Almost none of the American Marines, and indeed other citizens of the United States, until 1942 did not know what kind of island Guadalcanal was.
When General Alexander Vandegrift's telegram was deciphered at the headquarters of the American Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor late at night, they were confused. He asked to urgently send 14400 condoms! How was this to be understood?
The General's 1st Marine Division, as part of Operation Watchtower, landed on Guadalcanal Island on August 7, 1942, and fought fiercely with the Japanese to hold the bridgehead. Why did you need contraception, and even in such significant quantities? After all, the Marines clearly had no time for amorous pleasures, and the local native ladies could hardly have a desire to strike up a romantic relationship with the soldiers who were under enemy fire every night. Apparently Vandegrift encrypted the telegram with some special code unknown to the rank and file staff. Therefore, they decided to wake up Admiral Chester Nimitz, who commanded the fleet and the United States Armed Forces in the Pacific Ocean.
Having run through the dispatch with sleepy eyes, he immediately "deciphered" it: "General Vandegrift is going to put condoms on the barrels of the Marines' rifles to protect them from rain and mud." The casket, it turns out, was easy to open! Chester Nimitz himself began his officer career in the Pacific tropics and had an idea of those places.
"GREEN HELL" OF KING SOLOMON
Almost none of the American Marines, or any other citizen of the United States, until 1942 knew what kind of island Guadalcanal was. Even now, it can only be found on a detailed map of the Southwest Pacific Ocean. It belongs to the Solomon Islands, which stretches 600 miles in two parallel columns from the Bismarck Archipelago in northwest Melanesia to the southeast.
The honor of their discovery belongs to the conquistadors of Don Alvaro Mendanya, the nephew of the Viceroy of Peru. The Spaniards were looking for gold beyond the seas and in search of it in February 1568 reached an unknown archipelago, where they exchanged a few grains of gold from the local natives. In order to justify the expedition, they christened the islands Solomon, hinting at their untold riches, which were not even there. One of don Alvaro's associates, Pedro de Ortega, exploring the surrounding waters on the Santiago sailing ship, came across a rather large mountainous island (about 150 by 48 km), which he named Guadalcanal - in honor of his hometown in Valencia. By 1942, as noted by the American naval historian Samuel Morison, it "was inhabited by several thousand curly Melanesians and had no other natural resources other than mud, coconuts and malaria mosquitoes."
From the sea, Guadalcanal, like all tropical islands, looks attractive. It is covered with tall green forests that alternate with emerald lawns. But this landscape is deceiving. The local jungle is called "rain", because the trees, shrouded in vines, evaporate a huge amount of moisture, which is constantly poured in small droplets from above. Frequent on the island and real rain showers. Therefore, the soil is damp and marshy everywhere. The hot air saturated with sour vapors is motionless and it seems that you are about to suffocate in it. Above, exotic birds of paradise are singing in the crowns of trees. Below, there are rats, snakes, huge ants, the bite of which is comparable to the touch of a burning cigarette, seven-centimeter wasps and, finally, a special kind of leeches that live in trees and attack their victims "from the air." Well, in numerous rivers crocodiles are found in abundance. By the way, the "emerald lawns" are actually overgrown kunai grass with sawtooth, stiff and razor-sharp stems reaching a height of up to two meters. One walk through this "green hell" is enough to cripple, catch malaria, tropical fever or a more rare, but no less dangerous disease.
So why did the Americans climb on this godforsaken island, even if any accurate maps did not exist? When planning an offensive operation in the Pacific, they initially did not intend to take Guadalcanal. In general, they did not have enough forces, since Washington, in agreement with London, was concentrating the main army units for landing in North Africa (Operation Torch - "Torch"). The American command, together with the allies (Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain), was going to recapture only the small island of Tulagi (5.5 by 1 km), located 20 miles west of Guadalcanal, which was part of the Florida group of islands and captured by the Japanese in May 1942. The British administration used to be located there, since the climate on the island was much more comfortable than on Guadalcanal. However, this is not even the point. Near Tulagi, on the tiny islets of Gavutu and Tanambogo, the Japanese deployed a seaplane base, which worried the allies, as planes were launched from it, monitoring sea communications linking the United States with New Zealand and Australia.
