History Main / WeWinBecauseYouDidnt

*** Given Saurez's tendency to bite people and generally be an unpleasant little shit (not to mention his racist incident against Patrice Evra when he was playing for Liverpool), the result also went down well in England and Italy (who hadn't even qualified for the tournament).

* Over in the [[WorldWarII/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Pacific Theatre]], there was the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942.[[labelnote:Context]] The Japanese Navy planned to launch an amphibious assault on the strategically important Port Moresby in New Guinea & capture it, aided by a task force of two aircraft carriers & one light carrier. In response (due to intercepting and breaking the Japanese Naval Code), the American Navy then sent its own Task Force consisting of two of their own carriers to intercept the enemy fleet & destroy them and/or prevent the assault. [[/labelnote]] Famous for being the first naval battle in history between Aircraft Carriers, the Americans and the Japanese launched air attacks against each other's fleets that resulted in heavy losses on both sides; but ultimately, the battle ended in a tactical draw as both navies had to withdraw, with the Americans losing more in ship tonnage.[[labelnote:*]] The American Losses consisted of the Fleet Carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2) Lexington]]'' along with damage to the carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-5) Yorktown]]''. The Japanese losses included one Light Carrier, along with damage to the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Shokaku Shokaku]]'', with the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku Zuikaku]]'' surviving unscathed. [[/labelnote]] However, the battle is generally seen by historians & military experts as an American Victory on a strategic level. Though they technically suffered fewer losses, the Japanese still had to withdraw and cancel their planned naval assault on Port Moresby in New Guinea. On top of that, they lost many skilled aircrew that could not be replaced, and their surviving carriers were forced to return to Japan for repairs & rearmament, thus preventing them from partaking in the [[DecisiveBattle Decisive]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway Battle of Midway]] the following month, which would become a catastrophic defeat for the Japanese Navy.[[note]] For added {{Irony}}, the US Carrier ''Yorktown'' was damaged at the Coral Sea to the point the Japanese assumed she was sunk. Rather, she was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs, which miraculously only took 48 hours before enabling her to return to the fleet and play a vital role at Midway. In Sharp Contrast, the Japanese Carrier ''Zuikaku'' survived the Coral Sea unscathed, but lost nearly half of her air group and thus had to wait in Japan for replacements, even though she could have used the surviving planes & crew from the damaged ''Shokaku'' to replenish her losses and form a makeshift air group, which likely would have tipped the balance in the Japanese' favor at Midway [[/note]] The Battle of the Coral Sea is thus seen as Japan's first true military setback of the war.

Compare PyrrhicVictory. When applied to video games, this is SpitefulAI or HoldTheLine when the victory occurs for the computer or the human respectively. May overlap with NoMacGuffinNoWinner in some circumstances. Compare XanatosGambit for setups where either outcome is favorable. See also DisqualificationInducedVictory, RageQuit, and XMustNotWin.

* At the end of the ''Series/DoctorWho''-episode "Last of the Time Lords", the Doctor once again thwarts the Master's plan, and explains that he's going to keep him prisoner on the TARDIS. However, right as he says that, [[spoiler: the Master is shot by Lucy Saxon. Instead of [[TheNthDoctor regenerating]], the Master chooses to [[DiedInYourArmsTonight die in the arms of a wildly sobbing Doctor]], happy with the fact that the Doctor is once again the LastOfHisKind thanks to him]].

* In "Fanfic/TheVictorsProject" Wren refuses an opportunity to end a MexicanStandoff with a career when they both have weapons likely to inflict mortal wounds pressed against each other, with one other (weak and unimpressive) tribute still alive. Stating "Anyone but a career" should win. Many future tributes and victors take this to heart in the decades that follow, to the point where they become known as the ABAC's (anyone but a career).

* In "Literature/OniAi", one of the goals of the girls who make up the harem is to keep Akito away from his obsessive sister Akiko, so they don't give much importance to which of them stays with the male protagonist, as long as it's not Akiko.

** Regarding the English Premier League, the Arsenal fan takes this one step further than anyone else, as they have their own celebration whenever the day comes that they are mathematically guaranteed to finish ahead of hated rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the table, no matter where in the table that might be. Liverpool suffered this in the 2013/14 season, where they could have won the title, if they hadn't drawn Manchester City in their fixture only days before.

