80 Years Since the Start of the Battle of Guadalcanal

2,835 Views | 14 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by mullokmotx
mullokmotx
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Yesterday marked 80 years since the start of the battle. I visited there in 2013 and it was quite a view from the American Memorial looking over Iron Bottom Bay.
Smeghead4761
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One thing I didn't appreciate until I read Hornfischer's Neptune's Inferno and Prados' Islands of Destiny is how heavily the Guadalcanal campaign cost the U.S. Navy.

At one point in the campaign, the USN was down to one operational carrier in the Pacific - the Enterprise - and that one was damaged but could still fight. The Hornet and Wasp had been sunk, and the Saratoga damaged enough to require repair in Bremerton. The IJN wasn't much better off - I think they had only one fleet carrier operational, with the other, like the Saratoga, in port to repair major damage. But the USN had a lot more carriers, along with aircraft and air crew, coming to replace their losses. The IJN didn't.

Prados especially makes a good case that, while Midway stopped the Japanese advance, it was Guadalcanal and the Solomons where the U.S. seized the initiative and never let it go. Especially important was the grinding attrition of the shore- based component of the IJN's air arm, both planes and air crew (they also lost a large number of trained and experienced ground support crews in the Solomons, either killed by bombing raids, or simply stranded when their bases were bypasses, becoming, effectively, self-administered PoW camps.
Junction71
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I have read many books on the Guadalcanal campaign over the years beginning with one of the first--Richard Tregaskis Guadalcanal Diary through Frank's book on Guadalcanal. Maybe it was because my favorite uncle, who had a great influence on my younger life, was on the heavy cruiser USS New Orleans at Tassafaronga the last of the famous, and deadly, night naval battles with the Imperial Japanese Navy. His ship took a long-lance torpedo forward that resulted in the entire front turret being blown off. The ship was sinking until that powder magazine blew. He would never talk to me much about it. He was in the boiler room of the ship. All he said was "he'd never seen so many gd atheists screaming for God's Mercy". The ship, with no bow, was towed backwards all the way to Pearl Harbor at 3mph. What a luscious target by a Jap sub, but it didn't happen.

There were 5 major sea battles fought around Guadalcanal from August-November 1942 and tactically we lost all five, but strategically we won all five. Amazing what the Navy and Marine flyers did.

I have a book that I've yet to read entitled Victory Fever at Guadalcanal, published by TAMU Press. It is on the first major land engagement at the Tenaru River (Alligator Creek) a couple weeks after the Marines landed. The WW2 movie Pride of the Marines was based on this battle and a particular marine who was blinded in the fight. The Japanese Army thought Guadalcanal would go like all the other land battles in early1942 but they found out different.
Junction71
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The USS New Orleans after Tassafaronga:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fileamaged_USS_New_Orleans_%28CA-32%29_reaching_Tulagi_on_1_December_1942.jpg#/media/Fileamaged_USS_New_Orleans_(CA-32)_reaching_Tulagi_on_1_December_1942.jpg
CanyonAg77
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Junction71
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Thank You Canyon. I was just editing when you posted.
Texarkanaag69
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mullokmotx said:

Yesterday marked 80 years since the start of the battle. I visited there in 2013 and it was quite a view from the American Memorial looking over Iron Bottom Bay.
Some time ago I asked for suggested reading about Guadalcanal and included in the responses were Frank's Guadalcanal, Wheelan's Midnight In The Pacific, and Hornfischer's Neptunes's Inferno. I'm about halfway through Guadalcanal and it reveals an incredible amount of research that went into the final copy. I probably should have begun with one or both of the others first simply because I've been a little overwhelmed with the size and depth of Frank's book. Wheelan's book got into the nitty-gritty of the everyday fighting on land, sea, and air. Must admit that I was brought to tears with the ferocity of the description of the struggle and how many times our guys got up off the mat bloodied and exhausted and by God's providence returned a knockout punch. Again and again and again. And when the final victory was ours, the physical description of those who lived to leave that hellhole again brought tears to my eyes by a picture of courage, bravery, fortitude, a true never-quit, never give up, never surrender fighting spirit. For they were exhausted to the point that they required assistance to climb onto the rescue boats. Most had lost a tremendous amount of weight and almost all had suffered multiple illnesses from the insufferable heat and insects and a lack of adequate nourishment, not to mention from wounds received in combat. I have just begun to read Neptune's Inferno but to me Hornfischer's writing is exquisite. Too, I've found that his background explanation of the fact that the decision to focus men and materiel on the European theater helped me understand why it seemed that the Pacific theater in the Solomons was lacking in sufficient numbers of men, ships, and planes and that the struggle there was made more difficult because of it. I would recommend all three. Thanks to the guys who suggested those books.
Junction71
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Here is the Victory at Sea video on Guadalcanal.

