While the Pacific War was filled with many difficult and harsh campaigns, the Battle of Guadalcanal was one of the most decisive and extremely violent. During the six-month duration, the sparsely inhabited land was the center of a conflict that not only compared the control of sea lanes and the supremacy in the air but also the balance of power in the Pacific.
The waters that surrounded the area were called “Iron Bottom Sound.” Many ships and aircraft were sunk in those waters, and the remains of some of them are still lying on the seafloor as mute witnesses to the high price paid. Guadalcanal was not important because of its dimensions but because of its location about 1,000 kilometers north-northeast of Australia, on an essential way linking the United States with Australia and New Zealand.
By the middle of 1942, the Japanese had started a construction project for an airbase on the island. The completion of the airbase would have made it possible for them to have control over the entire space above that crucial supply route. The Allies had to take the island to secure these lifelines and force Japan onto the defensive. In August 1942, U.S. Marines took Guadalcanal and nearby Tulagi by storm and captured the airfield that was under construction and would be called Henderson Field; however, the occupation of the airfield turned out to be much more difficult than expected.
The Japanese Navy went on the attack with great intensity. They were known for their night fighting skills and their long-range Type 93 “Long Lance” torpedoes. At the Battle of Savo Island, they struck hard and fast and in less than an hour managed to sink four Allied cruisers—a sad example of what the Americans could still expect to face.
It was necessary to change the tactics. The U.S. Navy depended on radar, which was a new technology. Radar was still in its initial stage of development, and therefore, more ships using it could spot the enemy from far away, many miles before they could even see them. What happened during the Battle of Cape Esperance in October is that the American forces, who were guided by radar, set a trap for the Japanese ships and attacked them while it was dark. This showed that technology could help to balance experience and tactical superiority.
In November, there were some of the most violent clashes: the First and Second Naval Battles of Guadalcanal. These battles that occurred during the nights forced the ships that were firing at very close distances to actually ‘light up’ the waters. Though there was a loss of ships and two admirals were killed, the airfield of Henderson was still in the possession of the Allies.
The next night was the battle that the radar directed the battleship USS Washington. Its huge 16-inch guns destroyed the Japanese battleship Kirishima and sent it to the bottom of the sea—a decisive turning point. However, the fighting went on. At Tassafaronga in late December, a small Japanese destroyer squadron managed to hit with great accuracy, the cruiser USS Northampton was sunk, and several other vessels were heavily damaged.
It did not take long for the big picture to be revealed: Japan was not able to send supplies to its soldiers on the island anymore. The Japanese forces that had been bombarded continuously and were surrounded had no food or ammunition, were run down by disease, and had lost their fighting spirit, so they became weaker over time.
Japan withdrew from Guadalcanal in February 1943. The capture of Guadalcanal was the first big strategic victory for the Allies in the Pacific. The cost was huge: the lives of tens of thousands of people were lost, including more than 20,000 sailors who died in naval battles alone. Iron Bottom Sound is now an underwater cemetery that, besides being a final resting place for the warships, still holds the memory of the battles between American and Japanese forces.
In the past, however, divers and people who use submersibles to explore the underwater area have come back to the place,ce and they have been doing research on a shipwreck like the USS New Orleans and the Japanese destroyer Teruzuki. This, by and large, allows new knowledge about the battles and allows this place to become a memorial for those who had fought and died there.
The things they used to be shy, and the way they are now, they are very far from being one of the things that humans can forget. These ships still stand strong as historical veterans, who through their battle scars are testimony to human courage, sacrifice, and costly and harsh lessons in the history of modern naval warfare, such as radar, night fighting, and the deadly coordination of sea and air power. The campaign at Guadalcanal changed the course of the Pacific War, and its impact is still experienced today by the naval strategies and concepts that continue to be relied upon.