Solomon Islands campaign

Solomon Islands campaign

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Solomon Islands campaign
partof=the Pacific Theater of World War II


caption=Map of the Solomon Islands showing the Allied advance during 1943 and key air and naval bases.
date=January 1942 – August 21, 1945
place=British Solomon Islands/Territory of New Guinea, South Pacific
result=Decisive Allied victory
combatant1=flag|United States|1912
flag|Australia
*flagicon|Australia New Guinea [Bougainville and Buka were politically part of the Australian Territory of New Guinea.] flag|New Zealand
flag|United Kingdom
* Colony of Fiji [Fiji was under British rule and Fijian troops were attached to the New Zealand and Australian militaries.]
* Solomon Is. [Guadalcanal and the rest of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (which excluded Bougainville and Buka) was technically under UK political control during World War II.]
* [Tonga was an independent, British protected state during World War II.]
combatant2=flagicon|Japan|alt Empire of Japan
commander1=Chester Nimitz
Douglas MacArthur
William Sydney Marchant [The British Resident Commissioner of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate and therefore nominally the commander of the Allied military forces in the Solomon Islands]
Robert Ghormley
William Halsey, Jr.
Alexander Vandegrift
Alexander Patch
Frank Jack Fletcher
Richmond K. Turner
Eric Feldt [Commanded the Coastwatchers.]
Roy Geiger
Theodore S. Wilkinson
Oscar Griswold
Stanley Savige
commander2=Isoroku Yamamoto
Shigeyoshi Inoue
Nishizo Tsukahara
Jinichi Kusaka
Gunichi Mikawa
Raizo Tanaka
Hitoshi Imamura
Harukichi Hyakutake
Minoru Sasaki
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=4,500 dead (ground),
5,500 dead (naval),
600 dead (aircrew),
40+ ships sunk,
800 aircraft destroyed [Numbers include personnel killed by all causes including combat, disease, and accidents. Ships sunk includes warships and auxiliaries. Aircraft destroyed includes both combat and operational losses.]
casualties2=71,000 dead (ground),
7,000 dead (naval),
2,000 dead (aircrew),
50+ ships sunk,
1,500 aircraft destroyed [Numbers include personnel killed by all causes including combat, disease, and accidents. Ships sunk includes warships and auxiliaries. Aircraft destroyed includes both combat and operational losses.]

The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, during the first six months of 1942. The Japanese occupied these locations and began the construction of several naval and air bases with the goals of protecting the flank of the Japanese offensive in New Guinea, establishing a security barrier for the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain, and providing bases for interdicting supply lines between the Allied powers of the United States and Australia and New Zealand.

The Allies, in order to defend their communication and supply lines in the South Pacific, support their counteroffensive in New Guinea, and isolate the Japanese base at Rabaul, counterattacked the Japanese in the Solomons with landings on Guadalcanal, (see Guadalcanal Campaign) and small neighboring islands on 8 August 1942. These landings initiated a series of combined-arms battles between the two adversaries, beginning with the Guadalcanal landing and continuing with several battles in the central and northern Solomons, on and around New Georgia Island, and Bougainville Island.

In a campaign of attrition fought on land, on sea, and in the air, the Allies wore the Japanese down, inflicting irreplaceable losses on Japanese military assets. The Allies retook some of the Solomon Islands (although resistance continued until the end of the war), and they also isolated and neutralized some Japanese positions, which then were bypassed. The Solomon Islands campaign then converged with the New Guinea campaign.

Strategic background

The Empire of Japan accomplished its intitial strategic objectives in the first six months of the war, establishing a defensive perimeter from British India on the west, through the Dutch East Indies on the south, and island bases in the south and central Pacific as its southeastern line of defense. Japan's attempts to take all of New Guinea were checked at the Battle of the Coral Sea, and an eastward naval attack was decisively defeated at the Battle of Midway. It was still able to take the offense, and did so in a drive southeast from its newly-conquered base at Rabaul in New Britain, down the island chain of the Solomons toward Fiji and Samoa. By this offense the Japanese sought to interdict Allied supply lines from North America to Australia. [Spector, pp. 152–53]

The Allies countered the threats to Australia by a build-up of troops and aircraft, [Spector, pp. 143–44] with the aim of implementing plans to approach and reconquer the Phillipines. In March 1942 Admiral Ernest King,then Commander-in Chief of the U. S. Fleet, had advocated an offense from New Hebrides through the Solomon Islands to the Bismarck Archipelago. [Spector, p. 185, 201, citing "Memorandum of King for President", 5 March 1942] Following the victory at Midway, General Douglas MacArthur, who had taken command of the South West Pacific Area, proposed a lightning offense to retake Rabaul, which the Japanese were fortifying and using as a base of operations. The United States Navy advocated a more gradual approach from New Guinea and up the Solomon Island chain. These competing proposals were resolved by Admiral King and U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall, who adopted a three-task plan. Task One was the capture of the island of Tulagi in the Solomons. Task Two was an advance along the New Guinea coast. Task Three was the capture of Rabaul. Task One, implemented by a directive of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on 2 July 1942 and named the initial attacks Operation Watchtower, [Spector, pp. 185-86] became the Solomon Islands campaign.

