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Securing Guadalcanal

Reinforced in mid-September, Vandegrift expanded and completed his defenses. Over the next several weeks, the Japanese and Marines battled back and forth, with neither side gaining an advantage. On the night of October 11/12, US ships under, Rear Admiral Norman Scott defeated the Japanese in the Battle of Cape Esperance, sinking a cruiser and three destroyers.

The fighting covered the landing of US Army troops on the island and prevented reinforcements from reaching the Japanese. Two nights later, the Japanese dispatched a squadron centered on the battleships Kongo and Haruna, to cover transports heading to Guadalcanal and to bombard Henderson Field. Opening fire at 1:33 AM, the battleships fired on the airfield for nearly an hour and half, destroying 48 aircraft and killing 41. On the 15th, the Cactus Air Force struck at the Japanese convoy as it unloaded, sinking three cargo ships.

Beginning on October 23, Kawaguchi launched a major offensive against Henderson Field from the south. Two nights later, they nearly broke through Marines' line, but were repulsed by Allied reserves. As the fighting was raging around Henderson Field, the fleets collided at the Battle of Santa Cruz on October 25-27. Though a tactical victory for the Japanese, having sunk the carrier USS Hornet, they suffered high losses among their air crews and were forced to retreat.

The tide on Guadalcanal finally turned in the Allies' favor following the naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 12-15. In a series of aerial and naval engagements, US forces sank two battleships, a cruiser, three destroyers, and eleven transports in exchange for two cruisers and seven destroyers. The battle gave the Allies naval superiority in the waters around Guadalcanal, allowing for massive reinforcements to land and the beginning of offensive operations. In December, the battered 1st Marine Division was withdrawn and replaced by the XIV Corps. Attacking the Japanese on January 10, 1943, the XIV Corps forced the enemy to evacuate the island by February 8. The six month campaign to take the island was one of the longest of the Pacific war and was the first step in pushing back the Japanese.
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