Vice Admiral Kondō reportedly challenged whether Midway could be kept supplied after capture. Combined Fleet headquarters answered that the occupying force could be evacuated if sustainment eventually became impossible. That reply undermined the strategic purpose of taking the island, because an objective that cannot be held contributes little after its installations are destroyed. Amphibious planning has to treat supply and retention as part of the operation, rather than as problems to solve after the landing.
Notable Point · 26:35-27:41
Midway planning neglected how to sustain the island
Vice Admiral Kondō's late question about supplying captured Midway exposes the gap between seizing an objective and making it strategically useful.