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Battle of Guadalcanal
The Battle of Guadalcanal took place from 7 August 1942 to 9 February 1943 in the southern Solomon Islands between Japanese and Allied land, air, and naval forces. Although named only for the island of Guadalcanal, the battle was actually a wider one that also encompassed multiple engagements across several other islands in the Solomon archipelago and in various ocean passages among and around those islands. It was the first large-scale offensive operation mounted by the Allies against Japan in the Pacific, and it resulted in an Allied victory. The naval engagements included both British and American ships, but fighting on the ground and in the air was conducted almost exclusively by American units.
Strategically, the outcome of the battle served Allied defensive and offensive goals. Defensively, it checked the Japanese advance into the Solomons that threatened Australia and New Zealand and, more generally, it marked the turning-point in Allied efforts to halt Japan’s military expansion in the Pacific. After Guadalcanal, Japan was essentially on the defensive throughout the region. Offensively, the battle established a critically important forward land base that Allied forces would use to begin pushing the Japanese back from the southwestern and central Pacific.
The six-month-long battle was intense, vicious, and bloody and often fought at close quarters. In addition, the fighting strength of both sides was greatly reduced by the incidence of tropical diseases like malaria and dengue fever. Allied casualties (killed, wounded, captured, died of disease) totaled approximately 15,000; Japanese casualties totaled more than 19,000. Naval and aircraft losses were also heavy: the Allies lost 29 vessels and 615 aircraft; the Japanese lost 38 ships and 683 aircraft.
Main (regiment-level and higher) Allied ground units participating in the battle:
- 1st Marine Division (1st, 5th, 7th, and 11th Marine Regiments)
- 2nd Marine Division (2nd, 6th, 8th, and 10th Marine Regiments)
- 23rd Infantry (Americal) Division (132nd, 164th, and 182nd Infantry Regiments, 244th Coast Artillery Regiment)
- 147th Infantry Regiment (attached to the 23rd Division)
- 25th Infantry Division (27th, 35th, 161st Infantry Regiments)
- British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force
Main (regiment-level and higher) Japanese ground units participating in the battle:
- 2nd Infantry Division (4th, 16th, 29th Infantry Regiments, 2nd Artillery Regiment)
- 38th Infantry Division (228th, 229th, 230th Infantry Regiments, 38th Mountain Gun Regiment)
- 35th Brigade (124th Infantry Regiment, 4th Artillery Regiment)
- 28th Infantry Regiment
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Those known to have fought in Battle of Guadalcanal during the Second World War 1939-1945. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
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Want to know more about Battle of Guadalcanal? There are:0 items tagged Battle of Guadalcanal available in our Library
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Sea. Wilhelm Louis Guttormsen USS Boise My dad, Wilhelm Guttormsen served with the US Navy in the Pacific, first on the light cruiser USS Boise and then, after Guadalcanal, on the submarine USS Toro.
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