But at the end of June, coastal observers, as the secret Allied scouts were called, reported that the Japanese had begun construction of a large airfield near Cape Lunga on Guadalcanal. On July 4, aerial reconnaissance confirmed this information. This changed the picture. From the airfield, the Japanese were able to attack convoys en route to Australia. And Guadalcanal itself turned into a base, relying on which the imperial army and navy could develop an offensive on the islands of Espiritu Santo and New Caledonia with further deployment of attacks on New Zealand.
The Marine Corps was tasked with seizing the airfield in order to use it in the future against the Japanese, and at the same time take full control of Tulagi from Gavutu and Tanambogo.
75 warships were involved in Operation Watchtower, including 3 aircraft carriers, a battleship, 6 cruisers, and assault transports from the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The backbone of this force was the US Navy and the US Marines. On July 26, the Allies conducted an exercise in the Fiji region. They showed the unpreparedness of the invasion forces. The landing pontoons were almost interrupted by the reefs. Nevertheless, they decided to carry out the operation. The command of the expeditionary forces was entrusted to Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher, who already twice in 1942 led the strategically important battles of the American fleet in the Pacific Ocean: in the Coral Sea and at Midway Atoll. True, in both cases, the ships on which Fletcher held his flag (aircraft carriers Lexington and Yorktown) went to the bottom. But the battlefield, as they say, remained with the Americans. Particularly convincing was the victory over Midway (for more details, see National Defense magazine # 5/2012). The amphibious force was led by Rear Admiral Richmond Turner, and Major General Alexander Vandegrift was led by the US 1st Marine Division, numbering about 16,000.
SUCCESS WITH A CATASTROPHIC FINAL
Frankly, the allies were very lucky. As their armada moved towards Guadalcanal, low clouds hung and the ocean was often covered with fog. Japanese reconnaissance aircraft did not see the enemy. Thus, the Americans and their partners managed to get unnoticed to the landing site, which went without a hitch, since, fortunately, there were no treacherous coral reefs near Cape Lunga. And, in fact, there was no resistance from the enemy. Of the 2,800 people of the Japanese contingent, 2,200 were builders, and mostly forced Korean, who were not at all eager to shed blood for the Land of the Rising Sun. They abandoned the object, leaving behind equipment, building materials and food. On the second day, the airfield was in the hands of the Marines. It was named Henderson Field in honor of the Marine Corps pilot Lofton Henderson who died in the battle for Midway, the first to attack the Japanese planes approaching the atoll.
The situation was more complicated on Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo, where three thousand American Marines met desperate resistance from a small enemy garrison. But supported by carrier aviation and naval artillery, by August 9, the Americans still prevailed, having lost 122 people killed. Almost all of the 886 subjects of the emperor perished.
However, the Japanese were eager to take revenge. Already on August 7, their aircraft from the base in Rabaul, on the island of New Britain, decisively attacked the Allied expeditionary forces. The raids set fire to the George F. Elliot transport, which later sank and the destroyer Jarvis was badly damaged. One cannot but pay tribute to the skill and courage of the Japanese pilots. From Rabaul to Guadalcanal - 640 miles, which is almost at the limit of the range of the Zero fighters. But they still found an opportunity to fight the American planes. Pilot Saburo Sakai, who had already had 56 victories by that time, shot down an F4F Wildcat fighter and an SBD dive bomber over Guadalcanal. He rushed at a whole group of Avenger stormtroopers. But he could not cope with them. Several machine-gun bursts fired his Zero. The pilot lost his right eye and was wounded in the left. His left side of his body was paralyzed. But he brought his plane to Rabaul and landed successfully, having spent eight and a half hours in the air!
In the morning of August 7, 5 heavy, 2 light cruisers and an Imperial Navy destroyer under the command of Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa from the bases on Rabaul and Kavienga headed southeast to Guadalcanal along the strait separating the eastern chain of the Solomon Islands from the western one. The Americans called this strait Slot, that is, the "Slot". And from this gap the Japanese then regularly inflicted brutal blows on the allies.
