Nimitz was a hell of a leader. And his appointment of Spruance right before Midway, when Halsey got a bad case of the Shingles and had to stay back at Pearl Harbor.... incapacitated... was a great show of leadership. Nimitz dug deep when he picked a relatively junior rear admiral Raymond Spruance, who ran the show at Midway. Spruance was a mere escort commander... not a air fleet commander. But Nimitz knew what he was doing... Spruance was junior, but he was aggressive, creative and a go-getter. Nimitz took heat for picking him... from those with seniority... who thought it was their turn for the glory.
But Nimitz backed up the choice... Told the 'senior' admirals to pound sand. In Spruance, he picked the right guy for the job. Spruance pulled off a brilliant ambush (of the supposed ambushers..). Yamamoto (architect of Midway) was a good poker player. Spruance was far, far better! And there was little luck... a lot of calculation... involved.
The observation that it was not a 'miracle' at Midway... or luck by the U.S. Absolutely right on, IMHO. The broke the codes. They set up an ambush. They had set up the Japanese. And when it came to inflicting some hate and hurt on the Japanese Navy... the U.S. Navy was in the right place, at the right time, with the right men and the right tools... by design. Not luck!
Cheers,
Sirhr