Solomon Is., Guadalcanal

Mired Jeep on Guadalcanal

bigpigeon.us webpage WWII-Japan > South & SW Pacific < Solomon Is., Guadalcanal, © 2023 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 6 Jan 2023.
The 1942-43 US campaign to recapture the Solomon Islands began on Guadalcanal in the southern Solomons and moved northward up the Solomons chain. This webpage sketches the Guadalcanal phase. The second and third phases are outlined in The Solomon Islands - New Georgia and The Solomon Islands - Bougainville webpages.

Concurrent with the land battle on Guadalcanal were a series of massive sea battles in the Solomon Islands, listed in the Solomons Naval War webpage.

Prelude to Guadalcanal, March - July 1942

Starting in March 1942, Japanese forces began developing bases on the northern Solomon Island of Bougainville.
In May, as part of Japan's planned Operation Mo expansion further into the South and Southwest Pacific, the japanese began developing a naval base at Tulagi, a small island near Guadalcanal, and at the time the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate.
In July, the Japanese began to build an airfield on the large island of Guadalcanal near Tulagi.

The Japanese expansion into the southern Solomon Islands alarmed Australian and United States military leaders, as it increased the threat to the vital sea lanes between Australia and America. Thus the US began planning a response.

The Solomon Islands

Southern Solomons, Guadalcanal, 7 August 1942 - 7 February 1943

Elements of the First Marine Division landed on Tulagi and smaller islands near Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942 and brief but sharp combat followed.
On 8 August, the US landing began on the north side of Guadalcanal near Lunga Point. The Guadalcanal landing was not resisted, as the Japanese had no combat troops on Guadalcanal.

However, Japanese combat troops soon began landing on the west end of Guadalcanal. Intense but relatively small-scale combat followed over the following months as Japan continued to reinforce its troops on Guadalcanal.

As late as the end of October 1942, American troops were confined to only a small portion of the island. However, Japanese naval losses eventually made it prohibitive for the Imperial Japanese Navy to continue to transport replacement troops to Guadalcanal. Thus, Japanese troop strength declined while the United States added ground forces and expanded its control over Guadalcanal.

Finally, after nearly six months, Japanese troops were secretly withdrawn. The Guadalcanal campaign ended on 7 February 1943.

Guadalcanal Area in 1942

Sources for Big Pigeon's South & SW Pacific > Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal webpage:

The webpage header photo, Mired Jeep on Guadalcanal, is courtesy of Fine Arts America.
The source for the Solomon Islands map is unknown.
The Guadalcanal Area in 1942 map is courtesy of emersonkent.com.

Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - South & SW Pacific > Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal:

Taken from the bigpigeon.us WWII Roster module.

07-02 - South & SW Pacific > Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal: (two dead, updated 7 Jan 2023)
† Ross, William Thomas, SN 620-23-62, US Naval Aviation, Union & Montgomery Cos.

Patrol Sqdn. VP-54; Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina BUNO 04403 radio operator w/ pilot Walter Howell Cummings; d. 15 May 1943; aircraft disappeared on routine night patrol from Guadalcanal; crew of 12 lost; South & SW Pacific > Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal; BNR.

† Wagner, Egbert Vernon, SN O-9476, US Marine Corps Aviation, Pott. Co.

Marine Air Fighter Sqdn. VMF-112, Marine Air Group 11, based at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Is.; Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat BuNo 05087 pilot; KIA 26 Jan 1943 near Henderson Field, air collision on patrol over Ironbound Sound; South & SW Pacific > Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal; BNR.