A little earlier, Mikawa's connection to Guadalcanal was set off by 6 Japanese transports with troops. But before they had time to go to sea, one ship was sunk by torpedoes from the American submarine S-38. Together with a steamer with a displacement of 5600 tons, 14 officers and 328 soldiers were killed. Fearing new attacks from under the water, the remaining transports hastened to return to Rabaul.
About 300 miles from Guadalcanal on August 8 at 10:28 am, the Mikawa compound was spotted by an Australian patrol aircraft. But the pilot, instead of urgently reporting contact with the enemy, decided not to violate the radio silence. And only in the late afternoon this vital information reached Brisbane (Australia), where the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur was located, and from there it was forwarded to Admiral Richmond Turner, who received it at 18:45. That is, it took more than 8 hours to bring intelligence to the consumer, who was very close and who badly needed information about the coordinates of the approaching enemy. This is what the absence of a developed network-centric system meant!
Turner immediately called a meeting, at which it was decided to withdraw the Allied transports from Guadalcanal on August 9, despite the fact that still a significant part of the ammunition and equipment for the Marines remained unloaded. This step was motivated by the fact that by that time Admiral Fletcher had withdrawn his aircraft carriers from the island, citing the need to refuel escort destroyers with fuel and significant losses in fighters (78 out of 99 remained). As Turner later said, the withdrawal of Fletcher's aircraft carriers "left him completely naked."But the commander of the amphibious forces still had the hope that the enemy would not attack until the next day.
But he did not wait. The tragedy happened after midnight on August 9th. The Allied cover group, under the command of Australian Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley, divided their forces. Some of the ships, including the heavy cruisers Canberra and Chicago, and the destroyers Patterson and Bagley, were on patrol off the southern tip of the small island of Savo, which is located about halfway between Guadalcanal and Florida. The cruisers Vincennes, Astoria and Quincy, as well as the destroyers Helm and Wilson, patrolled from the north of this island. Destroyers Ralph Talbot and Blue were sent up the Slot to carry out early radar detection of the enemy.
It would seem that the Americans and their allies had an advantage for night combat, since they had, albeit not very perfect, radars, but the Japanese did not. However, the battle at Savo Island did not develop according to the American scenario.
Admiral Mikawa set a task for the commanders of his ships: to get closer to Guadalcanal, to sink the enemy transports and to withdraw at full speed so as not to fall under the bombs and torpedoes of American aircraft carriers in the morning (if only he knew that they had left!). At 00.54, an American ship was discovered from the bridge of the Japanese flagship of the cruiser Chokai. It was the patrol destroyer Blue. But they did not notice the enemy, who safely remained behind.
Soon the Japanese met the southern group of Allied ships. She was weakened as Admiral Crutchley had departed for a meeting with Turner on his flagship, the cruiser Australia, and he had not yet returned. The allies again did not notice the Japanese. Meanwhile, Admiral Mikawa gave the order: “Everyone, attack! Shoot yourself! A hail of shells rained down, and torpedoes ripped through the water. Two of them hit the side of the Australian cruiser Canberra, and the shells began to crush its superstructures. Soon the ship lost its speed and began to collect water. A torpedo blast of the American cruiser Chicago blew off part of its nose, and it was enveloped in flames of fires.
In six minutes the Japanese finished with the southern formation, and then, having rounded the island of Savo, headed for the northeast, where they overtook the northern group of the enemy. The second squad of the carnage began, which ended with the sinking of the American cruisers Vincennes, Astoria and Quincy. As a result of the battle, the Allies lost 1077 people killed, 4 cruisers (Canberra sank the next morning). The cruiser Chicago and the destroyer Ralph Talbot were heavily damaged. “It was one of the worst defeats the US Navy has ever suffered,” notes Samuel Morison. After the tragedy that unfolded in the Strait of Savo, the Allies renamed it the Strait of Iron Bottom. And this water area has repeatedly confirmed the sad accuracy of the name given to it. During the six months of the battle for Guadalcanal, 34 ships, ships and boats of the Allies, as well as 14 units of the Imperial Navy, found their last resting place at its bottom. These waters could also be called Sharkmouth, since predatory fish, smelling the smell of blood, gathered there, it seemed, from the entire southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. Many sailors fell prey to these voracious creatures.
