktown at Coral Sea and Midway; miss you grandpa

[@mwhyte1979]

Was wondering if anybody else would notice the StarFury.

[@mattschultzy671]

I was just scrolling through the comments to see if anyone would mention the starfury. Thank you for not disappointing! I love that Drach must be a Babylon 5 fan.

[@Deevo037]

@@mattschultzy671 Likewise.

[@kudukilla]

spotted that as well.

[@AcidEric01]

Drach's 5 minute guides to ships of the Earth Alliance is needed I think :)

[@drinksnapple8997]

There is a reason why in the US Navy, on every single warship, every single day, we run at least 1 Damage Control drill. EVERY F-ING DAY.

[@jonathanmichaelsmith9012]

Hard won experience

[@davidlium9338]

I didn’t know that. YAYYY Navy damage control!!!

[@conpanidis3574]

Sir, I appreciate your comment. Do you have any comment on the BHR fire inquiry report? Adverse findings against 30 plus officers. enlisted men and civilians. I am interested in your thoughts. Also against retired officers, which I have not seen previously. I am civilian and have no reference for this type of thinking. 🙏

[@brucelytle1144]

@@conpanidis3574 I'll share my thoughts on BHR! It's "leadership" sucked! As I've read the reports, I'm aghast at the lax fire fighting/damage control regimen. It is also sad to say that during my time in the Navy (70-78), I ran across MANY commands being run the same way! My last command, I worked as a 'troubleshooter', finding the root causes of persistent electro-mechanical problems, on pretty much any and every ship type the Navy had in San Diego. Almost every ship that I went aboard I found E-5's up to O3's that were totally clueless! Didn't know how to use a firestation, didn't know even how to order parts! Just knew where to sign, without even knowing what they where signing! There were training slots available for classes/schools that went unused, I have no idea why! Every command I was assigned, sent me to all kinds of schools, 5 or 6 just on fire fighting, damage control, NBC warfare, all that, and some repeated over time! I had all of the schools for submarine auxiliaryman, vibration analysis, all kinds of training! After the Navy, I got a Merchant Marine Engineer's license, I sailed ships, I've worked in shipyards, I've even helped build state of the art tugboats and mega yachts. Pointing out the experience just to say.... In all my years and experiences, I've never read of such poor leadership and training! I hope this comes as a BIG wakeup call for all of those "lacking" commands (you know who you are!😉)! The American Taxpayers deserve (and pay for!) better!

[@brucelytle1144]

Some do, most don't! I've been on both types. I preferred the ones that did!

[@michelangelobuonarroti4958]

Yooooooo Jon Parshall on the channel holy shit I never thought I'd see this day come.

[@jnstonbely5215]

Quality always seeks and remains with Quality

[@TheDude-ko8to]

My boy from Battle 360

[@jonparshall]

@@TheDude-ko8to Hahaha! Yeah, that was a while ago... ;-)

[@BoeingB17FF]

Drach's getting pretty big on the WWII /Naval historical scene.

[@reubensandwich9249]

I thankful Parshall touched on how crude navigation was at that time. Flying by compass and dead reckoning and sailing by celestial.

[@peteranderson037]

It really can't be understates how difficult it is to know with any usable margin of error roughly where you are when you are flying over a uniform featureless surface and all you have is a magnetic compass and a clock. I doubt that they even had a winds aloft report.

[@insignificantgnat9334]

There was also some early radio navigation aides, but their reliability was sometimes lacking.

[@mastermariner7813]

Surface navigation wise, celestial is still quite accurate - well except for cloud cover...

[@michaelsommers2356]

@@insignificantgnat9334 _"There was also some early radio navigation aides, but their reliability was sometimes lacking."_ And you might not want to broadcast your carrier's position to the enemy.

[@TrappedinSLC]

@@peteranderson037 heck, look at the incidents we still have NOW with small plane pilots sometimes getting themselves into trouble over water even with all the instruments we have these days. It can be very disorienting.

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

OH BOY, an hour long Shattered Sword video! Thank you, drach!

[@winghungyuen2726]

Remembered using this specific book for my college paper on the Battle of Midway. So exited you got Jon Parshall to explain more topics about the battle. Hopefully you will have James D. Hornfischer on sometime in the future.

