7 August 1942
U.S. Forces Land on Guadalcanal
American military planners sought to capitalize on the victory at Midway by going on the offensive in the Southwest Pacific. General Douglas MacArthur, overall Allied commander in the region, wanted to make a direct assault on the Japanese base at Rabaul, but was overruled. Instead the offensive would be aimed at the Solomon Islands, specifically the island of Guadalcanal. On August 7 the 1st Marine Division landed on the north side of Guadalcanal and, encountering very little resistance, captured the airbase that the Japanese had been building there.

The campaign for Guadalcanal, however, had just begun, and would continue through the rest of the year. It involved battles fought on land, sea, and air, as both sides sought to reinforce and supply their troops on the island. In particular the region would see some of the fiercest surface naval combat of the war, with both sides sustaining substantial losses in ships and men. Eventually, though, the Americans succeeded in cutting off all sources of supply to the Japanese on Guadalcanal, so that by the end of November they were facing starvation. Realizing that the situation was hopeless, the Japanese decided to evacuate the island, and they did so under cover of darkness at the beginning of February. The United States had lost 1,600 killed and 4,700 wounded in the struggle for Guadalcanal, but these casualties paled before those of the Japanese—nearly 24,000 dead, from battle, disease, or starvation.

Histories:
The Turning Point—Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
The Solomons Campaign (Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Bougainville)

Campaign Maps:
Guadalcanal Campaign, 1942
Battle of Guadalcanal, 1942-1943
Battle off Savo Island, 1942
Battle of the Eastern Solomons, 1942

Photographs:
Group of U.S. Marines at Guadalcanal
A casualty from the front line fighting is being transferred from the makeshift stretcher before being taken through jungle and down river to near hospital
Three of a group of Japanese prisoners brought back from the Solomon Islands to recuperate in a clearing station in New Caledonia
Troops of the Army Task Force, enroute from New Caledonia to the Solomon Islands, checking their rifles and preparing for inspection

Personal Accounts:
Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II: Interview with Vincent Kramer
A Marine Diary: My Experiences on Guadalcanal
The Diary of a Japanese Veteran at Guadalcanal
A Japanese Soldier Describes the Horrors of Guadalcanal
Oral History—Battle of Guadalcanal, 1942-1943