Guadalcanal campaign | wwii
The Guadalcanal Campaign: 7 Aug 1942—8 Feb 1943
Approximately 44,000 members of the U.S. armed forces fought in the Guadalcanal Campaign, of which nearly 11,000 were Marines. These forces fought alongside Solomon Islanders, Allies, and partners against approximately 31,000 soldiers and sailors of the Empire of Japan. Over the course of the campaign, there were approximately 1,600 U.S. KIA, and several thousand other WIA and approximately 24,000 Japanese KIA. The Allies that fought alongside U.S. forces included the Solomon Islands, Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Tonga, and Fiji. The Allied success in Guadalcanal ended Japanese expansion efforts in the Pacific and placed the Allies in a position of supremacy. The victory at Guadalcanal could be seen as the first in a string of successes that eventually led to the surrender of Imperial Japan.
amphibious landing on guadalcanal
August 7, 1942
| The battle began with a 1st Marine Division amphibious landing on August 7, 1942 – exactly eight months after the attack on Pearl Harbor – and lasted until the Japanese withdrew from the island in early February of 1943. The amphibious landing marked the first amphibious assault made against enemy forces by the 1st Marine Division.
Commanded by then-Major General Alexander Vandegrift, the 1st Marine Division was chosen to make the amphibious landing on Guadalcanal and seize a strategic airfield, with the intent of halting the advance of Imperial Japanese forces. After bypassing enemy patrol aircraft due to obscuring weather conditions, the 5th Marine Regiment of 1st MARDIV landed on Red Beach with little enemy resistance and took a defensive position.
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U.S. First Division Marines storm ashore across Guadalcanal's beaches on D-Day, August 7, 1942 |
 Guadalcanal, December 10, 1942. Marine SBD Squadron warms up before strike at Henderson Field during December 1942. | Under the support of 5th Marines and U.S. Naval gunfire, the 1st Marine Regiment landed ashore, advancing past the beachhead. Shortly after, battalions of both the 1st and 5th Marine Regiments maneuvered to the Lunga Point airfield – later named Henderson Field after Major Lofton Henderson, an aviator killed at the Battle of Midway – securing that critical objective on August 8, 1942.
Shortly after the U.S. Marines seized Henderson Field, Imperial Japanese forces responded with an intense campaign in the air, land, and sea, attempting to regain control of that key element to continued Allied strength in the region. In the face of unforgiving weather, logistical challenges, disease, and treacherous terrain, U.S. forces maintained control of the airfield in the face of sophisticated attacks intended to drive Marine forces from the island altogether. |
During the night of February 7, 1943, the last Imperial Japanese forces were evacuated from Guadalcanal by a destroyer task force as part of Operation Ke. This marked the end of the fight for Guadalcanal, a battle that claimed the lives of more than 38,000 combined troops, marking one of the first Allied victories in the Pacific.
The battle of savo island
August 9, 1942
| In response to the Allied landings on Guadalcanal, the Imperial Japanese Navy undertook a night surface attack on the ships screening the Allied landing force. The battle has come to be identified as the worst defeat in a single fleet action suffered by the United States Navy. After the 1st Marine Division landed on Guadalcanal, the Japanese Navy launched a night assault against the Allied Naval Task Force supporting the invasion. The Japanese task force, consisting of seven cruisers and one destroyer sailed from Rabaul, New Britain, and Kavieng, New Ireland, down New Georgia Sound. | |
| Catching the allied task force off guard, the Japanese were able to cause major damage to the allied force, sinking one Australian and three American cruisers. During the engagement, 1,023 allied personnel were killed, and another 709 were wounded. Despite the terrible casualties on the allied side, the Japanese force received only light damage during the battle. The Japanese did not realize the full superiority of their position, and did not press on to destroy the allied transport ships. Had they done so, the Marines on Guadalcanal would have been entirely unsupported, and possibly might not have won the land battle. Immediately following their victory over the allied task force, the Japanese began bombing the Marines on the island of Guadalcanal. The Battle of Savo Island is widely considered to be one of the worst naval defeats in American history, and placed the entire allied Guadalcanal Campaign in jeopardy. | 
The USS Quincy (CA-39), burning and illuminated by Japanese searchlights, during the Battle of Savo Island off the coast of Guadalcanal, August 9, 1942. |
battle of tenaru
August 23-25, 1942
The Battle of Tenaru, also known as the Battle of Ilu River or the Battle of Alligator Creek, was the first of three major Japanese ground offensive operations during the Guadalcanal Campaign. The 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment (Rein.), also known as the Ichiki Detachment, led the assault against the fox-holed Marine forces defending the Lunga perimeter, which guarded Henderson Field.