[@reaperking2121]

I wouldn't be surprised at this point. He's clearly gaining a reputation for excellence in naval history on youtube and just recently had the captain of the Iowa on for an interview. Personally I would love to see it. Drach is by far an outlier on youtube in that he makes his content for the fun of it and to educate first and not for profit.

[@ELCADAROSA]

@@reaperking2121, who had which Iowa captain on an interview? I may have missed this ...

[@nomar5spaulding]

@@ELCADAROSA Drachinifel has an interview with one of Iowa's Captains, Captain Larry Seaquist, who commanded the ship in the 1980s. The video is titled, "USS Iowa - What it's like to actually command a battleship."

[@ELCADAROSA]

@@nomar5spaulding, now that you mention it, I remember seeing the title, but didn’t have an opportunity to watch it then. Thank you!

[@cheddar2648]

One Ian Toll to rule them all.

[@MrRugbylane]

Correction: Navy pilots had to get from point A to point B and then to point C (the carriers new location).

[@Slaktrax]

'A' in this case is the point of origin and I believe most people understand that logic, one returns to the point of origin. Stop splitting hairs, Joe. Point 'C' in aviation usually denotes a diversion airfield or alternative :-)

[@RGC-gn2nm]

Funny how old seaman and pilots from the analog days can always tell you almost exactly where north is even from 30 feet underground in a bunker

[@dongiovanni4331]

We could say Point A prime.

[@RCAvhstape]

Pilots flying off the Navy's airships in the 30s had to do this, and flying aircraft carriers moved along at a pretty good clip compared to sea carriers.

[@gerennichols6075]

Where C was the solution of a cubic equation.

[@kpdubbs7117]

Drach has taken so many deep dives into the areas of naval history that I never see anywhere else - Salvage at Pearl Harbor, the story of the Wrens, the supply chain, etc. It is what sets him apart. But today he again topped himself by interviewing the guy who LITERALLY wrote THE BOOK on Midway's history. Drach thank you so much for your sharing your passion for this history with us and please pass our sincerest "Thank You's" to Mr. Parshall for sharing his time and knowledge with us.

[@kavemanthewoodbutcher]

Officially the single best naval history source on the planet. Love this channel Drach!

[@jetdriver]

Great Interview. Shattered Sword is truly a seminal work of history and even having read it multiple times I still thoroughly enjoyed this. I think Fletcher is likely the most underrated Admiral of WWII. He was not only successful but in those early years of the war he fully understood the vital truth that his carriers were at that point an absolutely essential and irreplaceable national asset. The number of senior officers who told bold faced lie after bold faced lie to denigrate him and advance their own careers is mind boggling. It should also be remembered that Adm Turner was one of the most responsible officers for what happened at Pearl Harbor by his mishandling of US Intelligence. I’m surprised by how you went out of your way not to name Fuchida. When it comes to Naval history the man was a liar. And it serves no one to dance around that fact. Especially given how his relationship with Gordon Prange has given his lies an outsize influence that continues today given that books like Miracle at Midway are not being revised to reflect this.

[@cannonfodder4376]

Having read/listened to it twice, this is a surprise to be sure. But a welcome one. Shattered Sword is the book for Midway.

[@reubensandwich9249]

The only thing I disagree with Parshall with is in regards to him saying his book becoming outdated once new information comes out. The last veterans are going away and thus the last great sources we have. Anything in the future would be pure interpretation outside of looking in those 3 hanger decks with an ROV.

[@stevenmajor9513]

Hello there

[@jonparshall]

@@reubensandwich9249 You never know what new written sources may turn up in the future. And re-reading of the existing sources often turns up new stuff as well. History is always evolving, even in the absence of eye-witnesses.

[@mindwarp42]

Reminder for poorer folks: check with your local library and see if they have Shattered Sword in their library system, either physically or digitally. If not, see if they can get it from outside systems via interlibrary loan. (I would have to ILL it for a physical copy since where I work doesn't have one, but we have the downloadable audiobook via Hoopla.)

[@svenjonsson9]

Fantastic interview, I feel that Parshall is not only great in an interview, but puts a human face onto what is oftentimes just viewed as a dry maneuvering of ships on a map. To boot, his comment that "someone 50 or a hundred years from now may have a completely different take on the events as they may unearth something that we haven't found yet, and that is the cool part of history" and "historians can only be as good as the source material we have" are really profound statements.