Course of campaign

The Allies created a combined air formation, Cactus Air Force, establishing air superiority during the daylight hours. The Japanese then resorted to nightly resupply missions which they called "Rat Transportation" (and the Allies called "the Tokyo Express") through New Georgia Sound ("The Slot"). Many pitched battles were fought trying to stop Japanese supplies from getting through. So many ships were lost by both sides that the area became known as "Ironbottom Sound".

Allied success in the Solomon Islands campaign prevented the Japanese from cutting Australia and New Zealand off from the U.S. Operation Cartwheel — the Allied grand strategy for the Solomons and New Guinea campaigns — launched on June 30, 1943, isolated and neutralized Rabaul and destroyed much of Japan's sea and air supremacy. This opened the way for Allied forces to recapture the Philippines and cut off Japan from its crucial resource areas in the Netherlands East Indies.

The Solomons campaign culminated in the often bitter fighting of the Bougainville campaign (1943–45), which continued until the end of the war.

ee also

*New Guinea campaign
*New Britain Campaign
*Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign
*Guadalcanal Campaign
*AirSols

Notes and References

ources

*cite book
last = Altobello
first = Brian
authorlink =
year = 2000
chapter =
title = Into the Shadows Furious
publisher = Presidio Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-89141-717-6

*cite book
last = Bergerud
first = Eric M.
authorlink =
year = 1997
chapter =
title = Touched with Fire : The Land War in the South Pacific
publisher = Penguin
location =
id = ISBN 0-14-024696-7

*cite book
last = Bergerud
first = Eric M.
authorlink =
year = 2000
chapter =
title = Fire in the Sky: The Air War in the South Pacific
publisher = Westview Press
location = Boulder, CO, USA
id = ISBN 0-8133-3869-7

*cite book
last = Brown
first = David
authorlink =
year = 1990
title = Warship Losses of World War Two
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-55750-914-X

*cite book
last = D'Albas
first = Andrieu
authorlink =
year = 1965
title = Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II
publisher = Devin-Adair Pub
location =
id = ISBN 0-8159-5302-X

*cite book
last = Drea
first = Edward J.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1998
chapter = An Allied Interpretation of the Pacific War
title = In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army
publisher = University of Nebraska Press
location = Nebraska
id = ISBN 0-8032-1708-0

*cite book
last = Dull
first = Paul S.
authorlink =
year = 1978
chapter =
title = A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-097-1

*cite book
last = Frank
first = Richard
authorlink = Richard B. Frank
year = 1990
title = Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle
publisher = Random House
location = New York
id = ISBN 0-394-58875-4

*cite book
last = Gailey
first = Harry A.
authorlink =
year = 1991
chapter =
title = Bougainville, 1943-1945: The Forgotten Campaign
publisher = University Press of Kentucky
location = Lexington, Kentucky, USA
id = ISBN 0-8131-9047-9

*cite book
last = Griffith
first = Brig. Gen. Samuel B (USMC)
authorlink =
year = 1974
chapter = Part 96: Battle For the Solomons
title = History of the Second Wold War
publisher = BPC Publishing
location = Hicksville, NY, USA
id =

*cite book
last = Hoyt
first = Edwin P.
authorlink =
year = 1990 (Reissue)
chapter =
title = Glory Of The Solomons
publisher = Jove
location =
id = ISBN 0-515-10450-7

*cite book
last = Kilpatrick
first = C. W.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1987
chapter =
title = Naval Night Battles of the Solomons
publisher = Exposition Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-682-40333-4

*cite book
last = Long
first = Gavin
authorlink = Gavin Long
year = 1963
url = http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/chapter.asp?volume=23
title = Volume VII – The Final Campaigns
series = Australia in the War of 1939–1945
location = Canberra
publisher = Australian War Memorial
accessdate = 2006-11-02

*cite book
last = Lord
first = Walter
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1977 (Reissue 2006)
chapter =
title = Lonely Vigil; Coastwatchers of the Solomons
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-59114-466-3

