Battle of Guadalcanal

August 7, 1942 – February 9, 1943 · Pacific Theater

Phases

1. 1Aug 7 — Watchtower: The First OffensiveAugust 7–9, 1942
2. 2Aug–Oct — The Ridge & the Tokyo ExpressAugust – October 1942
3. 3Nov 12–15 — The Naval ClimaxNovember 12–15, 1942
4. 4Dec–Feb 9 — Starvation IslandDecember 1942 – February 9, 1943

August 7–9, 1942

America’s first ground offensive of the war lands the 1st Marine Division on a jungle island none of them can find on a map — because the Japanese are building an airfield there that would cut the lifeline to Australia. The airstrip is taken in a day and named Henderson Field. Two nights later, off Savo Island, the US Navy suffers its worst defeat at sea — four cruisers sunk in forty minutes — and the transports withdraw, leaving the Marines alone with captured rice and half their supplies.

• ➤1st Marine Division — Ashore at Lunga Point — the airfield taken in a day
• ●Henderson Field — the prize everything turns on
• ●Savo Island — four Allied cruisers sunk in 40 minutes
• ●Tulagi — the harbor, taken in two days of hard fighting