[@k1200ltse]

"Strategic awareness of a damp noodle". That's the quote of the video.

[@MrNicoJac]

Time?

[@k1200ltse]

@@MrNicoJac 39.06

[@pagejackson1207]

Drach, Thank you so much for the interview with Jon Parshall. I bought "Shattered Sword" as soon as it was published and have reread it twice. I particularly enjoyed its honest description of the heroism of the Japanese crews on the four doomed carriers. I have drawn two conclusions from the book which I would love to have heard Jon's opinions about: First, that the massive loss of trained aircraft mechanics on the four carriers had a much more significant impact on future Japanese capabilities than the loss of their trained pilots - many of whom ditched next to cruisers and destroyers and were saved for future battles. And second, that the Japanese carriers ability to spot and launch additional strikes on the American carriers was significantly impeded by the arrival of scattered and unsuccessful air attacks - not only by Torpedo 8 - but by land-based planes from Midway. It appeared to me that the Japanese lost the initiative in the battle after they launched their initial Midway attack and found themselves in a reactive mode thereafter. The continuing sporadic attacks and the necessity of refueling and maintaining their CAP had a decisive effect on their ability to strike the American carriers with the four carrier combined strike they were capable of achieving. They were always on their "back foot" following their launch of the original attack on the Midway airfields. Thanks again, Paige

[@travispollett2120]

Hopefully you have already seen it but just in case; last month Drach did another interview with Mr. Parshall and that second point was directly mentioned by him. Here is the link to the video just in case you didn't see it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIfLeX6Gq8t_a80

[@bluemarlin8138]

Only Drach can squeeze an HMS Warspite reference into a video about Midway!

[@jonrolfson1686]

There is the notion that frequent mention of lost love ones may lead to reunion with their reincarnations. Perhaps there is hope that frequent reference to the greatly missed HMS Warspite will lead to an encounter with her reinferration (Warspite having been restored and reconstituted as iron and steel again).

[@johngregory4801]

@Augustine Squirrel That sailed up a fjord and kicked enemy butt. "I see your 5" gun... And raise you 10" more." The naval version of Hulk slamming Loki to the floor several times, looking at his prey, slamming him a couple more times... And walking away saying, "Puny destroyers."

[@tominiowa2513]

@@jonrolfson1686 - Sorry, but your post made me think of meeting up with the Azur Lane version of Warspite. 😳

[@ph89787]

@@tominiowa2513 Speaking of which. Someone did the 'Think Mark Think' meme with Warspite as Omni man

[@jonrolfson1686]

@@tominiowa2513 Had to Google Azur Lane. I see the connection, looks like it might just be War Sprite;-)

[@jsabrown]

What a great interview! I love Shattered Sword; it taught me SO much about Midway, and I thought I already knew a lot. I'm a bit astonished to learn that the fuel system DC methodology was developed AFTER Coral Sea. I understand Lex fell victim to runaway fires and that was a clear lesson, but the fact that the Yorktown DCO developed and implemented the system in four weeks while he was already busy with getting her home from Coral Sea and ready for Midway. That's amazing.

[@jonparshall]

We were innovating like crazy. Nothing like the mental pressure of losing a war to, ummm, clarify one's thinking on matters of damage control...

[@raygronberg7732]

To the discussion of the Hornet air group's performance, I recall reading somewhere (perhaps in Reynolds' biography of Adm Towers) that Ring was son-in-law to someone high up in the corporation (maybe even Towers, but it's been like a decade since I read that particular book so I wouldn't swear to that). So there's that motive also for obfuscation in the Hornet's after-action report. What is abundantly clear though is that there was a good bit of politics at play in the Navy's handling of key personnel in the aftermath of Midway. Mitscher's performance by all rights should've landed him on the beach for the duration, yet it was Capt. Buckmaster of the Yorktown who wound up beached even though his carrier turned in arguably the best performance of the three. The difference was that Towers had Mitscher's back, and that Buckmaster's former XO, Jocko Clark, had bad-mouthed him to Ernie King and that stuck even though Clark wasn't present at Midway or even Coral Sea. Fletcher similarly got backstabbed, not just by Turner but by Clark. The historiography of the US carrier force has suffered from Reynolds' close relationship to Clark and wholesale adoption of the views of carrier admirals who suffice to say neglected the principle of combined arms, and only in the last few decades, starting with Lundstrom's work, has there been the start of a corrective.

