24/07/2024
Battle of Solomon Island
The battle of Guadalcanal in 1942 marked a turning point for the Allied forces in World War 2. The Japanese expansion in the Pacific was repelled, and Allied dominance was established. Six intense months of warfare left a seabed filled with wrecks. It is known as Ironbottom Sound, the stretch of water near Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, earned its name due to the high number of ships and aircraft sunk there during World War II, primarily during the Guadalcanal Campaign. The exact number of ships sunk varies slightly among sources, but it is generally accepted that around 50 ships and numerous aircraft were lost in this area.
On the morning of December 7, 1941, 183 planes appeared in the sky over the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The background to the Japanese Empire’s attack was the unresolved conflict over Japan’s military actions in China and the sanctions President Roosevelt had imposed. The trade blockade drastically reduced Japan's access to oil and other raw materials. To ensure economic independence and access to natural resources, Japan began its expansion in the Pacific. Confrontation with the United States was inevitable, and Japan sought to gain the upper hand through a surprise attack. It was a high-stakes gamble. Over the next six months, Japan rapidly expanded: Guam, Wake Island, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Thailand, British Malaya (Malaysia), Singapore, Burma, and the northern part of New Guinea. "Operation Mo" was a joint plan between the Japanese army and navy to take Port Moresby in New Guinea and lay the groundwork for an invasion of Australia. The Solomon Islands, with their strategic position, were a central piece of their plan. Ideal for air bases in the South Pacific, they could cut off the US supply line to Australia. The operation began in April with the invasion of the small island of Tulagi and nearby islands where a seaplane base was established. This was followed in May by the invasion of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
The coastal road leads us to the Vilu War Museum. The collection of wrecks is impressive. Among the coconut palms stand the skeletons of what once were the front lines of the war. Japanese cannons. Bombers. A seaplane. The remains of the F4F fighter, also called Wildcat. Instead of attacking the Japanese navy directly, the goal was to control strategic islands to prepare for an invasion of Japan itself. In the "Island Hopping" strategy, the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 7-8, 1942) and Midway (June 4-7, 1942) were turning points that reduced the Japanese navy's striking power. The planned invasion of Port Moresby was thwarted for the Japanese. The Allies established a counteroffensive under "Task One," and the Solomon Islands had to be retaken.
The Allied invasion of the Solomon Islands began on the morning of August 7, 1942. The bad weather that morning allowed them to approach Guadalcanal unnoticed but they were detected by radio traffic. The forces were split into two groups. One to attack Guadalcanal, the other Tulagi and the nearby islands of Florida and Gavutu-Tanambogo. A squadron of Kawanishi seaplanes was just off the islets of Gavutu-Tanambogo. Several of them were starting their engines when they were bombed and sank to the sea bottom. Gavutu was connected to Tanambogo by a causeway. The two small coral islets had over 500 Japanese personnel. An American parachute battalion of nearly 400 men landed on the island. They were met with massive resistance from machine guns, firebombs, and grenades. The intense ground fighting lasted all day and into the night. It took two days before the Japanese on the small islets were defeated. Only 20 were taken prisoner, most of them non-combatants or Korean laborers.
The specially-built tank landing ship that the American navy used for its landing operations. The following year, on July 18, 1943, it was hit by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine and split into two parts. The bow remained afloat and was towed to Florida Island. It's massive. I step up on the rusty steel. Despite the years that have passed, it is still stable enough to walk on. LST has a flat bottom so it could move in shallow water. The gate could open so tanks and other equipment could be unloaded. And, it was precisely this that made the Americans superior in the Battle of Florida Island. The Japanese only had a small base on the Florida Islands (also called Nggela). In the swamp just behind the hull of LST 342 are the remains of HIJMS Kikuzuki. Kikuzuki was part of the Japanese invasion force of Guam and New Guinea. The ship was torpedoed by the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown during "Operation Mo" in the invasion of Tulagi on May 4, 1942. Twelve of the crew were killed, 22 injured. The vessel was then towed to land on the beach at Gavutu Island by the Japanese. When the Americans retook the Solomon Islands, the ship was dismantled in search of military intelligence.
The boat docks at Tulagi, the island that was the main base for the Japanese in the area. Surrounded by the much larger Florida Island and a short drive from the islets of Gavutu-Tanambogo, the location was ideal. After the seaplane base was destroyed on the morning of August 7, the land invasion of Tulagi began. Two battalions of US Marines landed at separate points. The Japanese forces were unprepared, and the northwestern end was quickly secured. By dusk, the Marines reached the southeastern end where the Japanese had built defense tunnels. As darkness fell, the Japanese launched several counterattacks. With no knowledge of where the enemy was hiding, the Americans were at a disadvantage. At dawn, the offensive resumed, and by the end of the day, all Japanese resistance was crushed. 307 Japanese and 45 American soldiers were killed. Only three Japanese soldiers were captured.
The journey from Tulagi to Honiara on Guadalcanal takes no more than 1.5 hours, but the trip crosses a depth with the world's largest concentration of WWII wrecks. "Ironbottom Sound" was the name given to the area by Allied forces. The attack on the Solomon Islands on August 7, 1942, was divided between Tulagi, Florida, and Guadalcanal. The ground forces' invasion of Lunga Point on Guadalcanal met little resistance. The airfield was shortly renamed Henderson Field after Major Loy Henderson, who died in the Battle of Midway. The Americans had air superiority, but the Japanese continued to fight at sea. The next few days saw the naval battle of Savo Island, one of many major battles to gain control of Guadalcanal and surrounding islands. The losses of ships and personnel were significant. Every time the US neared victory, the Japanese returned for new battles. Challenges were numerous for the US's first amphibious invasion in the Pacific. The jungle terrain was confusing, the weather was inhospitable, there was a lack of infrastructure, and the enemy fought to the death.
The Allies controlled the air, and the Japanese were forced to operate at night to avoid detection. But on the morning of November 15, Kinugawa Maru was spotted by an American land battery that opened fire. Supported by an airstrike, it was sunk on the beach. The Tokyo Express became a Catch-22 for the Japanese. The cargo ships were too exposed, and the Japanese inserted warships into their convoys. It was inefficient and economically very costly. The amount of men and supplies that arrived was insufficient to defeat the Allies. It marked the first major victory over Japan. They lost nearly 20,000 men, 38 ships, and 683 planes. And, at the bottom of "Ironbottom Sound" lay their best naval vessels. When they withdrew, they could no longer disrupt the supply lines between the US and Australia. After Guadalcanal, Japan no longer had a realistic hope of resisting the counteroffensive against a more powerful USA. The Japanese expansion in the Pacific had been stopped, and Japan was forced to its knees. The way was now open for the Allies - like a domino effect from New Guinea, the Philippines to the Empire of Japan would fall.