*cite book
last = McCarthy
first = Dudley
authorlink =
year = 1959
url = http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/chapter.asp?volume=21
title = Volume V – South–West Pacific Area – First Year: Kokoda to Wau
series = Australia in the War of 1939–1945
location = Canberra
publisher = Australian War Memorial
accessdate = 2006-11-02

*cite book
last = McGee
first = William L.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2002
chapter =
title = The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville--Pacific War Turning Point, Volume 2 (Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII)
publisher = BMC Publications
location =
id = ISBN 0-9701678-7-3

*cite book
last = Morison
first = Samuel Eliot
authorlink = Samuel Eliot Morison
coauthors =
year = 1958
chapter =
title = The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943", vol. 5 of "History of United States Naval Operations in World War II
publisher = Little, Brown and Company
location = Boston
id = ISBN 0-316-58305-7

*cite book
last = Morison
first = Samuel Eliot
authorlink = Samuel Eliot Morison
coauthors =
year = 1958
chapter =
title = Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier", vol. 6 of "History of United States Naval Operations in World War II
publisher = Castle Books
location =
id = 0785813071

* cite book
last = Murray
first = Williamson
coauthors = Allan R. Millett
year = 2001
title = A War To Be Won : Fighting the Second World War
publisher = Belknap Press
location = United States of America
id = ISBN 0-674-00680-1

*cite book
last = Odgers
first = George
year = 1968
url = http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/chapter.asp?volume=27
title = Volume II – Air War Against Japan, 1943–1945
series = Australia in the War of 1939–1945
location = Canberra
publisher = Australian War Memorial
accessdate = 2006-11-02

*cite book
last = Okumiya
first = Masatake
coauthors = Jiro Horikoshi, with Martin Caiden
title = Zero!
publisher = E. P. Duton & Co.
date = 1956
location = New York

*cite book
last = Spector
first = Ronald H.
year = 1985
title = Eagle Against the Sun
series = The MacMillan Wars of the United States
location = New York
publisher = MacMillan, Inc
id = ISBN 0 02 930360 5

External links

*cite web
last = Browning
first = Robert M., Jr.,
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 1999
month =
url = http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/h_pacwar.html
title = The Coast Guard and the Pacific War
format =
work = U. S. Coast Guard Photography
pages =
publisher = U.S. Coast Guard
accessdate = 2006-12-07
accessyear =

*cite web
last = Chapin
first = John C.
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 1997
month =
url = http://www.nps.gov/archive/wapa/indepth/extContent/usmc/pcn-190-003141-00/index.htm
title = TOP OF THE LADDER: Marine Operations in the Northern Solomons
format =
work = World War II Commemorative series
pages = 1
publisher = Marine Corps History and Museums Division
accessdate = August 30
accessyear = 2006
Also available at: [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-NSol/index.html]
*cite web
last = Craven
first = Wesley Frank
authorlink =
coauthors = James Lea Cate
date =
year =
month =
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/IV/index.html
title = Vol. IV, The Pacific: Guadalcanal to Saipan, August 1942 to July 1944
format =
work = The Army Air Forces in World War II
pages =
publisher = U.S. Office of Air Force History
accessdate = October 20
accessyear = 2006

*cite web
last = Dyer
first = George Carroll
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ACTC/index.html
title = The Amphibians Came to Conquer: The Story of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner
format =
work =
pages =
publisher = United States Government Printing Office
language =
accessmonthday = October 20
accessyear = 2006

*cite web
last = Gillespie
first = Oliver A.
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 1952
month =
url = http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Paci-_N84545.html
title = "The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War, 1939–1945"; The Battle for the Solomons (Chapter 7)
format =
work =
pages =
publisher = New Zealand Electronic Text Center
accessdate = July 11
accessyear = 2006

*cite web
last = Hoffman
first = Jon T.
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 1995
month =
url = http://www.nps.gov/archive/wapa/indepth/extContent/usmc/pcn-190-003130-00/index.htm
title = "FROM MAKIN TO BOUGAINVILLE: Marine Raiders in the Pacific War"
format = brochure
work = WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE SERIES
pages =
publisher = Marine Corps Historical Center
accessdate = 2006-08-29
accessyear =

*cite web
last = Lofgren
first = Stephen J.
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-C-NSolomons/index.html
title = Northern Solomons
format =
work = The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II
pages = 36
publisher =
accessdate = October 18
accessyear = 2006
Same publication also located at: [http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/brochures/northsol/northsol.htm]
*cite web
last = Melson
first = Charles D.
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 1993
month =
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-CSol/index.html
title = UP THE SLOT: Marines in the Central Solomons
format =
work = WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE SERIES
pages = 36
publisher = History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps
accessdate = Sept 26
accessyear = 2006