[@_powerrranger]

Shattered Sword is legit one of the best history books I've ever read....you are silly if you haven't read it and you like this channel

[@euphan123]

I like how he fills in the gaps with theories on what might have happened, ie immediately after the dive-bomber attacks on the Japanese carriers, per Naval doctrine (for both sides)

[@Zarhunas]

King: How did this bearded guy get into my office all of a sudden? Is that a bag of popcorn? Drac: Please, don't mind me. Go on with your business. *smile* Aide: Sir, the Bureau of Ordnance people are here. This'll brighten my mood for days to come :)

[@edwardknight5587]

Oh given what was known about King, it is going to be awesome. Not so much for the BuOrd people though haha

[@hughgordon6435]

Your buord reference has got me asking? What was the buord response to the type 93? Torp

[@Isolder74]

@@hughgordon6435 The Mark XIV Torpedo.

[@hughgordon6435]

OK, but what I was meaning was how was the successful, long range hole poker spun when yhey refused to believe their own sailors? What excuses was/were given for successful Japanese torps? Or did they ignore the reports of damage done by type 93,even invent some Japanese subs that were sneaking in between the combatants?

[@euphan123]

??

[@parrot849]

One of your best guest interview videos you’ve posted. Thanks. So glad to hear such a noted historian holding a similar view as me of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner.

[@CFarnwide]

I was happy to hear him give Admiral Fletcher the recognition he deserves.

[@josephthomas8318]

Everyone is like "last time I was this early" And I'm over here with his upload schedule memorized so I'm almost always this early...

[@zogzog1063]

"Shattered Sword" is a must read. It is an account of Midway but with a full Japanese perspective. It is a cracking good read and when my copy arrived I immediately reread it! It is not a boring history and in my estimation the authors have done an Antony Beevor. That is to say; combined scholarship with entertainment.

[@BrianRosborough]

Literally just watched an hour documentary with John in it about Midway yesterday, thanks for making my day boys!

[@JohnSmith-kg2rt]

What was the name of the documentary

[@MrNicoJac]

Is it available on YT?

[@seanmac1793]

I am going to take a stab in the dark and say it was the Batlle 360 episode on Midway. good stuff if you haven't watched it. it's aviable on KZbin

[@BrianRosborough]

@@JohnSmith-kg2rt ultimate warfare midway

[@BrianRosborough]

@@seanmac1793 I’ve seen that too but this one was called ultimate warfare midway

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

29:42 (Parshall) "You look at Kaga. Umm...my god. You know, even if they'd been able to tow her home...she'd have been worth nothing but razor blades at that point." 57:57 (Parshall) "There's always going to be some irascible sea-dogs running around. I mean obviously the US Navy, as a whole, is run by Earnest King who's not exactly, you know, a ball of laughs at a party." 1:01:30 (Parshall) "And frankly, from the Russian standpoint, I think it's an open question as to whether or not Russian is going to survive 1942." (BINGO)

[@Subsidiarity3]

Thank you both for doing this. This is an amazingly informative video. As someone whose father survived the war as a child in Indonesia, I really appreciate this whole story. Keep up the good work. There was a friend of mine, Alan, who loved naval history. He was a homeless man who lived in shelters but still managed to acquire a lot of books. He would have so much loved this. He really appreciated "Shattered Sword".

[@tisaroo555]

Great interview, Drachinifel. This guy can talk for awhile. You jumped in at the proper times. Excellent job.

[@jonparshall]

I try to edit myself, but it's just so hard not to get wrapped up in the subject material! ;-)

[@tisaroo555]

@@jonparshall Jon, your writing and commentary are amazing. You bring the subject matter to life. Thanks!

[@Sabactus]

Digging the Starfury on the shelf behind Drach.

[@michaelmorley7719]

"Shattered Sword" is the best history book I've ever read. One of the things I never fully appreciated before I read it is that, with the exception of Yorktown and her air group, none of the carriers engaged at Midway had ever fought in a carrier-vs-carrier battle before. That explains a lot about how the ships and air groups--and the Japanese CAP--reacted (or didn't) to the changing situation during the battle.

