7 Aug 1942...Operation Watchtower, the U.S. planned invasion of Guadacanal and four other islands in the Solomon chain (east of Australia). The landing on Guadalcanal was vitually unopposed at first but the Marines landing on the other four islands met stiff Japanese resistance. Within 24 hours 11,000 Marines were on Guadalcanal. The Marines quickly took their main objective, the airfield, and the outnumbered Japanese troops retreated, but not for long. Reinforcements were brought in, and fierce hand-to-hand jungle fighting ensued (look up John Basilone). Japanese forces temporarily gained air and sea superiority halting the unloading of supplies and reinforcements for the Marines already on the island (Battle of Savo Island). By February of 1943 the Japanese were whipped and secretly retreated. The Japanese lost 25,000 killed (not many surrendered) compared to 1,600 Americans killed. Each side lost 24 warships. This was the first time the Americans met the Japanese in battle. The Marines would make about 60 more amphibious landings in the Pacific and the Japanese were determined to die fighting... surrender was not an option.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 12:56:42 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015