tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810916883063809470.post5643833738793976159..comments2013-09-04T15:14:27.464-04:00Comments on O'Brien on Leadership: Leadership vs Luck: a Lesson from MidwayPete O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05104571435352565930noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810916883063809470.post-32284538049423111842008-02-21T12:26:00.000-05:002008-02-21T12:26:00.000-05:00The writer demonstrates a sound knowledge of the B...The writer demonstrates a sound knowledge of the Battle of Midway, and his thesis might resonate well with many who prefer to believe that American valor and expertise prevailed there to the total exclusion of the fog of war and the unpredictable chaos of combat. But like every author or historian who has ever attempted an analysis of the battle (including me), some or all of his argument is, well, arguable.<BR/><BR/>Comment on this topic could easily extend to several thousand words, but in keeping with the nature of this forum, I’ll only cite one of several elements of the battle that few informed analysts would attribute to anything beyond sheer providence. As the writer mentions, the “wing commander” (actually, the USS Enterprise air group commander), Lieutenant Commander C. Wade McClusky, had led his two dive bomber squadrons to the point of no return in a vain search for the enemy carriers. He turned his flight about and by chance spotted a Japanese destroyer headed back to its fleet after a lengthy pursuit of a U.S. submarine. McClusky correctly deduced that the ship could lead him to his quarry. He altered course accordingly, and thereby was able to deliver a killing blow to the enemy that otherwise would not have happened; at least not then.<BR/><BR/>Thus, it was an out-of-position Japanese destroyer that McClusky just happened to encounter <I>after</I> giving up his intended search course that, as much as anything, led to what other writers have called the Incredible Victory, the Miracle at Midway. Maybe the incredible miracle would have happened anyway, and maybe not; we’ll never know. But an absolute statement that luck played no part in what actually happened does not hold up under a detailed examination of all of the battle’s convoluted circumstances.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com