Guadalcanal, Battle of

Guadalcanal, Battle of

 (August 1942–February 1943), series of World War II land and sea clashes between Allied and Japanese forces on and around Guadalcanal, one of the southern Solomon Islands, in the South Pacific. Japanese troops had landed on Guadalcanal on July 6, 1942, and had begun constructing an airfield there. On August 7, in the Allies' first major offensive in the Pacific, 6,000 U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal and seized the airfield, surprising the island's 2,000 Japanese defenders. Both sides then began landing reinforcements by sea, and bitter fighting ensued in the island's jungles. The Japanese forces on the island reached a peak strength of 36,000 troops by October, but they were unable to overwhelm the Americans' defensive perimeter and retake the airfield. Six separate naval battles were also fought in the area as the navies of both sides sought to land reinforcements. By November, the U.S. Navy was able to land reinforcements on Guadalcanal faster than were the Japanese, and by January 44,000 U.S. troops were on the island. By February 1943 the Japanese, badly outnumbered, were forced to evacuate 12,000 of their remaining troops from Guadalcanal. Along with the naval Battle of Midway (June 3–6, 1942), the fighting on Guadalcanal marked a turning point in favour of the Allies in the Pacific War.

      The Japanese lost a total of 24,000 men killed in the Battle of Guadalcanal, while the Americans sustained 1,600 killed, 4,200 wounded, and several thousand dead from malaria and other tropical diseases. The various naval battles cost each side 24 warships: the Japanese lost 2 battleships, 4 cruisers, 1 light carrier, 11 destroyers, and 6 submarines, while the Americans lost 8 cruisers, 2 heavy carriers, and 14 destroyers.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Battle for Henderson Field — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle for Henderson Field partof=the Pacific Theater of World War II caption=Dead soldiers and destroyed tanks from the Japanese 17th Army lie at the mouth of the Matanikau River after a failed assault on U.S.… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of the Tenaru — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of the Tenaru partof=the Pacific Theater of World War II caption=Dead Japanese soldiers, killed assaulting United States Marine positions, lie on the sandbar at the mouth of Alligator Creek, Guadalcanal… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Edson's Ridge — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Edson s Ridge partof=the Pacific Theatre of World War II caption=A United States Marine stands near some of the fighting positions on Hill 123 on Edson s Ridge after the battle. Edson s command post… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo partof=the Pacific Theater of World War II caption=United States Marines wade ashore on Tulagi Island on August 7, 1942. date=August 7 – August 9, 1942 place=Tulagi and… …   Wikipedia

  • Guadalcanal Island — ▪ island, Solomon Islands       largest island of the country of Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean. The island has an area of 2,047 square miles (5,302 square km) and is of volcanic origin. It has a mountainous spine (Kavo Range) that… …   Universalium

  • Guadalcanal Campaign — Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of the Coral Sea — Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II …   Wikipedia

  • Battle Royale — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Battle Royale (バトル・ロワイアル, Batoru Rowaiaru) es una novela escrita por el japonés Koushun Takami. (Para la película, véase Battle Royale (película)). Publicada en abril de 1999 en Japón, se convirtió gracias a la… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Battle of Guadalcanal order of battle — Guadalcanal Order of Battle is a list of the significant land units that fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal between August 7th, 1942 and February 9th, 1943.JapaneseOn August 10th, 1942, the Japanese 17th Army under Lieutenant General Harukichi… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Peleliu — Part of World War II, Pacific War …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”