Why did the battle turn into a fiasco for the American fleet? Firstly, the training of the Japanese sailors was higher than the American ones. They perfectly mastered the techniques of night combat. Secondly, the ships of the allies did not establish reliable communication with each other. The northern compound did not even know that the southern one was already fighting. Thirdly, the control of the allied forces was very poorly set. Fourth, the Japanese sailors had excellent night vision binoculars that the Americans and Australians did not have. Finally, they had powerful weapons in their hands - heavy 610-mm torpedoes of type 093, which had a warhead mass of 490 kg and an effective firing range of 22 km at a speed of 48-50 knots. The Americans called them Long Lance, that is, "Long Spear". One hit from such a torpedo was enough to, if not sink, then disable the enemy's heavy cruiser.
But the Japanese, whose flagship cruiser and destroyer were slightly damaged, did not fulfill their main task. Admiral Mikawa, fearing a raid by American aircraft from aircraft carriers, refused to attack the transports still unloaded. Only in the evening of August 9, Admiral Turner withdrew from Guadalcanal with his ships. As if in retaliation for this oversight, the American submarine S-44 attacked the returning Japanese ships and sank the cruiser Kako.
"TOKYA EXPRESSES" RUN IN THE SLIT
The so-called "sea bees" (Seabees), that is, the engineering units of the US Navy, immediately began to complete the construction of the airfield, and the Marines prudently attended to strengthening the perimeter of its defense. Japanese troops on the island soon recovered from the shock of the sudden American attack and made themselves felt. On August 12, a Marine patrol was ambushed and killed. In response, three companies of Marines attacked the villages of Matanikau and Kokumbona, where the enemy had settled. 65 Japanese soldiers were killed, the Americans lost four of their comrades.
And on August 18, Henderson Field was ready to receive and release aircraft. On August 20, the convoy aircraft carrier Long Island approached Guadalcanal, delivering 19 F4F Wildcat fighters and 12 SBD Dauntless dive bombers of the Marine Corps. Two days later, four P-39 Airacobra army fighters arrived. From that moment on, an aviation group called itself "Cactus" (Cactus Air Force - CAF) began to operate. For another six months, the Japanese fiercely fought on land, in the air and at sea in order to break off these "cacti".
Lacking air superiority, they were reasonably afraid to send slow-moving transports with troops to Guadalcanal, although dry cargo ships were also involved to deliver heavy equipment and artillery. For the transfer of military units, ammunition and foodstuffs to the island were used mainly, according to the figurative definition of the Americans, "Tokyo Express" - high-speed destroyers, which first delivered troops and equipment, and then also fired at Henderson Field and its defenders.
On August 19, the Japanese disembarked 916 soldiers from the 28th Infantry Regiment under the command of Colonel Kienao Ichiki from six destroyers 35 kilometers east of Cape Lunga. This officer clearly underestimated the strength of the enemy. In the early morning, he threw his subordinates into the perimeter of the US Marines' defenses. The Japanese launched a frontal attack. Most of them died, including Colonel Ichiki. Only 128 people survived. But they did not give up, and, to the joy of the Yankees, who had nothing to feed them, chose to die of wounds, hunger and disease in the thickets of the "green hell".
By September 4, the Japanese airlifted another 5,000 troops to Guadalcanal by "Tokyo Express" trains. They were led by Major General Kiyetake Kawaguchi. On September 14, the Japanese launched an attack on Henderson Field over the ridge overhanging the airfield, but were repulsed with heavy losses. This was the first defeat of a major Imperial Army unit since the outbreak of the war in Asia and the Pacific. In Tokyo, they realized that not tactical battles were taking place on a distant island, but more serious events. At a meeting of the general staff in Tokyo, it was stated that "Guadalcanal may have turned into a general battle of the war." And so it was.
