History records that the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Pacific Ocean during World War II took place between August of 1942 and February 7th of 1943. It was a hard fought battle involving sea, air, and ground troops, and it set the Allied forces, including brave Marine Corps soldiers against the forces of the Imperialistic Japanese Army. This fighting began in the Solomon Islands and stretched throughout the region for six long months of war. It was the first offensive launched by Allied Forces against Japan in the War, and it was the start of a turning point in the Second World War for the United States and Allied Forces.
U.S. Marines as part of a predominately United States Allied Force landed on the islands of Tulagi, Florida, and Guadalcanal with the aim of preventing the islands being used by the Japanese as supply bases or areas to resupply. The Japanese has landed on Tulagi and Guadalcanal in early 1942 and hurriedly constructed a resupply point on each of the two islands. The Japanese has around 900 personnel stationed on the island of Tualgi in May of 1942 and they stationed about 2,800 soldiers on Guadalcanal. If they had been allowed to fully supply and finish the two bases on Guadalcanal and Tualgi then the lines of Japanese defenses would have been much harder to stop. Because of the actions of the U.S. Marine Soldiers the plans of the Japanese were thwarted and prevented.
U.S. Marine Major General Alexander Vandegrift took his 1st Marine Division soldiers and led the 16,000 men invasion force in the landings that recaptured Tualgi and Guadalcanal. The Allied forces also wanted to use the islands as their own supply point. Marine Corps Soldiers swarmed the islands of Florida and Tulagi as well as an airfield on Guadalcanal. The Japanese were ill equipped to repel the attackers, and they would up making several abortive attempts to retake the islands up till November of 1942. Nearly all the Japanese resisting in the initial battle were killed and the Marines suffered only 122 casualties men killed in action.
By the strategic usage of U.S. Marine Forces, the airport on Guadalcanal was taken and never relinquished after being captured. Despite heavy fighting, the U.S. Marines at Guadalcanal repelled the Japanese again and again, and in February of 1943 the Japanese finally took off their last personnel, leaving the Island of Guadalcanal in U.S. Marine control.
