Why was the battle on the island of Guadalcanal important for the Allies?

Answer 1

Guadalcanal Campaign

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater of World War II. Fiercely contested on the ground, at sea, and in the air, the campaign was the first major offensive launched by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan.

On August 7, 1942, Allied forces, predominantly American, initiated landings on the islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida (Nggela Sule) in the southern Solomon Islands with the objective of denying their use by the Japanese as bases to threaten supply routes between the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. The Allies also intended to use Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases to support a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The Allies overwhelmed the outnumbered Japanese defenders, who had occupied the islands since May 1942, and captured Tulagi and Florida, as well as an airfield (later named Henderson Field) that was under construction on Guadalcanal.

Answer 2

The victory at Midway inflicted irreparable damage on the Japanese fleet. The Americans lost 1 carrier, 1 destroyer, about 150 aircraft, and 307 sailors and pilots. By contrast the Japanese lost 4 carriers, 1 heavy cruiser, 248 aircraft and 3057 sailors and pilots. Note that this included 110 experienced pilots, (just under 25% of the aircrew embarked on the four carriers), They also lost about 40% of their experienced aircraft mechanics and technicians, plus the essential flight-deck crews and armorers. The loss of organizational knowledge embodied by such highly trained crew, were heavy blows to the Japanese carrier fleet. Rear Admiral Yamaguchi chose to go down with his ship (the carrier Hiryū), costing Japan perhaps her best carrier commander. Note that one other Japanese heavy cruiser (the Mogami) was heavily damaged and the destroyers Asashio and Arashio sustained substantial damage. When combined with the Battle of the Coral Sea, the battle of Midway meant the end of the unrestrained operations of the Japanese fleet in the Pacific and shifted the roles of the Japanese and the Allies. While they had previously been continuously on the offensive, they were reduced to almost exclusively defensive actions for the rest of the war. It also provided time for the Allies to build up their naval forces to provide the naval superiority that the Allies eventually achieved; in the time it took Japan to build three carriers, the U.S. Navy commissioned more than two dozen fleet and light fleet carriers, and numerous escort carriers.

Guadalcanal was critical because the Japanese were trying to build an airbase there. Such an airbase would put Australia within range of ground-based aircraft. By denying the Japanese use of the island for an airbase, Australian army and naval bases could not be threatened except through naval operations. The battle for Guadalcanal took place both on the island and at sea. Ground forces landed on the island not long after the Battle of Midway and took over the partially completed Japanese airbase and finished it up to provide one for the Allied forces. They defended the airfield and threatened any Japanese ships that ventured into the vicinity during daylight hours. However, at night, Japanese naval forces were able to shell the airfield and deliver troops with supplies, retiring before daylight. So many ships from both sides were sunk in the many engagements in and around the Solomon Island chain that the nearby waters were referred to as Ironbottom Sound. The Battle of Cape Esperance was fought on October 11, 1942 off the northwest coast of Guadalcanal. In the battle, United States Navy ships intercepted and defeated a Japanese formation of ships on their way to reinforce and resupply troops on the island, but suffered losses as well. The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November marked the turning point in which Allied Naval forces took on the extremely experienced Japanese surface forces at night and forced them to withdraw after sharp action. Some Japanese viewpoints consider these engagements, and the improving Allied surface capability to challenge their surface ships at night, to be just as significant as the Battle of Midway in turning the tide against them.

After Midway and Guadalcanal the Japanese no longer had the necessary forces to continue what had, up to that point, been a relatively unchecked expansion.