* In ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', this is the strategy the secessionists in the incipient Northern Confederation successfully employ against the US federal government. Realistically, their rag-tag rebel forces naturally have no chance whatever to, say, march on Washington and demand its surrender--but they don't really need to, either. All they have to do is to hold out and deny the Federal authorities control of New England, in order to win the war on the moral level: when the rest of the country sees that the Administration is unable to hinder secession, it loses its legitimacy and rapidly collapses.

* Over in the [[WorldWarII/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Pacific Theatre]], there was the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942.[[labelnote:Context]] The Japanese Navy planned to launch an amphibious assault on the strategically important Port Moresby in New Guinea & capture it, aided by a task force of two aircraft carriers & one light carrier. The American Navy then sent its own Task Force consisting of two of their own carriers to intercept the enemy fleet & destroy them and/or prevent the assault. [[/labelnote]] Famous for being the first naval battle in history between Aircraft Carriers, the Americans and the Japanese launched air attacks against each other’s fleets that resulted in heavy losses on both sides; but ultimately, the battle ended in a tactical draw as both navies had to withdraw, with the Americans losing more in ship tonnage.[[labelnote:*]] The American Losses consisted of the Fleet Carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2) Lexington]]'' along with damage to the carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-5) Yorktown]]''. The Japanese losses included one Light Carrier, along with damage to the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Shokaku Shokaku]]'', with the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku Zuikaku]]'' surviving unscathed. [[/labelnote]] However, the battle is generally seen by historians & military experts as an American Victory on a strategic level. Though they suffered fewer losses, the Japanese still had to withdraw and cancel their planned naval assault on Port Moresby in New Guinea. On top of that, they lost many skilled aircrew that could not be replaced, and their surviving carriers were forced to return to Japan for repairs & rearmament, thus preventing them from partaking in the [[DecisiveBattle Decisive]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway Battle of Midway]] the following month, which would become a catastrophic defeat for the Japanese Navy.[[note]] For added {{Irony}}, the US Carrier ''Yorktown'' was damaged at the Coral Sea to the point the Japanese assumed she was sunk. Rather, she was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs, which miraculously only took 48 hours before enabling her to return to the fleet and play a vital role at Midway. In Sharp Contrast, the Japanese Carrier ''Zuikaku'' survived the Coral Sea unscathed, but lost nearly half of her air group and thus had to wait in Japan for replacements, even though she could have used the surviving planes & crew from the damaged ''Shokaku'' to replenish her losses and form a makeshift air group, which likely would have tipped the balance in the Japanese’ favor at Midway [[/note]] The Battle of the Coral Sea is thus seen as Japan's first true military setback of the war.

* Over in the [[WorldWarII/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Pacific Theatre]], there was the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942.[[labelnote:Context]] The Japanese Navy planned to launch an amphibious assault on the strategically important Port Moresby in New Guinea & capture it, aided by a task force of two aircraft carriers & one light carrier. The American Navy then sent its own Task Force consisting of two of their own carriers to intercept the enemy fleet & destroy them and/or prevent the assault. [[/labelnote]] Famous for being the first naval battle in history between Aircraft Carriers, the Americans and the Japanese launched air attacks against each other’s fleets that resulted in heavy losses on both sides; but ultimately, the battle ended in a tactical draw as both navies had to withdraw, with the Americans losing more in ship tonnage.[[labelnote:*]] The American Losses consisted of the Fleet Carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2) Lexington]]'' along with damage to the carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-5) Yorktown]]''. The Japanese losses included one Light Carrier, along with damage to the fleet carrier ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Shokaku Shokaku]]'', with the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku Zuikaku]]'' surviving unscathed. [[/labelnote]] However, the battle is generally seen by historians & military experts as an American Victory on a strategic level. Though they suffered fewer losses, the Japanese still had to withdraw and cancel their planned naval assault on Port Moresby in New Guinea. On top of that, they lost many skilled aircrew that could not be replaced, and their surviving carriers were forced to return to Japan for repairs & rearmament, thus preventing them from partaking in the [[DecisiveBattle Decisive]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway Battle of Midway]] the following month, which would become a catastrophic defeat for the Japanese Navy.[[note]] For added {{Irony}}, the US Carrier ''Yorktown'' was damaged at the Coral Sea to the point the Japanese assumed she was sunk. Rather, she was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs, which miraculously only took 48 hours before enabling her to return to the fleet and play a vital role at Midway. In Sharp Contrast, the Japanese Carrier ''Zuikaku'' survived the Coral Sea unscathed, but lost nearly half of her air group and thus had to wait in Japan for replacements, even though she could have used the surviving planes & crew from the damaged ''Shokaku'' to replenish her losses and form a makeshift air group, which likely would have tipped the balance in the Japanese’ favor at Midway [[/note]] The Battle of the Coral Sea is thus seen as Japan's first true military setback of the war.

