Army: 19, dead, of whom 8, were killed in combat [ 9 ]. It was fought between 7 August and 9 February , and involved major land and naval battles on and surrounding the island of Guadalcanal. It was the first major Allied land offensive against Japan during the war.
In summer , the Allies decided to mount major offensives in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands with the objectives of defending sea lines to Australia and eventually attacking the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The Guadalcanal operation was under the command of Robert L. Ghormley , reporting to Chester W.
On 7 August , Allied forces, predominantly U. The Japanese defenders, who had occupied the islands since May , offered little initial resistance, but the capture of Guadalcanal soon turned into a lengthy campaign as both sides added reinforcements.
The Allies captured and completed Henderson Field on Guadalcanal and established a defense perimeter. The Japanese made several attempts to retake the airfield, including in mid-September and in late October.
In December, the Japanese decided to abandon Guadalcanal to focus on the defense of the other Solomon Islands, and evacuated their last forces by 9 February Along with the battles at Milne Bay and BunaβGona on New Guinea, the Guadalcanal campaign marked the Allies' transition from defensive operations to offensive ones, and effectively allowed them to seize the strategic initiative in the Pacific theater from the Japanese.