The situation worsened not only on the island, but also in the waters surrounding the Solomon Islands. On August 24, American and Japanese aircraft carriers clashed. The first to distinguish themselves were the dive bombers of the aircraft carrier Saratoga, which hit the Japanese light aircraft carrier Ryujo with ten bombs. The ship caught fire and sank. But the Japanese did not remain in debt either. Several Japanese aircraft broke through the curtain of fighters and planted three bombs on the deck of the aircraft carrier Enterprise. A well-organized survivability service saved the ship from destruction. However, he was forced to hastily retreat and go for repairs.
The next day, the Cacti from Henderson Field managed to hit the Japanese light cruiser Jintsu and a transport with troops moving towards Guadalcanal. The damaged cruiser left, but the transport lost its speed. The destroyer Mutsuki approached her aboard to remove the troops and crew from the sinking ship. And here, for the first time in the entire war at sea, the American B-17 heavy bombers, which rose from the island of Espiritu Santo, achieved success. Three of their bombs smashed to smithereens a ship under the flag of the Land of the Rising Sun.
The battle near the Eastern Solomon Islands was victorious for the Allies, although the results, at first glance, seemed modest. But do not forget that the Japanese then abandoned the landing of a large assault force on Guadalcanal.
Alas, military fortune is changeable. On September 15, south of the island, Japanese submarine I-19 sank the American aircraft carrier Wasp, which was escorting an Allied convoy to Guadalcanal. This complicated the position of the defenders of Henderson Field. The fact is that the damaged aircraft carriers Saratoga and Enterprise were being repaired. The US Navy retained one Hornet aircraft carrier in the South Pacific, while the Japanese had several ships of this class.
And the Japanese continued to drive the "Tokyo Express" to the island. It happened that during the night they managed to land up to 900 people. The night shelling of Henderson Field by artillery from Japanese ships also continued. In order to stop these sorties, the American command sent a detachment of ships under the command of Rear Admiral Norman Scott to intercept the large "Tokyo Express". In addition, this unit was supposed to cover the Allied convoy transporting troops and equipment to Guadalcanal. On the night of October 11-12, a battle took place at Cape Esperance - at the northern tip of the island. After the victory at Savo Island, the Japanese did not expect serious opposition. And they miscalculated.
At 22.32 the radars of the ships of the American detachment detected the enemy. At 23.46, the cruisers Helena, Salt Lake City, Boise and the destroyers opened fire. The heavy cruiser Aoba, heading the Japanese squadron under the flag of Rear Admiral Aritomo Goto, was struck by their very first volleys. His bridge was blown away. Admiral Goto was killed. Destroyer Fubuki sank to the bottom, once opening a series of magnificent ships of this class. Heavy cruiser Furutaka followed him there. Several more ships were damaged. Not without casualties on the American side. The destroyer Duncan found herself in the line of fire of her own and foreign ships, received several holes and sank. And when dawn broke, dive bombers from Henderson Field sank the Japanese destroyers Natsugumo and Murakumo, who returned to the scene to raise their dying comrades from the water.
Pearl Harbor and Washington were jubilant. Here is a worthy revenge for the defeat at the island of Savo. This is not just the defeat of yet another "Tokyo Express", as the American headquarters believed, but a turning point in the hostilities for Guadalcanal. But the euphoria was premature. On October 14, the battleships Kongo and Haruna approached Guadalcanal. They literally plowed the runways of the Cactus with their 356-mm shells. Japanese fire killed 41 Americans. 48 aircraft out of 90 available were destroyed, and the survivors were damaged and needed repair. Almost all stocks of aviation gasoline were burnt out. It seemed like the end of Henderson Field had come.
But by then the Seabees had learned so quickly to rebuild the runways that it took them only a few hours to revive the Cactus. Generally speaking, all-round specialists were selected for the engineering and construction divisions of the fleet, heading for Guadalcanal. They could not only quickly patch up the airfield and its facilities, but also repair the aircraft themselves. And when the situation demanded, the "sea bees" took up rifles and replaced the artillerymen who had dropped out in battle.
