Free The Battle Of Guadalcanal Essay Sample

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Guadalcanal is in Solomon Islands and lies on the northeastern side of Australia. Japanese troops arrived at Guadalcanal Island on 8th June 1942 to construct an air base. The idea of the Japanese troops was to capture the Guadalcanal Island then cut off the sea route between America and Australia. Americans opposed the Japanese idea of capturing the island. The American troops landed on Guadalcanal Island on August 1942 to stop the Japanese troops from capturing Guadalcanal. The American troops wanted to protect Australia from begin invaded by the Japanese troops. The only way the American troops could prevent the invasion of Japanese troops into Australia was by taking control of Guadalcanal Island.
The Japanese troops choose Guadalcanal Island for air base construction because it would give the Japanese control of the sea lines communication between Australia and United States of America. The American troops attacked the Japanese troops on Guadalcanal Island on August 7th. The American troops won the battle and took control of the air base that the Japanese troops were constructing. The battle of Guadalcanal ended on February 9th, 1943. United States of America deployed 60,000 soldiers in Guadalcanal Island and lost 2,000 soldiers in the battle. The Japanese had deployed 31,400 soldiers on Guadalcanal Island and lost two-thirds of their soldiers (History.com).
Admiral Osami Nagano, the chief of Japan's Navy General Staff, wanted the Japanese troops to invade northeastern part of Australia and the Guadalcanal Island. Nagano together with the Japanese Navy wanted the Japanese troops to stay in the war. The Japanese Navy under the leadership of Nagano wanted Japanese troop to invade Australia and bring Australia under the Japanese control (Pacificwar.org.au). The Japanese troops were sure that Australia could surrender to Japan when pressured to do so. The belief behind Japanese invasion into Australia and capturing of Guadalcanal were the benefits that Japan would get from their invasion and capture of the island.
Capturing Guadalcanal would enable the Japanese troops to have any easy time when launching attacks on shipping and communication routes between the United States and Australia. The Japanese troops stayed in the war because withdrawal would be a sign of weakness that Americans would use for their advantage. Initially, the Japanese Navy troops had an argument with Americans about the capturing of Guadalcanal. Later, the Japanese Generals ordered an attack on the Solomon Islands. The Japanese troops captured Solomon Islands, and that was when they got interested in Lunga plantation in Guadalcanal. The Lunga plantation was the point in Guadalcanal that could sustain an airfield.
Building an air base at Lunga plantation in Guadalcanal would enable the Japanese troop to have control of the communication between Australia and the USA. With all the benefits that come with capturing Guadalcanal, Nagano believed that the Japanese troops ought to stay in the battle and capture Guadalcanal (Historylearningsite.co.uk).
Admiral Ernest King, the head of all United States of America naval force, wanted the American troops to stay in the battle. Ernest believed that if they let the Japanese troops capture Guadalcanal, then, the Japanese troops would interfere with American’s sea communication to Australia. Ernest knew that once the Japanese troops captured Guadalcanal Island, the troops would be cut off the sea route between America and Australia. Ernest urged the American Navy troops to stay in the battle in order to prevent the Japanese troops from invading Australia. The American Navy troops stayed in the battle because they knew they could defeat the Japanese. The American troops also knew that once they defeated the Japanese in the Battle of Guadalcanal, they would have control of the air base that was still under construction by the Japanese troops (Historylearningsite.co.uk).
General Kawaguchi, a leader of the Japanese troops, realized that his men were exhausted by the battle after a march through a jungle. The American troops were attacking the Japanese troops consistently, resulting in a high number of casualties on the side of the Japanese. In the early stage of the war, Kawaguchi lost 1200 men, wounded or killed. Attempts by the Japanese troops to attack the American were failing. The Japanese troops attacked the Americans lines, but the well-positioned American guns increased the death toll of the Japanese.
Later, Kawaguchi ordered the Japanese troops to withdraw from the battle as he had lost many men. The remaining soldiers were either too exhausted or fatigued to fight the American troops effectively. The Japanese troops had many casualties, leaving their leaders with no option other than withdrawing from the Guadalcanal Island. The emperor of Japan ordered the Japanese troops to withdraw from Guadalcanal Island on December 1942. The final withdrawal of the Japanese troops from Guadalcanal Island took place from January to February 1943.
After the Japanese troops withdrew from the battle, Japan no longer had hopes in withstanding the powerful United States (Historylearningsite.co.uk). Major-General Alexander Vandergrift, the then commander of the US Marine Division, requested the American Navy troop to withdraw from the Guadalcanal after the American troops secured victory at Guadalcanal. The American troops assured the protection of the sea route from America to Australia and prevented the Japanese from invading Australia (Historylearningsite.co.uk).

Works Cited

History.com. “Battle Of Guadalcanal - World War II” History.Com. N.p., 2015. Web. 10
Mar. 2015.
Historylearningsite.co.uk. “The Battle Of Guadalcanal” Historylearningsite.co.uk. N.p., 2015.
Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
Pacificwar.org.au. “Battle For Australia: Japanese Debate Invasion Of Australia”. Pacificwar.org.au. N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.