* Over in the [[WorldWarII/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Pacific Theatre]], there was the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942.[[labelnote:Context]] The Japanese Navy planned to launch an amphibious assault on the strategically important Port Moresby in New Guinea & capture it, aided by a task force of two aircraft carriers & one light carrier. The American Navy then sent its own Task Force consisting of two of their own carriers to intercept the enemy fleet & destroy them and/or prevent the assault. [[/labelnote]] Famous for being the first naval battle in history between Aircraft Carriers, the Americans and the Japanese launched air attacks against each other’s fleets that resulted in heavy losses on both sides; but ultimately, the battle ended in a tactical draw as both navies had to withdraw, with the Americans losing more in ship tonnage.[[labelnote:*]] The American Losses consisted of the Fleet Carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2) Lexington]]'' along with damage to the carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-5) Yorktown]]''. The Japanese losses included one Light Carrier, along with damage to the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Sh%C5%8Dkaku Shokaku]]'', with the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku Zuikaku]]'' surviving unscathed. [[/labelnote]] However, the battle is generally seen by historians & military experts as an American Victory on a strategic level. Though they suffered fewer losses, the Japanese still had to withdraw and cancel their planned naval assault on Port Moresby in New Guinea. On top of that, they lost many skilled aircrew that could not be replaced, and their surviving carriers were forced to return to Japan for repairs & rearmament, thus preventing them from partaking in the [[DecisiveBattle Decisive]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway Battle of Midway]] the following month, which would become a catastrophic defeat for the Japanese Navy.[[note]] For added {{Irony}}, the US Carrier ''Yorktown'' was damaged at the Coral Sea to the point the Japanese assumed she was sunk. Rather, she was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs, which miraculously only took 48 hours before enabling her to return to the fleet and play a vital role at Midway. In Sharp Contrast, the Japanese Carrier ''Zuikaku'' survived the Coral Sea unscathed, but lost nearly half of her air group and thus had to wait in Japan for replacements, even though she could have used the surviving planes & crew from the damaged ''Shokaku'' to replenish her losses and form a makeshift air group, which likely would have tipped the balance in the Japanese’ favor at Midway [[/note]] The Battle of the Coral Sea is thus seen as Japan's first true military setback of the war.

[[caption-width-right:300:[[HistoryRepeats And then it happened again in 2022!]]]]

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

** During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Ghana faced Uruguay in the final matchday for Group H. This was a rematch of a quaterfinals match in the 2010 World Cup where Uruguay's Luis Suárez committed an intentional (and blatant) handball on the goal line in the dying moments of extra-time against Ghana resulting in Ghana losing a spot in the semifinals. Ghana would unfortunaely lose 2-0 in 2022 to Uruguay in a match that also featured Luis Suarez. However elsewhere in Group H, South Korea beat Portugal (who had already qualified) 2-1 thus elminating Uruguay from the World Cup. Because of Uruguay's elmination, many Ghanians celebrated the loss as a victory and claimed that revenge was served. This was helped by the fact that Suarez cried after the match.

** Gettysburg is another good example of this trope, even though the South's chances of victory were smaller in 1863 than in 1862. The Southern invasion of Pennsylvania was beaten back, but the Army of the Potomac sustained the heavier losses and Meade did not dare to attack the Army of Northern Virginia as it retreated south. However, at the same time Vicksburg fell and the Confederacy was cut in two as the Union forces brought the entire length of the Mississipi under their control. During the entire war, there was a certain pattern that while the CSA was quite successful in Northeastern Virginia - even making a few attempts to take Washington, D. C. - this was more than offset by Union victories in the other war theaters. A big problem with the way both Jefferson Davis and Lee planned the war, and with many accounts of the war after it was over, was that too much importance was attached to the war in Virginia and not enough to the Western fronts. The reasons are fairly obvious from Lee's perspective; taking Washington would have been a potentially fatal blow to Union morale, and the terrain in that region nullified the Union's numbers advantage.

