ISLAND
HOPPING
Guadalcanal: The
First Steps
Towards Victory
OPERATION
WATCHTOWER
ISLAND HOPPING
• Counter-offensive strike against the
islands of Japan
• Establish over-lapping bases as well
as air control
• Led by General Douglas MacArthur--
Commander of the Allied forces in
the Southwest Pacific
• Admiral Chester W. Nimitz,
Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific
Fleet
Guadalcanal
The 1st Step
Aug. 7, 1942 to Feb. 1943
(6 months)
• Following Coral • The Japanese
Sea New Air bases needed a
Were Being Built decisive
By Japanese On victory to
Guadalcanal reverse Midway
• This becomes a
• This battle will be “Campaign”
the most bitter,
protracted naval • One of attrition
struggle of the and heavy
Pacific War loses
The “HIGGINS” boat
•1st Marine
Division
landed and
& either
killed or
drove the
Japanese
garrisons
there into
the jungle
• 19,000 US MARINES
HIT THE SHORES
• 1st time for “wind
talkers”
• Bloodied and tired
the Marines move
inland and
• establish an airbase
at **HENDERSON
FIELD**
• “WHEN A MARINE
SETS FOOT ON A
BEACH HE DOES
NOT LEAVE UNTIL
THE JOB IS DONE”
Vice Ad. Gunichi Mikawa
• Commander of
8th Fleet
• Rallied all his
ships at headed
to
Guadalcanal
• HE arrived at
the Savo
Islands on 9
Aug
Battle of Savo Island
Aug 9,1942
• Cruiser Battle
• Japanese Night Attack
• Allies North & South
• Rabaul
• Mikawa should have hit the
transports
• His attack however did force the
transports to leave early
undersupplying the Marines
A complete &
humiliating
defeat!!!
Col. Merritt A. Edson
“The Battle of Bloody Ridge”
•Lunga Ridge on Guadalcanal
just south of Henderson Field
•Raider Battalion Sept. 13-14,
1942
•800 Marines withstood the
repeated assaults of more
than 2,500 Japanese
•"Edson's Ridge”
– 256 Marines are killed
IRONBOTTOM SOUND
•THE AREA BETWEEN
1-Kirishima
2-Quincy
3-Ayanami
THE SOLOMANS AND
4-DeHaven
5-Yudachi
6-Laffey
THE FLORIDA ISLANDS
7-Canberra
8-Northampton
9-Cushing
•5 MAJOR NAVAL
10-Barton
11-Monsse
BATTLES
Battle of Cape Esperance
(October 11, 1942)
• Rear Admiral Norman Scott
–Light up the Sound
• Rear Ad. Aritomo Goto
–Japanese Night Raids
–Mortal wounding at the start
–Head for the SLOT
A flawed American victory
Mitchell “GI JOE” Paige
on Guadalcanal 25 Oct.
•.30 cal Browning Machine
Guns
•All his men killed or
wounded he held the ridge
running from gun to gun
•17 MARINES???
Joe Basilone
• He is the only
enlisted Marine
in World War II
to have
received the
Medal of
Honor, the
Navy Cross,
and a Purple
Heart
First Naval Battle of
Guadalcanal
(November 13, 1942)
• Japanese •point-blank
reinforcements
brawl of
• battleships Hiei monstrous
and Kirishima
• Rear Admiral proportions
Daniel Callaghan •A stalemate
–1000 yards with high
costs
Second Naval Battle of
Guadalcanal
(November 14-15, 1942)
•By this time • By the end the
the us had Japanese loses
were to much
lost almost
to handle
every cruiser
• From this
•William battle on the
Halsey Japanese do
•USS nothing but
Washington retreat in the
pacific
Battle of Tassafaronga
(November 30, 1942)
•Another defeat for the
US NAVY
•Rear Ad. Tanaka
•Supplies via the TOKYO
EXPRESS
Cape Esperance
•By Dec. US Marine
Reinforcements replace the
1st marine Division
•Japanese forces are at their
end
•Time for the Japanese to
evacuate
•The lack of supply on both
sides meant that combat
was especially intense and
desperate
• Heads on a PIKE.
• NO PRISONERS.
•'Starvation Island„
•From this time on the
Japanese forces were
decidedly on the defensive
•NO FOOD AVAILABLE AND WE
CAN NO LONGER SEND OUT
SCOUTS. WE CAN DO
NOTHING TO WITHSTAND THE
ENEMY'S OFFENSIVE. 17TH
ARMY NOW REQUESTS
PERMISSION TO BREAK INTO
THE ENEMY'S POSITIONS AND
DIE AN HONORABLE DEATH
RATHER THAN DIE OF HUNGER
IN OUR OWN DUGOUTS.
General Hyakutake
"Island of Death"
• 25,000 Japanese died during the
campaign on the land the US 1,600
• The Naval loses were much heavier
• Guadalcanal was nothing glorious,
merely filthy, bloody, and diseased,
but it was decisive all the same
• ECONOMICS AND RESOURCES WILL
ADD UP TO SPELL DEATH AND
DEFEAT
“One Way Tickets To
Hell”
•FLYBOYS: James Bradley
•JAPANESE MINDSET
–Bushido
–Spirit Warriors
–Seppuku
–ISSEN GORIN
–HONOR AND THE GODS