Command complexity made Japanese radio silence brittle

The Japanese operation distributed authority among carrier, battleship, invasion, support, and submarine commanders who still had to work around one another. Nagumo, Tamon Yamaguchi, Nobutake Kondo, Raizo Tanaka, Takeo Kurita, and the advanced submarine command each ran a distinct formation beneath Yamamoto's wider scheme. Radio silence within one formation could not remove the coordination needs of that network. Officers trained to follow instructions closely also needed senior guidance when circumstances changed, making dispersion more dangerous. By contrast, the American chain centred on Nimitz, submarine commander Robert English, Fletcher, and Spruance, with a simple mission and Midway already supplying reconnaissance.