 Tenaru River, Guadalcanal, circa 1942
From the collection of Clifton B. Cates (COLL/3157) United States Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections |
The Ichiki Detachment attempted a night-time frontal assault against the Marine forces on the east side of the Lunga perimeter, but were spotted by Jacob Vouza, a Solomon Island police officer and Coastwatcher scout, who informed the Marines moments before the attack took place. This battle also represents the first attempted Banzai charge by Japanese forces against an American unit during the Pacific War. |
battle of the eastern solomons
August 23-25, 1942
As in the Coral Sea and at Midway, U.S. and Japanese ships never sighted each other during the course of this engagement—all attacks were carried out by carrier-based or shore-based aircraft. It was fought during Operation Ka, the Japanese counteroffensive against Allied landings in the eastern Solomons.
| The Japanese wanted to launch a counter-offensive against the Allied forces for landing in the eastern Solomon Islands. Their plan was to reinforce their ground assets on Guadalcanal, but first they needed to destroy the Allied naval forces that were directly supporting the U.S. Marines on land. After a series of air attacks, neither were able to secure a clear victory. Both withdrew their naval forces from the area. Despite withdrawing, U.S. forces gained tactical and strategic advantages on land. Japan lost a significant number of aircraft and personnel, and their goal of reinforcing their ground assets on Guadalcanal was delayed. As a result, the Allies were given time to rest and resituate their forces, and for months were able to prevent or interdict landings of the enemy's heavy artillery, ammunition, and other supplies. | 
A Japanese bomb exploding on the flight deck of USS Enterprise (CV-6) on August 24, 1942. |
battle of edson ridge
12—14 Sep 1942
The Battle of Edson Ridge, also variously referred to as Lunga Ridge, Edson’s Ridge, and Bloody Ridge, was the attempt of the Imperial Japanese to regain control of Henderson Field by way of Lunga Ridge, a natural access point to the strategic airfield. Over the previous month the Empire of Japan had incrementally transported several thousand troops to Guadalcanal via an undefended supply corridor, referred to as the “Tokyo Express,” with the mission of retaking control of Henderson Field and driving the Allied forces from the island.
In response to the intelligence indicating a large enemy presence, 840 Marines from the 1st Marine Raider Battalion, led by Lieutenant Colonel Merritt (Red Mike) Edson, and the 1st Parachute Battalion were sent to defend the ridge. With limited resources due to the strong Imperial Japanese Naval presence, the Marines emplaced at the ridge and began preparing for the attack.
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A historic photo shows the view of final line positions on Edson's Ridge in Guadalcanal. The lines barely held during the battle on Sept 13, 1942. The line is as viewed from Marine Corps Maj. Kenneth Bailey's intermediate position. | On the night of 12 Sept. 1942, following a bombardment of naval gunfire, more than 3,000 Imperial Japanese troops attacked the emplaced Marines at Lunga Ridge. Hours of intense close-range fighting led to the Imperial Japanese breaking through the Marines’ defenses before falling back for the evening, but retaining some ground gained during the engagement. After a brief counterattack in the early hours led by the reserve companies, and having sustained heavy casualties after the bloody first engagement, the Marines were forced to fall back to consolidate and strengthen their defenses. Under the guidance of Lt. Col. Edson, the Marines fortified their position, requested the support of artillery, and rested in preparation for the next attack. |
By nightfall, the Imperial Japanese had launched their attacks, with the Marines' counter-attacking at advancing assaults and making decisive adjustments at the direction of Lt. Col. Edson. Throughout the night and from numerous reorganized positions, the Marine line on the ridge grew weakened as they took more casualties with each attack, but continued to hold the ridge and the airfield. By 0400 on 14 Sept., 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, began providing companies to reinforce the Marines on the ridge, but the majority of attacking forces had been depleted.
By daybreak, the final attacks from the Imperial Japanese had been repelled, and the reinforced Marines on the ridge saw no more organized assaults and began driving remaining factions of enemy troops from the perimeter. Under the personal courage and inspirational leadership of Lt. Col. Edson and the heroic actions of the Marines, the Allies retained control of Edson Ridge and Henderson Field. The Imperial Japanese forces recognized defeat and retreated, having been rendered unable to complete their mission.
