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43-697: The Southeast Area Fleet was an operational command of the Imperial Japanese Navy combining the remaining surface elements of the IJN 8th Fleet with the IJN 11th Air Fleet , the No.5 Special Base Unit. The Southeast Area Fleet was established on December 24, 1942, during the waning weeks of the Guadalcanal campaign and was headquartered in Rabaul , New Britain . In February 1944, after heavy losses in

86-618: A Malaitan enclave and the Malaita Eagle Force took over government. The Royal Australian Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy deployed vessels to the area to protect the expatriate community resident mostly in Honiara. In 2003, the Pacific Forum negotiated the intervention of RAMSI or Operation Helpem Fren involving Australia, New Zealand, and other Pacific island nations. About 25 km (15 mi) from Honiara to

129-515: A beach at Point Cruz; he was killed during the evacuation. During the Battle for Henderson Field , the Medal of Honor was also awarded to John Basilone , who was later killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. After the war, American and Japanese groups repeatedly visited Guadalcanal to search for the remains of missing soldiers. The bodies of some 7,000 Japanese troops remain missing on

172-528: A defensive ring around their conquests and threaten the lines of communication from the United States to Australia and New Zealand. The Japanese reached Guadalcanal in May 1942. When an American reconnaissance mission spotted construction of a Japanese airfield at Lunga Point on the north coast of Guadalcanal, the situation became critical. This new Japanese airfield represented a threat to Australia, so as

215-436: A liability due to their age and lack of crew training. Nevertheless, a stubborn staff officer of CruDiv18 managed to convince Mikawa to take them along. Only one destroyer ( Yūnagi ) was available at the time to escort the striking force. After assembling the warships, Mikawa sailed toward Guadalcanal. Furthermore, He sent four submarines of SubDiv7 ahead of his surface striking force. In the ensuing Battle of Savo Island in

258-428: A matter of urgency, despite not being adequately prepared, the United States conducted its first amphibious landing of the war on Guadalcanal. The initial landings of the 1st Marine Division on 7 August 1942 secured the airfield with little difficulty, but holding the airfield for the next six months against combined Japanese ground assault, air attack and naval bombardment was one of the most hotly contested campaigns in

301-427: A particularly nasty bite. The Guadalcanal Watersheds form a site that has been identified by BirdLife International as an important bird area , because it supports populations of threatened or endemic bird species. At 376,146 ha (1,452 sq mi), it covers some 70% of the island, extending along the southern coast inland to the central highlands, and contains riverine and lowland tropical rainforest , as well as

344-503: A protectorate over the northern Solomons in 1884, while in 1893, the British Solomon Islands Protectorate was proclaimed, which included the island of Guadalcanal. Germany eventually handed over most of their protectorate to Britain, though, in 1899. By the early 20th century, large agricultural plantations (specialising in copra ), run mainly by Australians, were established in the region. Guadalcanal

387-539: A relativity minor damage to two heavy cruisers and one destroyer. Nevertheless, they failed to follow through and destroy the lightly protected American transports that were in the process of landing critical supplies for the Allied troops on the ground. While CruDiv6 was returning to Kavieng on 10 August, heavy cruiser Kako was torpedoed and sunk by US submarine S-44 . During the Guadalcanal Campaign ,

430-653: Is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands , located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean , northeast of Australia . It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second-largest by population (after Malaita ). The island is mainly covered in dense tropical rainforest and has a mountainous hinterland . Guadalcanal was first charted by Westerners during the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña in 1568. The name comes from

473-475: The Cactus Air Force . They defended the airfield and threatened any Japanese ships that ventured too close to the island during daylight hours. At night, however, Japanese naval forces were frequently able to shell the airfield and deliver troops with supplies, retiring before daylight. The Japanese used fast ships, namely destroyers, to conduct this reinforcement and supply effort, which became known as

