Swarm Intelligence and The Battle of Midway

During my career in the Marines, I was fortunate enough to have been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in Belleau Wood France and retire from active duty at the American Cemetery in Normandy, France. For many Americans, 'D-Day', the 6th of June, remains poignant, but many are unaware of the significance of the 4th of June. On June 4th, 1942, against a superior Japanese fleet, the American Navy achieved one of the greatest victories in the history of naval warfare at the Battle of Midway.

One of the secrets behind the victory involved the relentless pursuit of the Japanese fleet with almost a zealous drive. United by a common objective, the aggregation of the individual actions generated synergies which ultimately decimated the Japanese Fleet. On the morning of 4 June, the US Submarine Nautilus found itself in the middle of a Japanese Carrier Task Force. Rather than dive and evade, Nautilus attempted a suicidal attack on the Japanese Carriers. The attack failed and the sub was pounced upon by the entire tasks force. As the Japanese fleet carried on to their attack positions against the Island of Midway, the Japanese dispatched a lone destroyer to stay behind to pursue the submarine. This act would inadvertently cost the Japanese naval supremacy in the Pacific.

At the Battle of Midway, the Japanese struck first against the Island of Midway. Japanese Naval Aviators were the world's finest and their first wave struck the tiny airfield garrison. Counter aerial raids from Midway against the Japanese were fruitless in their own right, but placed constant pressure on the Japanese. Having revealed their position, the American Carriers launched their first wave making a conscious decision to have an advantage in initiative rather than mass. Just after the Americans launched, the Japanese detected the American fleet. Admiral Nagumo, the commander of the attack on Pearl Harbor, chose to disarm his lanes with bombs for Midway and re-arm with torpedoes to strike the American carriers.

As Nagumo's planes were rearming, the disorganized and piecemeal torpedo bombers from the American strike force arrived. Slow, outdated, and having to maintain a low & steady flight profile to launch their torpedoes, three squadrons were literally picked part by the Japanese. All in all, the torpedo bombers suffered catastrophic causalities in which 80% of the aircraft were shot down or lost. None of the three squadron's torpedoes struck a Japanese target. This marked the high point of the Japanese Navy. For a brief spell, the task force had repelled two attacks without a single a loss while neutralizing the American Airfield at Midway. This high point would be shattered minutes later.

Arashi, having depth charged Nautilus for over two hours, made flank speed to regain the task force. Having launched later, three squadrons of American Dive Bombers reached their target point, but found no enemy. Low on fuel, the squadrons could have returned, but chose to execute a search pattern. It was during this search, the squadrons sighted the Arashi making full speed back to the Japanese Carriers. Commander Wade McCluskey, gambled that the destroyer would lead them to the carriers. Despite low fuel and no certainty, the gamble paid off.

Just as the Japanese were celebrating the success of repelling two attack waves. Three Squadrons of American Dive Bombers dropped in vertical dives from 20K feet. The timing, although imperfect, could not have been more perfect. Nagumo's force were in the middle of rearming when the Americans struck. In the span of three minutes, three Japanese carriers sustained fatal blows. With one remaining carrier, the Japanese counterstriked ultimately sinking Yorktown, but by the 5th of June, all four Japanese Carriers were sunk. Beyond Japan's industrial inability to reconstitute capital ships, the loss of the world's most talented pilots would never be replenished. America had turned the tide in just two days.

Swarm intelligence involves the turning simple tasks into complex outcomes. In this case, however sloppy, the Americans (like ants) were relentlessly focused on the destruction of the Japanese fleet. Despite horrendous losses, each element unknowingly helped the other by placing constant pressure on Nagumo's force. In vast contrast, the superior Japanese Force relied on heavy orchestration and centralized control. Trying to control the uncontrollable is exercise in futility.

How can swarm intelligence help your organization? Enablement of self organized and cross functional teams to rapidly solve tasks is paramount. Ants don't plan, but instead adapt, which ultimately achieves high efficiencies and awesome outcomes. McCluskey had no assurance that Arashi was headed to the main fleet, yet he chose to follow a simple set of rules to focus on what matters. In this case, it was the destruction of the Japanese Fleet rather than self preservation, following an exact flight pattern or taking heed of his fuel gauges.