Battle of cape esperance
October 11, 1942
After more than a month without ground reinforcements, Japanese forces dispatched an extensive supply and reinforcement convoy to their ground forces on Guadalcanal on the night of October 11, 1942. Simultaneously, but independent of the resupply, three Japanese heavy cruisers and two destroyers planned to bomb Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, an airfield that U.S. Marines had taken upon landing on the island.
| Shortly before midnight, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Norman Scott sent a task force of four cruisers and five destroyers to surprise the Japanese naval forces as they approached Savo Island to the north of Guadalcanal's Cape Esperance. A Japanese cruiser and destroyer were sunk, with another cruiser badly damaged. One U.S. destroyer was sunk, with one cruiser and destroyer in need of major repair. Retreating, the remaining Japanese ships abandoned their bombardment mission. Meanwhile, the Japanese supply convoy had successfully reached Guadalcanal without being discovered by Scott's task force. Although the engagement's strategic outcome remained inconclusive, the Battle of Cape Esperance helped the Allied naval forces recover momentum from previous losses in their defeat at Savo Island in early August. | 
The USS Boise arrives at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in November of 1942 for repair of battle damage received during the October 11-12 Battle of Cape Esperance. |
Battle of santa cruz islands
October 26, 1942
Japanese naval forces in the Solomon Islands strategic area positioned themselves at the southern end of the Solomon Islands Chain in an attempt to distract allied naval forces from the major ground offensive being launched by the Japanese Army. On October 26, 1942, the U.S. and Japanese naval forces engaged each other just north of the Santa Cruz Islands, kicking off the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
 A Japanese Type 99 shipboard bomber (Allied codename Val) trails smoke as it dives toward USS Hornet (CV-8), during the morning of October 26, 1942. | Continuing a trend that would continue for the rest of the war, the opening stages of the battle were conducted by carrier aircraft attacking the opposing naval forces, with no warships firing directly at each other. U.S. ships were forced to retreat from the area, after suffering 81 aircraft lost, one destroyer sunk and two damaged, and a crippling loss of one aircraft carrier, as well as another heavily damaged. Despite the significant damage caused to the U.S. naval force, the Japanese halted their assault after suffering 99 aircraft lost, and significant damage to many of their ships. The loss of these aircraft and their pilots, as well as the damage to the Japanese ships removed the Japanese carrier forces from the equation for the rest of the Guadalcanal campaign. |
battle of Tassafaronga
November 30, 1942
The Battle of the Tassafronga Sea, also known as the Battle of Ironbottom Sound took place on November 30, 1942.
| A U.S. Navy task force was able to use their newly designed surface search radar to locate Japanese ships in the area. Attempting to catch the Japanese by surprise, the U.S. task force attacked the enemy force and managed to sink a Japanese destroyer. Despite the U.S. force having an advantage due to the new radar, the Japanese were able to quickly react and fired off a large number of torpedoes at the U.S. ships. These torpedoes met their target, and sank a U.S. cruiser, and caused heavy damage to three other cruisers. The Japanese forces used this as an opportunity to disengage from the U.S. ships, and were able to successfully withdraw from the immediate area. This tactical retreat came at the expense of the Japanese forces on the island of Guadalcanal, who the Japanese trips had been attempting to reinforce and resupply. | 
USS Minneapolis (CA-36) at Tulagi with torpedo damage received in the battle. Photograph was taken on December 1, 1942. |
japanese withdrawal and u.s. victory
february 1943
Despite the allied losses during the naval battles of Guadalcanal, the increased presence of allied naval forces greatly hindered the Japanese navy’s ability to resupply their forces on Guadalcanal. In addition, allied aircraft from Henderson Field and aircraft carriers were able to stop multiple Japanese resupply attempts.
 Japanese Transport KINUGAWA MARU beached and sunk on Guadalcanal, where she was destroyed by U.S. forces in November of 1942. | Despite the allied losses during the naval battles of Guadalcanal, the increased presence of allied naval forces greatly hindered the Japanese navy’s ability to resupply their forces on Guadalcanal. In addition, allied aircraft from Henderson Field and aircraft carriers were able to stop multiple Japanese resupply attempts.
The last success for the Japanese navy during the Guadalcanal campaign took place on January 29, 1943. Two Japanese air groups located and attacked allied Task Force 18, a formation of five cruisers and six destroyers. The cruiser USS Chicago was struck by two torpedoes launched by the Japanese aircraft, damaging her propulsion and leaving her unable to move. This engagement was dubbed the Battle of Rennell Island, and marked the beginning of the end for the Japanese at Guadalcanal. |
After the continued losses at Guadalcanal, the Japanese high command came to the realization that withdrawal from the island was the best strategic move. Beginning in January 1943 the Japanese forces were evacuated by embarking on Japanese destroyers. The evacuations took place mostly during night, to avoid the risk of attack by allied air and naval forces. On the night of February 7, 1943 the last Japanese forces were evacuated from Guadalcanal.
Over the seven months of the Guadalcanal campaign, U.S. forces took startlingly high casualties, with 7,100 dead and almost 8,000 wounded. The Japanese forces defending the island suffered more than 19,000 personnel killed, with an unknown number wounded. After the daring amphibious landing at Guadalcanal, the months of bitter fighting through the dense jungle, and the harrowing naval battles, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy struck the United States’ first substantial blow against the Japanese since the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the Guadalcanal campaign, the Japanese would be on the defensive in the Pacific for the remainder of the war.