* Many multiplayer online games include an "attack/defend" mode where one team tries to break into/capture/destroy the enemy base somehow, and if they can't before time runs out the defenders win. An example would be Payload from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''.

-->-- ''Series/BurnNotice'', "Loose Ends"

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': As Catra's SanitySlippage gets worse, she does this. She starts out as a [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatist]] who occasionally takes the opportunity to {{Troll}} her ex-friend Adora when they cross paths. By the end of season 3, she's so upset over Adora "winning" all the time (note: Adora's life sucks by most measures, and she certainly doesn't get everything handed to her like Catra is acting) that she decides she doesn't care what happens, as long as Adora loses. [[spoiler:Adora spends a few episodes desperately trying to warn people that Hordak's portal device will destroy the universe. When Catra's subordinate Entrapta says the same thing, Catra knocks her out, refuses to pass the message along to Hordak, and activates the machine herself.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': In the episode "Covention", Luz challenges Amity to a witch duel, and it quickly escalates when the siblings Eda and Lilith, their respective mentors, find out about it and get involved. Both mentors help their students by cheating during the duel and both of them are found out by the end. However, despite this turning into a mutual loss for them, the bragging rights go solely to Eda, because she is shameless about her cheating while Lilith is a witch of high prestige, and thus by cheating in a duel, regardless of her reasons, she still was brought down to Eda's level.

* Over in the [[WorldWarII/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Pacific Theatre]], there was the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942.[[note]] The Japanese Navy planned to launch an amphibious assault on the strategically important Port Moresby in New Guinea & capture it, aided by a task force of two aircraft carriers & one light carrier. The American Navy then sent its own Task Force consisting of two of their own carriers to intercept the enemy fleet & destroy them or prevent the assault. [[/note]] Famous for being the first naval battle in history between Aircraft Carriers, the Americans and the Japanese launched air attacks against each other’s fleets that resulted in heavy losses on both sides; but ultimately, the battle ended in a tactical draw as both navies had to withdraw, with the Americans losing more ship tonnage.[[labelnote:*]] The American Losses consisted of the Fleet Carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2) Lexington]]'' along with damage to the carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-5) Yorktown]]''. The Japanese losses included one Light Carrier, along with damage to the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Sh%C5%8Dkaku Shokaku]]'', with the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku Zuikaku]]'' surviving unscathed. [[/labelnote]] However, the battle is generally seen by historians & military experts as an American Victory on a strategic level. Though they suffered fewer losses, the Japanese still had to withdraw and cancel their planned naval assault on Port Moresby in New Guinea. On top of that, they lost many skilled aircrew that could not be replaced, and their surviving carriers were forced to return to Japan for repairs & rearmament, thus preventing them from partaking in the [[DecisiveBattle decisive]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway Battle of Midway]] the following month, which would become a catastrophic defeat for the Japanese Navy.[[note]] For added {{Irony}}, the US Carrier ''Yorktown'' was damaged at the Coral Sea to the point the Japanese assumed she was sunk. Rather, she was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs, which miraculously only took 48 hours before enabling her to return to the fleet and play a vital role at Midway. In Sharp Contrast, the Japanese Carrier ''Zuikaku'' survived the Coral Sea unscathed, but lost nearly half of her air group and thus had to wait in Japan for replacements, even though she could have used the surviving planes & crew from the damaged ''Shokaku'' to replenish her losses and form a makeshift air group, which likely would have tipped the balance in the Japanese’ favor at Midway [[/note]] The Battle of the Coral Sea is thus seen as Japan's first true military setback of the war.

