The Probert Encyclopaedia of Warfare

BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL

The Battle of Guadalcanal was an important American operation during the Second World War in 1942 to 1943 on the largest of the Solomon Islands. The battle for control of the area began when the Americans discovered the Japanese were building an airfield and landed marines to take the site in August 1942. The Japanese sent reinforcements by sea to recapture the airfield and a series of bitter engagements took place on land for control of the airfield and at sea as each side attempted to reinforce their own troops and prevent the other from doing so. The naval operations began to dwarf those on the land they were supposedly supporting and both sides lost large amounts of ships and aircraft. The engagements on land and sea were inconclusive until the Japanese concluded such heavy naval losses could not be justified by one island and evacuated on the 7th of February 1943.
Research Battle of Guadalcanal