Bregxit
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mullokmotx
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Battle of Edson's or Bloody Ridge 80 years ago on September 12, 13 and 14.
Cen-Tex
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Those naval battles put a huge dent in the US inventory of New Orleans class cruisers.
Smeghead4761
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The campaign also cost the USN two carriers sunk (Hornet, Wasp) and Saratoga badly enough damage that it had to return stateside for repairs.

Enterprise was also damaged, but remained on station, largely because there were no replacements available.

Here's the opening naval battle.

thach
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Sadly, Wasp and O'Brien were sunk and North Carolina was damaged this day in arguably the greatest Japanese torpedo spread fired in the war, by I-19.



This left Hornet as the only fast carrier in the South Pacific until Enterprise returned in late-October. Although the Big E gets all the fame for "and then there was one" after Hornet was sunk, Hornet was alone longer without support (~5 weeks) than Enterprise was (~3 weeks; when Saratoga returned from her torpedoing in late August).

Lastly, like most American ships sunk in 1942, Wasp survivors went to other ships as they were commissioned. Notably, approximately 100 went to USS Essex (CV-9) when she was commissioned at the end of the year. Additionally, Essex received a number of Lexington (CV-2) survivors at the behest of Admiral Nimitz. So when she went into combat in 1943, her rookies were leavened by a significant number of carrier vets, and good ones at that! One Wasp survivor in Essex was credited with shooting into 30 of 33 Japanese planes shot down by her AA. And Commander David McCampbell didn't do too bad switching from Wasp LSO to Essex AGC (air group commander).
mullokmotx
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80 years ago today was the battle on Guadalcanal in which John Basilone was awarded the Medal of Honor:

"For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action against enemy Japanese forces, above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in the Lunga Area. Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 24 and 25 October 1942. While the enemy was hammering at the Marines' defensive positions, Sgt. Basilone, in charge of 2 sections of heavy machineguns, fought valiantly to check the savage and determined assault. In a fierce frontal attack with the Japanese blasting his guns with grenades and mortar fire, one of Sgt. Basilone's sections, with its guncrews, was put out of action, leaving only 2 men able to carry on. Moving an extra gun into position, he placed it in action, then, under continual fire, repaired another and personally manned it, gallantly holding his line until replacements arrived. A little later, with ammunition critically low and the supply lines cut off, Sgt. Basilone, at great risk of his life and in the face of continued enemy attack, battled his way through hostile lines with urgently needed shells for his gunners, thereby contributing in large measure to the virtual annihilation of a Japanese regiment. His great personal valor and courageous initiative were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service."

The next night or maybe 2 nights was the action in which Mitchell Paige was awarded the Medal of Honor:

"For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action above and beyond the call of duty while serving with a company of marines in combat against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands on 26 October 1942. When the enemy broke through the line directly in front of his position, P/Sgt. Paige, commanding a machinegun section with fearless determination, continued to direct the fire of his gunners until all his men were either killed or wounded. Alone, against the deadly hail of Japanese shells, he fought with his gun and when it was destroyed, took over another, moving from gun to gun, never ceasing his withering fire against the advancing hordes until reinforcements finally arrived. Then, forming a new line, he dauntlessly and aggressively led a bayonet charge, driving the enemy back and preventing a breakthrough in our lines. His great personal valor and unyielding devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service."
mullokmotx
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80 years ago was the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The battle fought on the night of November 12 has always fascinated me because ships that were meant to shoot at each other from 10 miles away instead were a half-mile away. On the 13th the cruiser Juneau blew up costing the lives of the 5 Sullivan brothers. Two nights later there was a rare battleship versus battleship action in which the Washington pulverized the Kirishima. Over 1700 American sailors were lost in the battles over the 3 days and nights.
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