* Over in the [[UsefulNotes/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Pacific Theatre]], there was the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942.[[note]] The Japanese Navy planned to launch an amphibious assault on the strategically important Port Moresby in New Guinea & capture it, aided by a task force of two aircraft carriers & one light carrier. The American Navy then sent its own Task Force consisting of two of their own carriers to intercept the enemy fleet & destroy them or prevent the assault. [[/note]] Famous for being the first naval battle in history between Aircraft Carriers, the Americans and the Japanese launched air attacks against each other’s fleets that resulted in heavy losses on both sides; but ultimately, the battle ended in a tactical draw as both navies had to withdraw, with the Americans losing more ship tonnage.[[labelnote:*]] The American Losses consisted of the Fleet Carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2) Lexington]]'' along with damage to the carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-5) Yorktown]]''. The Japanese losses included one Light Carrier, along with damage to the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Sh%C5%8Dkaku Shokaku]]'', with the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku Zuikaku]]'' surviving unscathed. [[/labelnote]] However, the battle is generally seen by historians & military experts as an American Victory on a strategic level. Though they suffered fewer losses, the Japanese still had to withdraw and cancel their planned naval assault on Port Moresby in New Guinea. On top of that, they lost many skilled aircrew that could not be replaced, and their surviving carriers were forced to return to Japan for repairs & rearmament, thus preventing them from partaking in the [[DecisiveBattle decisive]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway Battle of Midway]] the following month, which would become a catastrophic defeat for the Japanese Navy.[[note]] For added {{Irony}}, the US Carrier ''Yorktown'' was damaged at the Coral Sea to the point the Japanese assumed she was sunk. Rather, she was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs, which miraculously only took 48 hours before enabling her to return to the fleet and play a vital role at Midway. In Sharp Contrast, the Japanese Carrier ''Zuikaku'' survived the Coral Sea unscathed, but lost nearly half of her air group and thus had to wait in Japan for replacements, even though she could have used the surviving planes & crew from the damaged ''Shokaku'' to replenish her losses and form a makeshift air group, which likely would have tipped the balance in the Japanese’ favor at Midway [[/note]] The Battle of the Coral Sea is thus seen as Japan's first true military setback of the war.

* Over in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WorldWarII/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Pacific Theatre]], there was the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942, famous for being the first naval battle in history between Aircraft Carriers.[[note]] (The Japanese Navy was to launch an amphibious assault on the strategically important Port Moresby in New Guinea & capture it, aided by a task force of two aircraft carriers & one light carrier. The American Navy then sent its own Task Force consisting of two of their own carriers to intercept the enemy fleet & destroy them or prevent the assault.) [[/note]] The Americans and Japanese launched air attacks against each other’s fleets that resulted in heavy losses on both sides; ultimately, the battle ended in a tactical draw as both navies had to withdraw, with the Americans losing more ship tonnage.[[labelnote:*]] The American Losses consisted of the Fleet Carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2) Lexington]]'' along with damage to the carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-5) Yorktown]]''. The Japanese losses included one Light Carrier, along with damage to the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Sh%C5%8Dkaku Shokaku]]'', with the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku Zuikaku]]'' surviving unscathed. [[/labelnote]] However, the battle is generally seen by historians & military experts as an American Victory on a strategic level. Though they suffered fewer losses, the Japanese still had to withdraw and cancel their planned naval assault on Port Moresby in New Guinea. On top of that, they lost many skilled aircrew that could not be replaced, forcing their surviving carriers to return to Japan for repairs & rearmament, thus preventing them from partaking in the [[DecisiveBattle decisive]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway Battle of Midway]] the following month, which would become a catastrophic defeat for the Japanese Navy.[[note]] For added {{Irony}}, the US Carrier ''Yorktown'' was damaged at the Coral Sea to the point the Japanese assumed she was sunk. Rather, she was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs, which miraculously only took 48 hours before enabling her to return to the fleet and play a decisive role at Midway. In Sharp Contrast, the Japanese Carrier ''Zuikaku'' survived the Coral Sea unscathed, but lost nearly half of her air group and thus had to wait in Japan for replacements, even though she could have used the surviving planes & crew from the damaged ''Shokaku'' to replenish her losses and form an impromptu air group, which likely would have tipped the balance in the Japanese’ favor at Midway [[/note]] The Battle of the Coral Sea is thus seen as Japan's first true military setback of the war.

