Danielle SwaugerDr. WellsAdvanced American HistoryMarch 14, 2014Battle of the Coral SeaWorld War II was the deadliest war in human history, killing more than 50 million people. (?) This was the highest number of deaths any war had seen up to that point, (?) and it was the first event that led to many more in the world war. However, many other crucial battles also made a huge contribution to the war, with the Battle of the Coral Sea being one of many of them. From May 4 to 8, 1942, the Japanese and the United States fought. the Battle of the Coral Sea, being the "first of six battles between opposing carrier forces". () Also during this naval battle, neither side's ships directly sighted or fired upon each other, which was the first over-the-horizon attack in history. () Instead, the opposing teams' carriers scouted each other's ships and sent their opponents' locations to their own ships. Their ships then fired on the opposing team's ships. The distance was so long that there was no direct contact between ships. The Battle of the Coral Sea was the result of the American attack on the Japanese, who attempted to capture and establish air bases at Port Moresby in New Guinea as well as Tulagi in Solomon Islands. However, the United States sought to thwart this attempt due to the importance of Port Moresby in the war in general. Port Moresby played a vital role in their strategies and plans, as well as being able to lead Australia out of the war. On May 3 and 4, the Japanese had successfully invaded and occupied Tulagi. By this time, the Japanese were gaining enough power, control, land, and resources, giving them a major advantage in and coming out of the war. ..... middle of paper ......s troops, because they have proven themselves many times in the past, especially recently, and it has not taken as much time as it should have in preliminary preparations and calculations. This was therefore a major factor in the downfall of the Japanese in the battle. Sun Tzu said: “The art of war teaches us not to rely on the probability that the enemy will not come, but on our own willingness to receive him; not because he wouldn't attack, but rather because we have made our position unassailable. The Japanese in this battle did neither; they were not prepared to receive an attack from Allied forces and were unable to make their position unassailable. As a result, the Allies were able to locate and attack the Japanese while the Japanese were unaware of the attack, giving them a huge disadvantage and eventual loss of the battle...