[@tonyennis1787]

Read "Six Frigates" too. Another gem.

[@vlad78th]

In fact the japanese cap did have to protect carrier division 1 and 2 during the indian ocean raid when a flight of british bombers managed to attack them undetected. Some officers asked for some radars and a better cap organisation but those change could not be implemented in the time separating them from the Midway battle. The uS navy had just been far better at learning from its mistakes.

[@jonparshall]

Thank you so much for the kind words, and glad you liked the book!

[@Conn30Mtenor]

It's done extremely well for a history book in terms of sales.

[@TanosMartins]

So here's my take on this... It makes SUCH a difference when the people involved in any talking session actually love what they're talking about... I had an AMAZING time watching this... Both Drachinifel and Jon Parshall are fantastic!!!

[@darrellhendrix5502]

A thought provoking episode that proves the point that there are as many "sides" to a story as there were people in a story as well as the number of people looking from the outside in. Thank you , as usual for your content. I was made aware of your channel as someone only vaguely intrest in naval history and now I anticipate the next episode just like the people who have had an intrest for a very long time.

[@robspecht9550]

Drachinifel and Parshall talking about Midway? My lord how can I be so lucky.

[@RCAvhstape]

Drach, you're killing it lately, collabs with Operations Room, an interview with the captain of the Iowa, and now this, one of the best history interviews I've ever seen, fantastic guest. Keep up the good work! And when you finally get to visit the US you won't have to pay for drinks if you're in my neighborhood.

[@carlousmagus5387]

Nor in mine.

[@guhalakshmiratan5566]

Nor in Philadelphia! Heck, we can go over across the Delaware River and visit the Battleship New Jersey! :-)

[@RCAvhstape]

@@guhalakshmiratan5566 After the Olympia, of course.

[@sundiver137]

Just find a bar that serves Irn Brew and Drach'll be happy.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

..@@guhalakshmiratan5566 my cousin took a temporary posting on that ship..[cook]...when they took it from Jersey to San Diego

[@DerpsWithWolves]

"I've been working on it for eleven years..." I felt that, as a writer...

[@jonparshall]

The struggle is real, believe me! :-)

[@DerpsWithWolves]

@@jonparshall 8 years in. I believe it.

[@austinlange7210]

Why am I not surprised that Drach’s top 15 minutes of _the entire war_ is Admiral King’s meeting with BuOrd?

[@omgdwayne1565]

Wow. I cannot believe my two favorite naval historians are on the same video. Outstanding!

[@halghanson]

Drac, you are amazing at providing interviews where, instead of dominating the course and content, you allow the brilliance of your guests to shine. Wonderful interview with Jon Parshall. Compelling and I was surprised when you wrapped it up. (I thought you were cutting it short. Turns out it went over by a bit. ;-)

[@jonparshall]

We'll be doing a Q&A session tomorrow--looking forward to it!

[@carstenwagner3355]

High value content on this channel! I just finished reading "Shattered Sword". What a great coincidence! This book is a must-have-read for anybody interested in this topic. And no, I am not a book vendor.

[@Taschenschieber]

I am still amazed that Dick Best is not a fictional character.

[@s.31.l50]

For all the downsides of the Midway movie, at least 1. The characters are real, and 2. The Japanese carrier flight decks are empty of strike aircrafts during 10:20 attack.

[@mr.s2005]

that and getting the attack order wrong for the U.S. torpedo planes....that and Best dropping the bomb just a few feet onto the carrier, it was the pilot Dusty who hit the flag painted on the deck and he didn't drop it that low.

[@michelangelobuonarroti4958]

Real life is honestly so much better than so many fictional stories. You can't make that shit up

[@deidryt9944]

@@s.31.l50 Well... the characters are based upon real people. Too much of the dialogue was like it was written by a ten-year old who had heard random anecdotes about the war.

[@RW77777777]

Oscar Mayer can't hurt you

[@ronmaximilian6953]

I was so hoping to finish "Shattered Sword" before you or the World War 2 Channel, or Dr Clarke had the author on. I thought I had a week.

[@aaronsweet2304]

What's this world war 2 channel you speak of?

[@ronmaximilian6953]

@@aaronsweet2304 kzbin.info

[@aaronsweet2304]

@@ronmaximilian6953 thanks Ron

[@Elschwab78]

Just finished re-reading Shattered Sword. Amazing book.

