Battle Of Guadalcanal Essay

657 Words3 Pages
The Battle of Guadalcanal WWII took place on August 1942 on the Pacific theater, just northeast of Australia. This island, part of the Solomon Islands, played an important factor for both the Allies and the Axis due to its proximity to Australia. If the Japanese invaded, they would be able to cut off access between the States and Australia whereas if the States controlled the island, it would put them in a better position to defend Australia as well as protect the “Allied build-up in Australia that would act as a springboard for a major assault on the Japanese.” Admiral Earnest King, head of the U.S. Naval forces, lead the attack along with General Alexander Vandegrift on Guadalcanal due to the treat of an airfield lead by the Japanese on…show more content…
The battle took place over the winter months of 1944-1945 in the European Theater. This battle was a desperate attempt to split the Allies in order to gain power and time due to the poor state that the Germans had found themselves in. The plan was carried out by three armies appointed by Hitler himself, led by Sepp Dietrich, Manteuffel, and Brandenberger. Completely surprised by the attempted blitzkrieg Lieutenant General George S. Patton successfully defended the Allies position and prevented the further advancements of the Germans. Due to the lack of fuel to successfully carry out their plans, the defeat in this battle was inevitable. The Americans suffered the highest amount of casualties for any operation during the war in this battle. The amount of losses in this battle is great, the majority American although the British were also engaged. In total the U.S. Suffered a total of about 75,000 dead, and lost around 800 tanks, Great Britain suffered around 1,400 casualties. Germany on the other hand lost around 67,200 casualties, lost around 600 tanks and assault guns, and hundreds of aircraft. In this battle the win for the Allies almost completely drained Germany of all of its few remaining resources and cost them much when it came to the upcoming events in the remainder of the
Show More
Related

  • Battle Of Guadalcanal Essay

    1010 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Battle of Guadalcanal happened in 1942 involving the United States Marine Corps and Japanese naval and army forces. The landing at Guadalcanal took six months to defeat the Japanese in what was to turn into a battle of slow destruction. The Japanese loss of the Battle of Midway had forced the Imperial Army to rethink about their plans of expanding their forces and instead think about reinforcing the forces they already had out. This was a victory for America and also a turning point because they

    Read More

More about Battle Of Guadalcanal Essay

Open Document