World War 2 In Review

Dead Japanese soldiers from the Imperial Japanese Army’s 2nd Infantry Division after the Battle for Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, October 25-26, 1942. The Battle for Henderson Field, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal or Battle of Lunga Point by the Japanese, took place from 23–26 October 1942 on and around Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. The battle was a land, sea, and air battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and was fought between the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy and Allied (mainly United States (U.S.) Marine and U.S. Army) forces. The battle was the third of the three major land offensives conducted by the Japanese during the Guadalcanal campaign. In the battle, U.S. Marine and Army forces, under the overall command of Major General Alexander Vandegrift, repulsed an attack by the Japanese 17th Army, under the command of Japanese Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake. The U.S. forces were defending the Lunga perimeter, which guarded Henderson Field on Guada...

Marines rest on Guadalcanal, August 8, 1942. by Darrell S. Stiffler To the student of military history, the land campaign on Guadalcanal provides one of the most interesting campaigns of World War II. The entire campaign provides many interesting examples of almost any type of modern warfare, as practiced on Guadalcanal. Perhaps the most important aspect of the campaign, aside from its now obvious outcome, was the lessons learned there. This battle was the first time American and Japanese troops met on anything like equal terms. Each side had much to learn about the effects of jungle conditions upon their established tactics and weaponry. One side learned from its mistakes while the other refused to relent to reality; this, in effect, resulted in the campaign’s decisive outcome. The purpose of this article is to examine the various factors which made the Guadalcanal campaign run its now well-known course. The Opposing Forces The Japanese forces committed on Guadalcanal wer...