A Dictionary of American History

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Author: Thomas L. Purvis  | Date: 1995

Guadalcanal Campaign

Guadalcanal Campaign On 7 August 1942, the First USMC Division (19,000 men) landed and seized an airfield held by 2,200 Japanese menacing US sealanes in the Solomon Islands. US naval forces defended the island in six major battles: Savo Island, Eastern Solomons, Cape Esperance, Santa Cruz, Guadalcanal, and Tassafaronga. Japan landed 35,000 troops to retake “Henderson Field,” while the US ultimately sent 45,000 reinforcements (one USMC and two army divisions). US forces repulsed major Japanese assaults on 20 August, 12 September, and 21–8 October 1942. The Japanese withdrew their final 9,000 troops in February 1943. Guadalcanal blocked the Japanese from advancing toward Australia and cost the Imperial Army unacceptably high casualties. US losses: 5,000 sailors dead, 1,700 USMC-army killed, 5,000 USMC-army wounded, 25 warships sunk, 4 transports sunk, 260 planes lost. Japanese losses: 3,000 sailors dead, 25,000 land forces killed, 24 warships sunk, 14 transports sunk, 450 planes destroyed.

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Chicago: Thomas L. Purvis, "Guadalcanal Campaign," A Dictionary of American History in A Dictionary of American History (Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell Reference, 1995), Original Sources, accessed May 2, 2024, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=YI8EF5YPBV5JVUL.

MLA: Purvis, Thomas L. "Guadalcanal Campaign." A Dictionary of American History, in A Dictionary of American History, Cambridge, Mass., Blackwell Reference, 1995, Original Sources. 2 May. 2024. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=YI8EF5YPBV5JVUL.

Harvard: Purvis, TL, 'Guadalcanal Campaign' in A Dictionary of American History. cited in 1995, A Dictionary of American History, Blackwell Reference, Cambridge, Mass.. Original Sources, retrieved 2 May 2024, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=YI8EF5YPBV5JVUL.