Yes, I know, yesterday was the opening day, I forgot. So, I will finish up things the next few days on the battle.

Coral Sea is an area bordered by Australia, New Guinea, The Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. It is called a marginal sea because it is partially enclosed by a group of islands. It was of importance to the allies during the opening phases of World War II due to its proximity to Australia and its shipping lanes.

Japan had been fighting on the Island of New Guinea sine invading in late 1941. They were working down the Solomon Islands and were poised to make a move on Australia. They felt a seaborne invasion of Port Moresby on the south side of New Guinea would secure the island for them faster.

After their recent string of victories it seemed a matter of time before Australia was cut off from supplies and would be forced to surrender. So Japan set in motion a plan to take the island and secure the approaches to Australia.

With help from radio intercepts the Allied forces knew Japan was planning the invasion and set in motion a response to stop it. The smaller combined force of American and Australian warships went in hunt of a larger Japanese force that at the time seemed invincible.

Japan was hoping by the end of the multi part operation that they would control the Coral Sea and thus effectively cut off both Australia and New Zealand. As it turned out in the end the battle was pretty much a draw. Taken in the context of 1942 the American fleet was damaged beyond repair and on its death bed. Japan had been stopped but they would be back.