THE GOSPEL FROM THE "BULL" HALSEY
This craft soon came in handy. By October 17, the Japanese military contingent on Guadalcanal had already reached nearly 20,000. Therefore, it was decided to attack the positions of the Americans, and from a new direction - from the south. For the main attack on Henderson Field, the 2nd Division was assigned under the command of Lieutenant General Masao Maruyama, numbering 7,000 soldiers. Another 2,900 people under the command of Major General Tadashi Sumiyosi, as well as heavy artillery, were to attack the perimeter of the airfield defense from the western direction in order to divert the attention of the Americans from the direction of the main attack.
It should be noted that the Americans did not detect the approach of the enemy. Therefore, the Japanese strike on the night of October 23-24 was unexpected for them. However, due to inconsistencies, the western grouping of the Japanese launched an offensive before the main forces of General Maruyama approached. And when they launched the attack, General Sumiyoshi's units had already been swept away and defeated with heavy losses. To repel the main attack of the enemy, units of the 7th Marine Regiment and the recently arrived 164th Infantry Regiment were involved. Cannon buckshot and rifle and machine-gun fire managed to stop the enemy. However, several groups of Japanese soldiers infiltrated the Henderson Field defense perimeter, and they even reported that they had captured the airfield. But soon they were all destroyed. Repeated attacks by Maruyama also failed. In the end, the Japanese were forced to withdraw their units from the "Cactus", losing about 3,000 killed. The Americans said goodbye to 80 of their compatriots.
General Vandegrift was not on Guadalcanal when the enemy attacked Henderson Field. He was in Noumea on the island of New Caledonia, where the headquarters of the commander of the South Pacific Forces was located, in the operational subordination of which were the islands occupied by the Marine Corps. The commander has just changed. Admiral Chester Nimitz has decided to replace his old friend Vice Admiral Robert L. Gormley, who appears to have lost faith in the Americans' ability to hold onto Guadalcanal. He was replaced by Admiral William Halsey, for the tenacious, indomitable and fierce character awarded by his colleagues the nickname "Bull" (Bull). Taking office, he immediately briefly and clearly formulated the task facing the troops and the navy: “Kill the Japs! Kill the Japs! Kill more Japs! " This appeal was enthusiastically received on ships and in military units. “Yes, we were not waging a civilized, not a knightly war,” notes Samuel Morison in this regard. - We applauded when the Japs were dying. We are back to the days of the Indian War. The Japs went this way, thinking they would intimidate us as a "decadent democracy." And they got the kind of war they wanted, but with all the horrors that modern science could give."
At a meeting in Noumea, Halsey asked Vandegrift if he could hold Henderson Field. He answered in the affirmative, but asked for more active support from the fleet. “I will do everything I can,” Bull promised shortly. The case was not slow to confirm his words.
On October 26 at 07.17, reconnaissance aircraft taking off from the deck of the aircraft carrier Enterprise, located in the Santa Cruz Islands area, southeast of Guadalcanal, discovered a Japanese strike force consisting of several aircraft carriers, battleships, heavy cruisers and many destroyers. This armada was moving towards Guadalcanal. At 0830 hours, the first attack group was lifted from the aircraft carrier Hornet. Then came the wave with Enterprise. American aircraft planted four 1,000-pound bombs on the Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku. He left the battle, but did not sink. The Japanese counterattacks were more effective. They hit the Hornet with four bombs and two torpedoes. Then two more bombs and a torpedo. Two destroyed burning enemy bombers crashed into its deck. The hero ship of the first American airstrike against Tokyo (see National Defense magazine # 3/12) was doomed. Enterprise also got it. He received two Japanese bombs.
Bull Halsey's first battle as commander of the South Pacific was lost. True, the Japanese lost about a hundred aircraft, as well as a large number of well-trained pilots. In addition, the Japanese abandoned their intention to deliver a powerful blow to Henderson Field.