[@markjensen7091]

Thank you for posting this interview with John Parshall. It was very enlightening.

[@scottyfox6376]

Im glad that the issues of memory was brought up. Of course memories can be corrupted by later date stories. I point to veterans referring to the Sherman tanks as "Ronsons", which was taken from a 1950's advertising slogan.

[@SlavicCelery]

In before one person points out they found a single ad that Ronson used before WW2 that "could" have been inspiration. Even though a single ad is not an ad campaign. And it took years of research to find a single ad.

[@markgarin6355]

And Ronson lighters were probably out long before WWII and tanks lit up like a cigarette lighter....hmmmm

[@Tekisasubakani]

@@markgarin6355 Except that is a myth in regards to the Sherman. Do some research into their safety / combat losses, especially in regards to the other major sides tanks. I recommend Nicholas Moran, aka The Chieftain, he has a great YT channel.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

I agree 200% your comment regarding Admiral Fletcher at Midway. It took courage and an absence of ego to let Admiral Spruance continue in command.

[@bigblue6917]

Now that was a Five Minute Guide. Definitely top of my list.

[@svgproductions72]

As someone who’s researched World War II (mainly the Pacific) for 15+ years, I’m glad I clicked on this video, I learned a lot of new stuff today! I subscribed to this channel more than a year ago, and I’m happy to see the how successful it has become.

[@JasperFromMS]

This is awesome! I'm very impressed with the growth of your channel and the fact that you can get a guest with this much horsepower.

[@Gingerbreadley]

Great interview would love to see him again some time.

[@nomdeguerre7265]

I am reminded of a quote from 'Pacific Thunder' about Spruance. In an after war interview Spruance is supposed to have said "I'm basically lazy, so I never do anything I can get someone else to do for me." [This quote is from memory so it's probably parenthetical, FYI] I love this quote, and through its (apparently typical) self-effacing surface, I see evidence of executive genius. As I like to put it 'if I'm the smartest guy in the room either I need a stronger team or I'm doing my job wrong.' From my perspective it often boils down to 'do we want a 'hero' or do we want to win?' The game can be played for appearances, or for results. Don't confuse the two because they're often not the same thing at all. Barbara Tuchman once wrote something to the effect that 'history begins when the last person who actually remembers an event is gone' only then can objectivity begin to be approached.

[@dpwellman]

My favorite WWII lecturer. I've read the book and watched all of Parshall's work a few times over.

[@aliceosako792]

And here I figured that the scene you'd want to watch most would be the time King nearly got winged by Mountbatten after he whipped out his pistol and shot the block of pykcrete.

[@tulliusexmisc2191]

It would be entertaining to watch both Mountbatten and King doing what they did best, but the likelihood of being hit oneself would put a dampener on the occasion.

[@LukoHevia]

Just when i thought i couldn't love you any more than i do, Drach, you give us an hour of Midway and Jon Parshall. You're the man

[@mayfieldcourt]

Outstanding interview - and Shattered Sword is an excellent book.

[@douglasturner6153]

Admiral Fletcher got slandered and treated unfairly I've always thought. The fact Admiral King (former Captain of Lexington) disliked him and blamed him for losing the Lexington at Coral Sea meant he had enemies in high places. One's that were only too eager to credit anything negative about him. Admiral Turner knew all this and how to play it. (Btw. He wasn't the only raging alchoholic Admiral in USN in WWII)

[@wellsbengston4132]

Absolutely correct

[@dynamo1796]

I think its really reflective of what was happening to the Allies during that time - the Japanese were rolling through the Pacific. The British were stretched for equipment and decent commanders and, lets be frank, the US Navy was still working up to being a first rate navy. There were a lot of hard learned lessons during this time but, as you say, a few decent men did their best but got made pariahs of anyway. Its a pretty unfortunate state of affairs.

[@Kyle-mo7hx]

I'm a simple man. Drachinifel tells me to read a book, I order it for same day delivery from Amazon

[@scottgiles7546]

Kindle would be instant download.... (Just saying....)

[@duncani3095]

Then let me make another suggestion. Black shoe carrier admiral by John B Lundstrom. It covers all the carrier battles of 1942 and deep dives into Fletcher's handling of his carrier fleet during this time. It covers logistics, tactics and the battle plans in great detail. The internal politics of the navy are also discussed and explains why some officers fell out of grace with admiral King. As for Fletcher, his dismissal from the front lines was certainty not called for, as this book expertly proves.

