However, this success would be short-lived, Japan’s counterstrike decimated the Allied naval presence, leading to a back-and-forth naval stalemate for the next two months. Marines landed and captured Japan’s major airfield on Guadalcanal within 36 hours, surprising the Japanese defenders. 9, 1943: The Battle of Guadalcanal rages by air, land, and sea Seizing the momentum, the United States elected to capture the islands so the proposed airfields could instead be used against the Japanese. Forced on the defensive, Japan tried to solidify its holdings in the South Pacific with new airbases and entrenched troops.Īllied intelligence discovered that Japan had begun building on such base in the southern Solomon Islands, important because they were within striking distance of crucial Allied supply lines and bases. Any chance of Japan evening the score decisively failed after the Allies struck a critical blow against Japan’s fleet at the Battle of Midway. and Allied victories in summer and early fall sapped the Axis power’s momentum.įirst, the Battle of the Coral Sea - a decided stalemate at the time - significantly hampered Japan’s aircraft carrier fleet. Japan continued to conquer territories of strategic or economic importance through the first half of 1942, but a string of U.S. Prelude to the Battle of GuadalcanalĪfter Imperial Japan’s surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor in late 1941, the United States struggled to protect its assets in the Pacific. It ended Japan’s outward expansion and allowed the Allies to gain a foothold in the Pacific, eventually leading to victory over Japan. Part of the Solomon Islands Campaign, the Battle of Guadalcanal was a major turning point in the war against Imperial Japan in the Pacific theater of World War II. Marines held Guadalcanal through the entirety of the Solomon Islands campaign during World War II.
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