* Over in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WorldWarII/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Pacific Theatre]], there was the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942, famous for being the first naval battle in history between Aircraft Carriers.[[note]] (The Japanese Navy was to launch an amphibious assault on the strategically important Port Moresby in New Guinea & capture it, aided by a task force of two aircraft carriers & one light carrier. The American Navy then sent its own Task Force consisting of two of their own carriers to intercept the enemy fleet & destroy them or prevent the assault.) [[/note]] The Americans and Japanese launched air attacks against each other’s fleets that resulted in heavy losses on both sides; ultimately, the battle ended in a tactical draw as both navies had to withdraw, with the Americans losing more ship tonnage.[[labelnote:*]] The American Losses consisted of the Fleet Carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2) Lexington]]'' along with damage to the carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-5) Yorktown]]''. The Japanese losses included one Light Carrier, along with damage to the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Sh%C5%8Dkaku Shokaku]]'', with the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku Zuikaku]]'' surviving unscathed. [[/labelnote]] However, the battle is generally seen by historians & military experts as an American Victory on a strategic level. Though they suffered fewer losses, the Japanese still had to withdraw and cancel their planned naval assault on Port Moresby in New Guinea. On top of that, they lost many skilled aircrew that could not be replaced, forcing their surviving carriers to return to Japan for repairs & rearmament, thus preventing them from partaking in the [[DecisiveBattle decisive]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway Battle of Midway]] the following month, which would become a catastrophic defeat for the Japanese Navy.[[note]] For added {{Irony}}, the US Carrier ''Yorktown'' was damaged at the Coral Sea to the point the Japanese assumed she was sunk. Rather, she was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs, which miraculously only took 48 hours before enabling her to return to the fleet and play a decisive role at Midway. In Sharp Contrast, the Japanese Carrier ''Zuikaku'' survived the Coral Sea unscathed, but lost nearly half of her air group and thus had to wait in Japan for replacements, even though she could have used the surviving planes & crew from the ''Shokaku'' to replenish her losses and form an impromptu air group, which likely would have tipped the balance in the Japanese’ favor at Midway [[/note]] The Battle of the Coral Sea is thus seen as Japan's first true military setback of the war.

* Over in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WorldWarII/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Pacific Theatre]], there was the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942, famous for being the first naval battle in history between Aircraft Carriers.[[note]] (The Japanese Navy was to launch an amphibious assault on the strategically important Port Moresby in New Guinea & capture it, aided by a task force of two aircraft carriers & one light carrier. The American Navy then sent its own Task Force consisting of two of their own carriers to intercept the enemy fleet & destroy them or prevent the assault.) [[/note]] The Americans and Japanese launched air attacks against each other’s fleets that resulted in heavy losses on both sides; ultimately, the battle ended in a tactical draw as both navies had to withdraw, with the Americans losing more ship tonnage.[[labelnote:*]] The American Losses consisted of the Fleet Carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2) Lexington]]'' along with damage to the carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-5) Yorktown]]''. The Japanese losses included one Light Carrier, along with damage to the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Sh%C5%8Dkaku Shokaku]]'', with the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku Zuikaku]]'' surviving unscathed. [[/labelnote]] However, the battle is generally seen by historians & military experts as an American Victory on a strategic level. Though they suffered fewer losses, the Japanese still had to withdraw and cancel their planned naval assault on Port Moresby in New Guinea. On top of that, they lost many skilled aircrew that could not be replaced, forcing their surviving carriers to return to Japan for repairs & rearmament, thus preventing them from partaking in the [[DecisiveBattle decisive]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway Battle of Midway]] the following month, which would become a catastrophic defeat for the Japanese Navy.[[note]] For added {{Irony}}, the US Carrier ''Yorktown'' was damaged at the Coral Sea to the point the Japanese assumed she was sunk. Rather, she was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs, which miraculously only took 48 hours before enabling her to return to the fleet and play a decisive role in the Battle of Midway.[[/note]] The Battle of the Coral Sea is thus seen as Japan's first true military setback of the war.

