battle of the war which could open the door for a negotiated peace favorable to Japan. For the operation, the Japanese had only four carriers; , , and . Through strategic and tactical surprise, the carriers would knock out Midway's air strength and soften it for a landing by 5,000 troops. After the quick capture of the island, the Combined Fleet would lay the basis for the most important part of the operation: Midway was to be bait for the USN which would, in Japanese calculations, depart Pearl Harbor to counterattack after Midway had been captured. When the US Pacific Fleet arrived, Yamamoto would concentrate his scattered forces to defeat the Americans. Concurrently with the attack on Midway, an important aspect of the scheme was Operation AL, the plan to seize two islands in the Aleutians to deny American forces the use of bases close to Japan. Contradictory to persistent myth, Operation AL was not a diversion to draw American forces from Midway: the Japanese wanted the Americans to be drawn to Midway, rather than away from it. However, American codebreakers had deduced an attack on Midway was imminent and American forces including three carriers were deployed from Pearl Harbor to the Midway area, unknown to the Japanese. The battle began on June 3, when American aircraft from Midway spotted and attacked the Japanese transport group west of the atoll. On June 4, the Japanese launched a 108-aircraft strike on the island, the attackers brushing aside Midway's defending fighters but failing to deliver a decisive blow to the island's facilities. Most importantly, the strike aircraft based on Midway had already departed to attack the Japanese carriers, which had been spotted. This information was passed to the three American carriers and a total of 116 carrier aircraft, in addition to those from Midway, were on their way to attack the Japanese. The aircraft from Midway attacked, but failed to score a single hit on the Japanese fleet. In the middle of these uncoordinated attacks, a Japanese scout aircraft reported the presence of an American task force, but it was not until later that the presence of an American carrier was confirmed. Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, was put in a difficult tactical situation in which he had to counter continuous American air attacks and prepare to recover his Midway strike, while deciding whether to mount an immediate strike on the American carrier