SOLOMON ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

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 and surrounding islands in August 1942. These landings initiated a series of combined-arms battles between the two adversaries, beginning with the Guadalcanal campaign and continuing with several battles in the central and northern Solomons, on and around New Georgia.
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.

Contents

See also

Notes

References

External links

See also

★ New Guinea campaign

★ New Britain Campaign

★ Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign

★ AirSols

Notes

1. Bougainville and Buka were politically part of the Australian Territory of New Guinea.
2. Fiji was under British rule and Fijian troops were atached to the New Zealand and Australian militaries.
3. 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.
4. Tonga was a independent, British protected state during World War II.
5. The British Resident Commissioner of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate and therefore nominally the commander of the Allied military forces in the Solomon Islands
6. Commanded the Coastwatchers.
7. 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.
8. 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.

References

★ Into the Shadows Furious, , Brian, Altobello, Presidio Press, 2000, ISBN 0-89141-717-6

★ Touched with Fire : The Land War in the South Pacific, , Eric M., Bergerud, Penguin, 1997, ISBN 0-14-024696-7

★ Fire in the Sky: The Air War in the South Pacific, , Eric M., Bergerud, Westview Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8133-3869-7

★ Warship Losses of World War Two, , David, Brown, Naval Institute Press, 1990, ISBN 1-55750-914-X

★ Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II, , Andrieu, D'Albas, Devin-Adair Pub, 1965, ISBN 0-8159-5302-X

★ A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945, , Paul S., Dull, Naval Institute Press, 1978, ISBN 0-87021-097-1

★ Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle, , Richard, Frank, Random House, 1990, ISBN 0-394-58875-4

★ Bougainville, 1943-1945: The Forgotten Campaign, , Harry A., Gailey, University Press of Kentucky, 1991, ISBN 0-8131-9047-9 - neutral review of this book here: [1]

★ History of the Second Wold War, , Brig. Gen. Samuel B (USMC), Griffith, BPC Publishing, 1974,

★ Glory Of The Solomons, , Edwin P., Hoyt, Jove, 1990 (Reissue), ISBN 0-515-10450-7

★ Naval Night Battles of the Solomons, , C. W., Kilpatrick, Exposition Press, 1987, ISBN 0-682-40333-4

★ Lonely Vigil; Coastwatchers of the Solomons, , Walter, Lord, Naval Institute Press, 1977 (Reissue 2006), ISBN 1-59114-466-3

★ The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville--Pacific War Turning Point, Volume 2 (Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII), , William L., McGee, BMC Publications, 2002, ISBN 0-9701678-7-3

★ The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943'', vol. 5 of ''History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, , Samuel Eliot, Morison, Little, Brown and Company, 1958, ISBN 0-316-58305-7 Online views of selections of the book: [2]

★ Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier'', vol. 6 of ''History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, , Samuel Eliot, Morison, Castle Books, 1958, 0785813071

★ A War To Be Won : Fighting the Second World War, , Williamson, Murray, Belknap Press, 2001, ISBN 0-674-00680-1

External links

★ The Coast Guard and the Pacific War

★ TOP OF THE LADDER: Marine Operations in the Northern Solomons Also available at: [3]

★ Vol. IV, The Pacific: Guadalcanal to Saipan, August 1942 to July 1944

★ ''The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War, 1939–1945''; The Battle for the Solomons (Chapter 7)

★ ''FROM MAKIN TO BOUGAINVILLE: Marine Raiders in the Pacific War''

★ Northern Solomons Same publication also located at: [4]

★ Volume VII – The Final Campaigns

★ Volume V – South–West Pacific Area – First Year: Kokoda to Wau

★ UP THE SLOT: Marines in the Central Solomons

★ CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul

★ Time of the Aces: Marine Pilots in the Solomons, 1942-1944

★ Volume II – Air War Against Japan, 1943–1945

★ Marines in the Central Solomons

★ Volume II: Isolation of Rabaul

★ WW2DB: Solomons Campaign

★ Japanese Operations in the Southwest Pacific Area, Volume II - Part I - 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.