GUADALCANAL 129
The Japanese established a naval base in the southern Solomon Islands
in May 1942 and in July began building an airfield on Guadalcanal.
Seeing this as a threat to lines of communication between the US and
Australia, the Allies assembled a force of US Marines and US and
Australian warships to attack Guadalcanal and the nearby island of
Tulagi to the north on August 7. The Japanese were caught by surprise,
and 11,000 US Marines were put ashore on Guadalcanal almost
unopposed. On the night of August 8–9, however, the Japanese navy
counterattacked. Striking at the Allied naval force, they sank four
cruisers in the battle of Savo Island, killing more than 1,000 seamen.
The rattled Allied fleet withdrew, leaving the Marines ashore to fend for
themselves without heavy equipment, which had not yet been landed.The defense of Henderson Field
While the Japanese strove to organize troop landings to retake
Guadalcanal, the US Marines completed construction of the airstrip
on the north coast, named Henderson Field. Once US aircraft arrived
two weeks after the initial landings, they could stop the Japanese
navy operating around the island in daytime. The Japanese resorted
to using fast destroyers to ferry troops from their base at Rabaul by
night. Through this “Tokyo Express” they built up sufficient forces
on Guadalcanal to launch serious attacks on the Marines’ defensive
perimeter around the airfield from mid-September. The Marines
fought off a series of near-suicidal assaults through October, while
mounting their own aggressive patrols into the hostile jungle terrain.The final battles
The climax of the campaign came in mid-November. Japanese warships
planned to sail in by night to bombard Henderson Field while transports
landed fresh troops. The US Navy responded in force. In two nights of
brutal, confused, close-range fighting in darkness, the Japanese lost
two battleships and four other warships. The US Navy also suffered
substantial losses, but the Japanese troop landings stopped. From here
the Americans were able
to reinforce their troops
on Guadalcanal to 50,000
men. With no prospect
of victory, Japan decided
their resources would
be better employed
elsewhere. Troop
withdrawals began, and
the last Japanese forces left
in early February 1943.GUADALCANAL
In August 1942 the Allies went on the offensive in the
Pacific War, landing on Japanese-held Guadalcanal in the
Solomon Islands. Fierce battles raged on land and sea for
six months until the Japanese withdrew.
▷ US landings
Thousands of US Marines landed on
the north coast between Koli Point
and Lunga Point on August 7, 1942.US_128-129_Guadalcanal.indd 129 19/03/19 5:40 PM