Table of Contents
How many American ships were sunk at Guadalcanal?
United States Marines rest in the field during the Guadalcanal campaign. William F. Halsey Jr. 29 ships lost including 2 fleet carriers, 6 cruisers, and 14 destroyers.
How many soldiers and ships did the Japanese lose during the battle of Guadalcanal?
The Solomon Islands Campaign cost the Allies approximately 7,100 men, 29 ships, and 615 aircraft. The Japanese lost 31,000 men, 38 ships, and 683 aircraft.
How many Marines landed on Guadalcanal?
11,000 Marines
But the Americans who landed on Guadalcanal met little resistance—at least at first. More than 11,000 Marines had landed, and 24 hours had passed, before the Japanese manning the garrison there knew of the attack.
How long did the battle of Guadalcanal last?
seven months
The Guadalcanal campaign began August 7, 1942 and lasted until February of 1943. During those seven months, 60,000 US Marines and soldiers killed about 20,000 of the 31,000 Japanese troops on the island.
What happened at the battle of Savo island?
In a night action, Mikawa thoroughly surprised and routed the Allied force, sinking one Australian and three American cruisers, while suffering only light damage in return. The battle has often been cited as the worst defeat in the history of the United States Navy.
Why did the Japanese attack the USS Guadalcanal?
In response to the Allied landings on Guadalcanal, the Imperial Japanese Navy undertook a night surface attack on the ships screening the Allied landing force. The battle has come to be identified as the worst defeat in a single fleet action suffered by the United States Navy.
What is the Battle of Guadalcanal?
The Battle of Guadalcanal is one of a series of twenty-one published and thirteen unpublished Combat Narratives of specific naval campaigns produced by the Publications Branch of the Office of Naval Intelligence during World War II.
Why was the invasion of Guadalcanal called Operation Shoestring?
This is owing to the commitment the United States had made to Great Britain to undertake the invasion of North Africa in the fall of 1942, a commitment which essentially left the Guadalcanal operation with the naval leftovers. For this reason, American sailors and Marines referred to the invasion as “Operation Shoestring”.
How many copies of the Guadalcanal narrative were published?
Since the narratives were classified Confidential during the war, only a few thousand copies were published at the time, and their distribution was primarily restricted to commissioned officers in the Navy. The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal was the most complex naval engagement of the arduous Guadalcanal Campaign.