ON FRIDAY THE 13TH, OR WHEN LINCORE IS A WARRIOR AT THE SEA
The start of a new naval battle at Guadalcanal did not bode well for the Americans either. To replenish their contingent on the island and deliver heavy weapons, the Japanese equipped 12 large transport ships in early November. To support them, the battleships Hiei and Kirishima, a cruiser and 15 destroyers were allocated, which were to wipe Henderson Field from the face of the earth before the landing of the seven-thousandth landing. The operation was commanded by Vice Admiral Hiroaki Abe.
The Americans sent two task forces to intercept the enemy, commanded by Rear Admirals Daniel Callaghan and Norman Scott. They had at their disposal two heavy and three light cruisers and eight destroyers. After midnight on Friday 13 November, a fight broke out. Once again, the Japanese have demonstrated their ability to fight in a "gouge out" condition. American forces mingled and lost control. The situation that happened on August 9 at the Battle of Savo Island was repeated. The American cruisers Juneau, Atlanta, Helena and four destroyers found their death in the Iron Bottom Strait. The cruisers Portland, San Francisco and three destroyers were heavily damaged. Admiral Norman Scott, famous for his victory at Cape Esperance, was killed. However, in three months the Americans have also learned a thing or two. They focused their fire on the battleship Hiei. He received 85 hits from artillery shells and began to sink. Two Japanese destroyers also went to the bottom. In the morning, attack aircraft "Cactus" finished off the enemy battleship, which sank. Admiral Abe had to retreat.
But for the Americans, the situation became desperate. Henderson Field covered almost exclusively from the sea with torpedo boats. On the night of November 14, the Japanese heavy cruiser Takao and the destroyer fired at the airfield unhindered. And only the annoying attacks of torpedo boats, albeit ineffective, forced them to retreat.
"Bull" Halsey wanted to stop the strike on the island by all means. He ordered the high-speed battleships Washington, South Dakota and four destroyers from the Enterprise carrier Enterprise to race towards Guadalcanal. This unit was commanded by Rear Admiral Willis Lee, an ethnic Chinese, winner of seven 1920 Olympic rifle medals, including five gold medals, and an ardent enthusiast for introducing radar into the fleet.
On the afternoon of November 14, Enterprise and Cactus dive bombers and torpedo bombers attacked Japanese transports approaching the island. They sunk or set on fire 8 of them. The remaining four threw themselves on the rocks at Cape Tassafaronga to try to unload.
Japanese ships hastened to protect them. At midnight on November 15, they were discovered by the radar of the battleship Washington. In order to better assess the situation, Admiral Lee took a seat next to the radar operator. An artillery duel ensued. The Japanese concentrated their fire on South Dakota and inflicted serious damage on this battleship. And with "long spears" they took out American destroyers, three of which sank. The Washington dreadnought remained virtually alone as the fourth destroyer Gwin was damaged. But Admiral Lee's skillful use of the radar made the Americans victorious in the battle of Guadalcanal. Nine 406 mm and forty 127 mm Washington shells turned the Japanese battleship Kirishima into a heap of scrap metal, which was swallowed by the waters of the Slot. On the same morning, American aircraft and artillery attacked the ejected transports and destroyed them, along with all their cargo.
This battle was the culmination of the Battle of Guadalcanal, but not its end. The Japanese resisted the American onslaught for more than two and a half months. And often not without success.
Supported by the fleet and receiving reinforcements, the American Marines ceased to be limited to the defense of the Henderson Field perimeter, and began to undertake offensive operations, forcing the enemy into the swamps and other areas of little human habitation on the island. The Tokyo Express continued to supply the emperor's troops with ammunition and food. But flights became less and less frequent. During naval battles and from air raids, the fleet of the Land of the Rising Sun lost many destroyers. Torpedo boats were also annoying, often disrupting the delivery of goods. And there was almost no replenishment of the ship's staff. But the American fleet in the waters washing Guadalcanal grew by leaps and bounds. And, nevertheless, the last naval battle in the Gap remained with the Japanese.
