A Great and Terrible War: Guadalcanal

The Battle of Guadalcanal was the first American offensive in World War II. In this battle, the 1st U.S. marine division led by General Vandergrift, won the land battle at Guadalcanal, while the Japanese, under Admiral Tanaka, won the Battle of Tassafaronga.

On August 7th, 1942, the U.S. Marines had their first amphibious landing in the Pacific. They were inexperienced in this kind of landing, lacking dependable maps, tide readings, and other necessary supplies. One group of Marines was sent to Tenaru on the island of Guadalcanal, while another went to the nearby islands of Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tanambogo, to attack Japanese bases in these places. When the first group landed at Tenaru, they were surprised at the lack of opposition they found on Red Beach, their place of arrival - in fact, there was no fighting for the first 24 hours here. The other islands, however, more than made up for this calm area, in a 20% casualty rate of the American army.

The Marines were challenged by the climate, which was warmer than what they had expected. But they soon began to win battle after battle, claiming a major goal of Henderson Airfield on August 8th. Also on August 8th was a naval battle at Savo Island. Here, the U.S. Navy was forced to retreat after the loss of 1500 allied crewmen, 4 cruisers, and 1 destroyer. On October 11th, another naval battle - this time at Cape Esperance - found the Allies defeating a Japanese task force. On November 30th, at the Battle of Tassafaronga, a U.S. task force attempted to intercept Japanese supplies on the way to Guadalcanal. In this mission, they lost the Northhampton. At the Aleutian Islands, another battle took place, where on June 3rd, the Japanese attacked the Dutch Harbor, and on June 6th, occupied Kiska. On May 29th of the next year, however, this turned around and the Japanese were crushed at Attu. From September 12-14, they took part in the Battle of Bloody Ridge, and on February 9th of 1943, the Japanese resistance finally ended.