[@jonparshall]

My royalty statement thanks you, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the book!

[@jonparshall]

@@duncani3095 Heartily agree. Lundstrom's work is without peer.

[@duncani3095]

@@jonparshall just glad to see people are changing their minds about Fletcher. Sadly it is a slow process, and he didn't live to see it. Media today have still not caught on. Didn't see him in the latest Midway movie, and some actually place admiral Spruance in charge of TF16 and TF17. I guess it takes a long time to change the accepted views of historians like Bates and Morison. But thank you, for going the extra mile to get to what actually happened. For years i also was lead to believe Nagumo was caught pants down with flightdecks loaded at Midway. Several books i own must have just copied that information from previous historians. Have a great weekend, greetings from the Netherlands!

[@TheEvertw]

Good point about the navigational problems. Add to that the radio silence that is maintained at most times, it is amazing that any planes got home at all.

[@jlvfr]

Excelent way of spend your post-lunch hour. Also... _Starfury fighter on the shelf_ !

[@PaulJohnson-vn7eh]

Thank God for KZbin putting videos out like this. It makes driving for a living a lot more tolerable.

[@rare_kumiko]

Watched the video now, I loved how happy and excited you looked at the beginnning of the interview that you were going to talk to Jonathan Parshall. I'm still amazed you managed to get a guest of that caliber into a video! And while a lot of the things he talked about I had already read in his book (and the Hornet "flight to nowhere" thing I read in Symonds book), it's always more interesting to hear Mr. Parshall explain it himself. Overall this is definitely one of my favourite videos on your channel!

[@Les537]

Awesome. Love your content Drach. I didn't know I was such a fan of classic naval engineering and battles until I met your content. Rock on, brother. You do good work.

[@zacharyleao2526]

This channel had shattered so many myths I believed about Midway. From the Japanese swapping munitions on their flight decks to VT8 distracting the zeros.

[@Raptorrat]

Check militaryaviationhistory's video on the that subject. It was posted earlier in the week.

[@jim874]

@@Raptorrat Chris did an excellent job. Especially on the timeline of where the Zeros could have been, but were not? Just where were the bulk of the Zeros after the TBD attack? back on their carriers? Plenty of time to climb back to altitude to get the SBDs.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

@@jim874 no radar...they didn't even know they were there until it was too late....

[@shawnc1016]

@@jim874 It was never the same set. They were going up and down constantly.

[@c7042-u5g]

I've viewed Jon Parchall on the battle of Midway dozens of times without disappointment. Came for the scholarship, stayed for the intellect, wild shirts, and wallpaper. I'm subscribing to Drachinifel's channel because Jon.

[@36cmarti]

Order it? I have two copies, one hardback and the Kindle version.... great book

[@GlorfindelofGondolin]

Ooooo. This is one I have been looking most forward to. My favorite naval battle of all time. Thank you Drach!

[@rare_kumiko]

I finished reading Shattered Sword a month ago, it's amazing that you got to interview Parshall himself in a video!

[@rocksandoil2241]

It is fascinating to listen to people talk who are so steeped in the history of an era that they can delve into the personalities so deep. Interesting talk. The "lost squadron" is an interesting side bar to a seminal point in the history of WWII.

[@WIPEOUT_Trains]

I felt like I was watching an extended “Battle 360” episode here!

[@afwalker1921]

Drach, this is great stuff! You own my next hour!

[@visualdon]

I have listened to the 'Shattered Sword' audiobook and it's amazing, I highly recommend it.

[@davidkillin8466]

Fantastic how you always find these wonderful sources, and especially people, to educate and entertain we who love naval history, Drach. Superlative work, as always, and big thumbs up to your latest endeavour!

[@purplefood1]

Yorktown is honestly my second favourite ship in the entire war.

[@warpmine1761]

Fantastic! Always more to a battle than one initially learns from docudramas.

[@jamesharding3459]

And right when I thought the channel couldn't get any better, Drach managed to raise the bar by bringing yet another superb guest! Also, on Drach's reccomendation, I got a copy of Shattered Sword. Superb book!

