Guadalcanal
by Staff EditorGuadalcanal is a 2510 square mile island in the Pacific Ocean. As a province of the Solomon Islands it is largely composed of jungle and is easily forgettable, save for the place it earned in infamy during World War II when it played host to the Battle of Guadalcanal, one of the most significant battles of the war.
As the first battle in the Pacific Campaign, the six-month conflict saw 16,000 U.S. Marines and other Allied troops descend on the Japanese-occupied island on August 7, 1942 in what became known as Operation Watchtower.
After attacking Pearl Harbor and capturing most of Southeast Asia, the Japanese army arrived at Guadalcanal in May 1942. The island, located just northeast of Australia was perfectly situated to cut off all shipping between the Allies and Australia, forcing them to take time consuming detours and was chosen by the Japanese army as the site for its next strategic military base in the Pacific.
Their base-building plan began with a significant installation at Rabaul on the northern tip of the island. From there, they began occupying islands all along the chain and constructing airbases for patrol bombers.
Unfortunately for the island, once the U.S. got wind of Japan's plans, it also became the location selected to launch the first full-scale retaliatory attack on a Japanese-held territory since Pearl Harbor.
Allied battalions managed to land at Guadalcanal without much resistance on August 7, given that their landing point was occupied mostly by Japanese construction workers and support personnel. When word of the invasion reached the Japanese at Rabaul, troops were immediately dispatched to destroy the Americans and take back the makeshift airstrip they had captured and named Henderson Field.
The first important battle between the two did not occur before August 20, when Japanese forces faced off against a battalion of U.S. Marines, losing nearly all of their men in the process. The loss rendered Japanese commander Kiyonao Ichiki so distraught that he committed seppuku (a ceremonial suicide by disembowelment) shortly thereafter.
Subsequent battles focused on the capture of Henderson Field, as the American airmen flying off from this point were responsible for significant actions against the Japanese. The Battle of Edson's Ridge, begun on September 11 saw nearly 6,000 Japanese ambush 1,000 U.S. Marines with the intent of taking back the airfield. It ended three days later with the Americans driving them back.
On October 11 the Battle of Cape Esperance was fought just off the island when U.S. Navy ships intercepted and conquered a Japanese fleet as they made their way to the island to reinforce their fellow American soldiers. U.S. forces in turn, reinvaded the island and after six months managed to stop the Japanese advance and drive Japanese forces off the island by 1943.