*cite web
last = Miller
first = John, Jr.
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 1959
month =
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Rabaul/index.html
title = CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul
format =
work = United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific
pages = 418
publisher = Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Department of the Army
accessdate = October 20
accessyear = 2006

*cite web
last = Mersky
first = Peter B.
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 1993
month =
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Aces/index.html
title = Time of the Aces: Marine Pilots in the Solomons, 1942-1944
format =
work = Marines in World War II Commemorative Series
pages =
publisher = History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps
accessdate = October 20
accessyear = 2006

*cite web
last = Rentz
first = John
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 1952
month =
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-CSol/USMC-M-CSol-5.html
title = Marines in the Central Solomons
format =
work =
pages =
publisher = Historical Branch, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps
accessdate = May 30
accessyear = 2006

*cite web
last = Shaw
first = Henry I.
authorlink =
coauthors = Douglas T. Kane
date =
year = 1963
month =
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/II/index.html
title = Volume II: Isolation of Rabaul
format =
work = History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II
pages =
publisher =
accessdate = 2006-10-18
accessyear =

* [http://www.ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=8 WW2DB: Solomons Campaign]
*cite web
last = U.S. Army Center of Military History
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url = http://www.army.mil/cmh/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V2%20P1/macarthurv2.htm#contents
title = Japanese Operations in the Southwest Pacific Area, Volume II - Part I
format =
work = Reports of General MacArthur
pages =
publisher =
accessdate = 2006-12-08
accessyear =
- Translation of the official record by the Japanese Demobilization Bureaux detailing the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy's participation in the Southwest Pacific area of the Pacific War.
*cite web
last = U.S. Army Air Forces
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
date = 1992 (Reissue)
year =
month =
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/WW/index.html
title = Pacific Counterblow: The 11th Bombardment Group and the 67th Fighter Squadron in the Battle for Guadalcanal
format =
work = Wings at War
pages =
publisher = Office of Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Intelligence
language =
accessdate = 2006-12-08
accessyear =

*cite web
last = U.S. Army Air Forces
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
date = July 1945
year =
month =
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/AAFHS/AAF-HS-35.pdf
title = Guadalcanal and the Origins of the Thirteenth Air Force
format =
work =
pages =
publisher = Office of Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Intelligence, Historical Division
language =
accessdate = 2006-12-08
accessyear =

Further reading

* Hungerford, T.A.G.. (1952). "The Ridge and the River". Sydney: Angus & Roberston. Republished by Penguin, 1992; ISBN 0-143-00174-4.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Solomon Islands — For the group of islands rather than the state, see Solomon Islands (archipelago). Solomons redirects here. For the town in the eastern United States, see Solomons, Maryland. Solomon Islands …   Wikipedia

  • Solomon Islands — Solomon Islander. 1. an archipelago in the W Pacific Ocean, E of New Guinea; important World War II battles; politically divided between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. 2. an independent country comprising the larger, SE part of this… …   Universalium

  • British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force — The British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force (BSIPDF) was the British colonial military force of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (1889 1978). The Solomon Islands has not had military forces since it achieved independence from… …   Wikipedia

  • Outline of the Solomon Islands — …   Wikipedia

  • Netball in the Solomon Islands — National team Solomon Islands Competitions National Our Telekom InterProvincial netball competition Netball in the Solomon Islands is a popular sport, usually played by girls on Saturdays during the winter, though games can be played at all times …   Wikipedia

  • Admiralty Islands campaign — Admiralty Islands Part of World War II, Pacific War …   Wikipedia

  • New Zealand General Service Medal 2002 (Solomon Islands) — New Zealand General Service Medal 2002 (Solomon Islands) …   Wikipedia

  • NZGSM 2002 (Solomon Islands) — Infobox Military Award name= New Zealand General Service Medal 2002 (Solomon Islands) caption= Obverse (top left) and reverse (top right) of the medal. Ribbon: 32mm, green with central yellow stripe flanked by two dark blue stripes. awarded by=… …   Wikipedia

  • 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake — earthquake title= 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake/tsunami date= April 2, 2007 magnitude = 8.1 Mw countries affected = flagcountry|Solomon Islands, flagcountry|Papua New Guinea casualties = 52The 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake took place on April …   Wikipedia

  • Munda, Solomon Islands — For other uses of the term, see Munda (disambiguation). Munda is the largest settlement on the island of New Georgia in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, and consists of a number of villages. It is located at the southwestern tip… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”