[@jonparshall]

Thank you so much, and hope you enjoy it!

[@martentrudeau6948]

Jon Parshall is a wonderful historian, this interview reinforces the thought, that we who are trying to understand history, are also on a voyage of discovery ourselves, thank you gentlemen. This video is so very interesting as all of Drach's videos are!

[@DrydockDreamsGames]

Damn, that's the ultimate collab' indeed, kuddos!

[@Vekurus]

I have enjoyed this channel immensely. I've learned so much about a fond childhood subject from all of your videos! Thank you!

[@lorenrogers9269]

Well done Drach, another feather in your cap.

[@mpersad]

Drach gives experts the chance to speak at length on subjects this channel's subs want to hear about. Great video. Learnt a lot.

[@CenturionENT]

I thought I recognized his voice from somewhere and I finally figured out he was one of the people on Battle 360!

[@ajalvarez3111]

I closed my eyes and I was absolutely sure it was that guy that I always confuse with Bill Pullman. The “Dumb and Dumber” guy that isn’t Jim Carey.

[@ajalvarez3111]

Jeff Daniels.

[@TheBigJohnson]

Thank you! My goodness this was awesome. About to restart the interview for a second pass. There are a lot of videos and documentaries about Midway. But they are all the exact same content. This interview had so much in depth and unique questions. I’m going to buy this book. Keep up the amazing work. With all the nonsense over the past several months, you have been an amazing bright spot for us all.

[@amerigo88]

Amazing how Parshall and Tully accurately rewrote the history of this battle simply by going to the Japanese sources, especially the carrier flight logs. Sure beats "Fuchida's Lies."

[@PalleRasmussen]

There are some lectures online with Jon, where he goes through the process, sources, etc.

[@andrewgause6971]

Now it only we could get Hollywood to do the same homework...

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Versus Mitscher's ....

[@jonparshall]

@@andrewgause6971 Dream on, lol! :-)

[@frankpienkosky5688]

@@andrewgause6971 the only planes I saw on the carrier's deck in the movie were zeroes...on the other hand, they really screwed up the Pearl Harbor attack....zeroes don't sink battleships..."Tora! Tora! Tora!" did a much better job there....

[@Sportster20042001]

Again, you present an already interesting story with intelligent insight and critical review. Big thumbs up on having your guest on to lend his insight, knowledge and diligent research on the subject matter as well. Thank you for this, keep on going & be well.

[@TheQballChannel]

I got to interview John Parshall when I was writing a culminating thesis I'm High School. Wonderful guy! :D

[@jonparshall]

Hope you got a good grade on that puppy! ;-)

[@TheQballChannel]

@@jonparshall definitely impressed my professors!

[@girth84]

This was great to watch. From BC, so lots of respect for Jon Parshall’s method, research and delivery regarding the battle for the Pacific Ocean. It sounds like his upcoming 1942 book would be amazing source material for a series of some sort ..

[@harbar7398]

Wow, back to back amazing interviews. You’ve come a long way from robot voiced 5 minute guides.

[@theblackbear211]

I loved the discussion of the vagaries of navigation. For those of us who predate GPS, it is always good to hear armchair prognosticators reminded about the realities of the time.

[@TokioExpress]

Drach looks like a kid in the WWII Toys section when talking to Parshall. Honestly, I'd be the same.

[@jonparshall]

I felt the same way--this was a genuinely fun session to put together. Looking forward to the next one!

[@Isolder74]

@@jonparshall Drach reminds me of the kids in the Candyman scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory myself.

[@TotalTirpitz]

These are the two people that reignited my passion for this period of history! Delighted to see them together speaking about this topic for an hour.

[@jonparshall]

We had a great time, and I hope it shows!

[@nikolailucyk]

Just when I thought I wanted this week to be over, I'll let it have another hour...

[@Tzunamii777]

Hope it gets better m8 \o

[@nikolailucyk]

@@Tzunamii777 much better now it's Friday mate :)

[@ZJ517]

Wow I can't believe you have the great Jon Parshall on the channel. Awesome! I have been a fan of his (and Tully as well) work since first coming across the brilliant Combined Fleet website some 20 years ago. They have done so much, along with many others, to straighten out the history, and old myths, of the Pacific War.

[@PlayerOne2013]

I just finished re-reading shattered sword just this week!