* Over in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WorldWarII/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Pacific Theatre]], there was the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942, famous for being the first naval battle in history between Aircraft Carriers.[[note]] (The Japanese Navy was to launch an amphibious assault on the strategically important Port Moresby in New Guinea & capture it, aided by a task force of two aircraft carriers & one light carrier. The American Navy then sent its own Task Force consisting of two of their own carriers to intercept the enemy fleet & destroy them or prevent the assault.) [[/note]] The Americans and Japanese launched air attacks against each other’s fleets that resulted in heavy losses on both sides; however, the battle ended in a tactical draw as both navies had to withdraw, with the Americans losing more ship tonnage.[[labelnote:*]] The American Losses consisted of the Fleet Carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2) Lexington]]'' along with damage to the carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-5) Yorktown]]''. The Japanese losses included one Light Carrier, along with damage to the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Sh%C5%8Dkaku Shokaku]]'', with the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku Zuikaku]]'' surviving unscathed. [[/labelnote]] However, the battle is generally seen by historians & military experts as an American Victory on a strategic level. Though they suffered fewer losses, the Japanese still had to withdraw and cancel their planned naval assault on Port Moresby in New Guinea. On top of that, they lost many skilled aircrew that could not be replaced, forcing their surviving carriers to return to Japan for repairs & rearmament, thus preventing them from partaking in the [[DecisiveBattle decisive]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway Battle of Midway]] the following month, which would become a catastrophic defeat for the Japanese Navy.[[note]] For added {{Irony}}, the US Carrier ''Yorktown'' was damaged at the Coral Sea to the point the Japanese assumed she was sunk. Rather, she was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs, which miraculously only took 48 hours before enabling her to return to the fleet and play a decisive role in the Battle of Midway.[[/note]] The Battle of the Coral Sea is thus seen as Japan's first true military setback of the war.

* Over in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WorldWarII/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Pacific Theatre]], there was the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942, famous for being the first naval battle in history between Aircraft Carriers.[[note]] (The Japanese Navy was to launch an amphibious assault on the strategically important Port Moresby in New Guinea & capture it, aided by a task force of two aircraft carriers & one light carrier. The American Navy then sent its own Task Force consisting of two of their own carriers to intercept the enemy fleet & destroy them or prevent the assault.) [[/note]] The Americans and Japanese launched air attacks against each other’s fleets that resulted in heavy losses on both sides; however, the battle ended in a tactical draw as both navies had to withdraw, with the Americans losing more ship tonnage.[[labelnote:*]] The American Losses consisted of the Fleet Carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2) Lexington]]'' along with damage to the carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-5) Yorktown]]''. The Japanese losses included one Light Carrier, along with damage to the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Sh%C5%8Dkaku Shokaku]]'', with the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku Zuikaku]]'' surviving unscathed. [[/labelnote]] However, the battle is generally seen by historians & military experts as an American Victory. Though they suffered fewer losses, the Japanese still had to withdraw and cancel their planned naval assault on Port Moresby in New Guinea. On top of that, they lost many skilled aircrew that could not be replaced, forcing their carriers to return to Japan for repairs & rearmament, thus preventing them from partaking in the [[DecisiveBattle decisive]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway Battle of Midway]] the following month, which would become a catastrophic defeat for the Japanese Navy.[[note]] For added {{Irony}}, the US Carrier ''Yorktown'' was damaged at the Coral Sea to the point the Japanese assumed she was sunk. Rather, she forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs, which miraculously only took 48 hours before enabling her to return to the fleet and play a decisive role in the Battle of Midway.[[/note]] The Battle of the Coral Sea is thus seen as Japan's first true military setback of the war.

* Over in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WorldWarII/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Pacific Theatre]], there was the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942, famous for being the first naval battle in history between Aircraft Carriers.[[note]] (The Japanese Navy was to launch an amphibious assault on the strategically important Port Moresby in New Guinea & capture it, aided by a force of two aircraft carriers & one fleet carrier. The American Navy then sent its own Task Force consisting of two of their own carriers to intercept & prevent the assault.) [[/note]] The Americans and Japanese launched air attacks against each other’s fleets that resulted in heavy losses on both sides; however, the battle ended in a tactical draw as both navies had to withdraw, with the Americans losing more ship tonnage.[[labelnote:*]] The American Losses consisted of the Fleet Carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2) Lexington]]'' along with damage to the other carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-5) Yorktown]]''. The Japanese losses included one Light Carrier, along with damage to the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Sh%C5%8Dkaku Shokaku]]'', with the fleet carrier ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku Zuikaku]]'' surviving unscathed. [[/labelnote]] However, the battle is generally seen by historians & military experts as an American Victory. Though they suffered fewer losses, the Japanese still had to withdraw and cancel their planned naval assault on Port Moresby in New Guinea; on top of that, they lost many skilled aircrew that could not be replaced forcing their carriers to return to Japan for repairs & rearmament, thus preventing them from partaking in the decisive Battle of Midway the following month, which would become a catastrophic defeat. The Battle of the Coral Sea is thus seen as the first true military setback of Japan during the war.