By November 26, some of the Japanese advanced units had not received food for six days. Given the desperate situation of their soldiers, the Japanese command sent another Tokyo Express to Guadalcanal. A detachment of eight destroyers under the command of Rear Admiral Reizo Tanaka headed for Cape Tassafaronga, where it was supposed to drop containers with food and ammunition. Admiral Halsey dispatched Task Force TF67 of four cruisers and six destroyers under Rear Admiral Carleton Wright to intercept. That is, the Americans had absolute superiority. Late in the evening of November 30, the opponents met. The Americans were the first to spot the enemy, but hesitated for four minutes. This time was enough for the Japanese to make an evasive maneuver. When the Americans opened fire and fired torpedoes, Tanaka's destroyers were already leaving, having previously fired 44 torpedoes towards the Americans. Several of them succeeded. They sunk the cruiser Northampton and heavily damaged the cruisers Minneapolis, New Orleans and Pensacola. The destroyer Takanami was the only victim of the American armada's fire. But Tanaka's ships did not fulfill their mission. They did not deliver the cargo to the Japanese troops.
After that, the slow agony of the Japanese garrison began. Yes, individual ships of the Imperial Navy broke through to Guadalcanal, but they were not able to solve the problem of supplying the contingent, exhausted by battles, heavy losses and diseases.
BRILLIANT EVACUATION IN CRASHING
In the meantime, from the second half of October, the units of the 1st US Marine Division were gradually replaced by units of the XIV Corps (it included the 2nd Marine Division, the 25th Infantry Division and the American Division) under the command of Army General Alexander Patch. This association in January 1943 numbered more than 50,000 people.
And although Vandegrift's Marines spent four months instead of four weeks on Guadalcanal, as expected, their losses were relatively small. Killed, dead from wounds and missing, they lost 1242 people. But almost everyone suffered from malaria and other diseases. There was no escape from them. Even Admiral Chester Nimitz, during his second two-day trip to the island, managed to catch a severe form of malaria.
Already on December 12, the Japanese command began to develop an operation to evacuate Guadalcanal, because this island literally devoured and grind troops, ships and aircraft. On December 28, the emperor was informed about this, who approved the decision of his admirals and generals.
The last bloody battle on Guadalcanal took place on January 10-23, 1943 in the area of Mount Austin. The Japanese resisted with their last strength, but, having lost about 3,000 killed, retreated, trying, if possible, not to come into contact with American troops.
When on February 9, 1943, General Patch received a report from General Patch in Noumea and Pearl Harbor that his troops could not find the Japanese on the island, they did not believe at first. But that was the truth. On the night of February 1, 20 destroyers under the command of Admiral Shintaro Hashimoto took out 4935 soldiers. Then, on February 4 and 7, the evacuation of almost all of the remaining troops was completed. A total of 10,652 Japanese troops escaped from Guadalcanal unnoticed. This operation remains unsurpassed in its secrecy.
But this was a flight, not an attack. After Guadalcanal, Japan finally lost the strategic initiative in the war in the Pacific. And the USA switched to the strategy of "frog jumping" - the conquest of islands and archipelagos in the Pacific Ocean one after another. This continued until they reached Japan itself.
The losses of the imperial army and navy turned out to be heavy. 31,000 killed, 38 warships of the main classes and about 800 aircraft were lost. The United States also missed 7100 people, 29 ships and 615 aircraft. The comparison of numbers speaks for itself.
In the battle for Guadalcanal, both sides made extensive use of all types of military forces and all types of weapons. All classes of surface ships, submarines, torpedoes and mines, fighters, attack aircraft and strategic bombers, tanks and field artillery took part in the battles. Technically and tactically in ground operations, the Americans turned out to be higher, but clearly inferior at sea, although there the US Navy completed its mission, preventing the enemy from destroying the Henderson Field airfield, because of which all this bloody mess was brewed. In the end, the economic power of the United States prevailed. Their Armed Forces received everything they needed, in the required quantities, at the right time and of a sufficiently high quality. American pilots, sailors and soldiers prepared for the upcoming battles properly, which ultimately predetermined the victory of the allies in the Pacific Ocean.
