Once upon a time, a friend loaned me a computer game that replicated, in some detail, the battle of Midway. I played it several times, me controlling the U.S. forces and the computer, the Japanese. Even knowing the initial disposition of the Japanese forces, which the U.S. Navy had to determine by scouting, I got my butt kicked every time. The superior range of their scouts and strike airplanes was one of the deciding factors. And yet the Americans prevailed in the battle, arguably the turning point of the Pacific war. I put it down to mostly luck but there was more to it than that. Here is an excellent synopsis of some of the other factors if you don't have time to read a book like Shattered Sword..
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