After the Battle of Midway was won by the American forces the Japanese strategy changed. It was this defeat that reality set in and the Japanese command decided to hold on and preserve their conquered territories rather than to continue to expand. The American leaders turned their plans in the recapturing of the Japanese occupied islands in the Pacific. The next battle to take place was Guadalcanal, part of the Solomon Islands.
The importance of Guadalcanal was its strategic position in the South Pacific. Both the American and Japanese high command knew the importance of this island. For the Americans this island was strategic because they would be in a better position to protect Australia from invasion and they could continue the Allied buildup of military men, arms and equipment that would be used in a major assault against the Japanese. For the Japanese this island was important for their being able to cut off the shipping lanes to Australia therefore hindering any buildup of military men and supplies.
The Japanese forces landed on Guadalcanal in May 1942. They began constructing an airfield and by the end of June they had 3000 men strong. Once their airfield was complete the Allies knew this would become a big threat to them in the area. The Allied attack began on August 7th. The Japanese were taken by surprise with the landing of American Marines at Red Beach and there was no resistance by the enemy forces. There was so much equipment dropped off at this landing stage that the American forces were running out of space for it. The landing on Guadalcanal was a tactical success.
American forces began moving inland towards the still uncompleted airfield. Slowly moving in the hot,humid jungle the American forces had no contact with the enemy. The American forces reached the airfield on August 8th and did not encounter any hostile forces. The Japanese had retreated into the jungles and caves on the island where the battle for Guadalcanal would be fought. On August 9th the Allied Navy task force was forced to retreat from the area by Japanese Naval forces leaving the American Marines on their own.
The Marines were fully equipped and armed but the challenge ahead was the formidable experienced forces of the Japanese army. With the enemy navy in control of the seas surrounding the island and the 3000 enemy soldiers on the island the Marine forces had their work cut out for them. On August 18 more enemy troops landed on the island and they attacked the Marines on August 21.
The battle known as the "Battle of Tenaru" was handedly won by the US forces pushing back the enemy to the shore. The Japanese forces did not surrender but instead willingly died for their emperor. The Japanese sent a bigger force to the island to retake it and began their new offensive on September 12. Japanese planes and bombs from the battleships bombarded the area south of the airfield. Approximately 2000 troops were landed on the island but this new attack failed. The next day the Japanese forces again attacked the American positions but were repelled and the enemy sustained heavy casualties of about 1200 men. The Americans suffered about 445 men out of 1000 troops.
The battle waged on for the Guadalcanal island. The Japanese returned with 20,000 of their best troops only to be met by 23,000 American soldiers and a fully operational air field. The Japanese were met at sea by a American war planes and were defeated before any of their troops landed on shore. It was in December 1942 that the emperor ordered his men off the island and by February 1943 their withdrawal of the island was complete.
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