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516-793: The Solomon Islands campaign , most surviving Japanese surface and naval aircraft forces withdrew from Rabaul to Truk in the Caroline Islands . However, lacking transport, most of the headquarters staff of the Southeast Area Fleet was left abandoned on Rabaul, together with surviving elements of the Imperial Japanese Army IJA 8th Area Army , and was isolated until the end of the war. Commander in chief Chief of staff IJN 8th Fleet The 8th Fleet ( 第八艦隊 , Dai-hachi Kantai )

559-638: The Tokyo Express . So many ships from both sides were sunk in the many naval engagements in and around the Solomon Island chain that the nearby waters came to be referred to as Ironbottom Sound . The naval Battle of Cape Esperance was fought on 11 October 1942 in the waters off the northwest coast of Guadalcanal. During the engagement, the United States Navy intercepted and defeated a Japanese formation of ships on their way down "

602-597: The 18th and 19th centuries. With these outsiders also arrived foreign institutions such as forced labour. Beginning during the 1860s, about 60,000 natives from many parts of the Solomon Islands were indentured and sent to Australia or Fiji by British authorities to work on plantations. This system continued into the 1890s. In the 1880s, the Germans and the British vied for control of the Solomons. Germany established

645-545: The 8th Fleet came under the operational authority of the Southeast Area Fleet . The 8th Fleet subsequently played a major role in Operation KE , the successful withdrawal of army forces from Guadalcanal during the first week of February 1943. Between 2–4 March eight destroyers from 8th Fleet under Rear Admiral Masatomi Kimura escorted a major reinforcement convoy from Rabaul to Lae on New Guinea . In

688-545: The 8th Fleet was responsible for bringing reinforcements and supplies to the island. For this purpose Reinforcement Unit was formed, which was centered around Destroyer Squadron 2 led by Rear Admiral Raizō Tanaka . On 31 August, Tanaka was temporarily replaced in this role by Rear Admiral Shintarō Hashimoto and his Destroyer Squadron 3. On 28 August 1942, the 8th Fleet also created the R-Area Air Force , which exclusively operated seaplanes in order to compensate for

731-657: The Battle of Midway in turning the tide against them. After six months of hard combat in and around Guadalcanal, the Japanese forces on the island were critically undersupplied and no longer combat effective, while Allied troops were steadily increasing in quantity and quality. Remaining Japanese forces on the island were evacuated at Cape Esperance on the northwest coast in February 1943. American authorities declared Guadalcanal secure on 9 February 1943. The Guadalcanal campaign

774-457: The Pacific theater of war that two battleships engaged each other in combat, with the next such engagement occurring in 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf . Some Japanese viewpoints consider these naval engagements, which showcased the improving capability of Allied warships to challenge the Imperial Japanese Navy's significant advantage in night-fighting techniques, to be just as significant as

817-465: The Slot " to reinforce and resupply troops on the island, suffering losses of their own in the process. The multi-day Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November marked a critical turning point in the campaign. Allied naval forces engaged a large, experienced Japanese surface force at night and forced it to withdraw, sinking the IJN battleship Kirishima in the process. This was one of only two times in

860-443: The early morning of 9 August, Admiral Mikawa's 8th Fleet defeated a numerically superior Allied Task Force 62.2, composed primarily of United States Navy vessels, but with a substantial Royal Australian Navy component, all under the command of British Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley . The striking force of the 8th Fleet sank four Allied heavy cruisers and additionally damaged one more heavy cruiser and two destroyers, in exchange for

903-439: The early morning of November 14, Maya and Suzuya were detached under Rear Admiral Shōji Nishimura to conduct a bombardment of the Allied position on Guadalcanal, before rendezvousing with Mikawa and the rest of the force after sunrise south of New Georgia . After that, they were repeatedly attacked by Allied aircraft throughout the morning, which sank Kinugasa and damaged Chōkai , Maya and Isuzu . On 24 December 1942

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946-647: The ensuing Battle of the Bismarck Sea the Japanese suffered a major defeat when Allied aircraft sank four destroyers and all eight transports. Shortly after this debacle, Vice Admiral Mikawa was relieved of the 8th Fleet command and replaced by Vice Admiral Tomoshige Samejima . Later in the war, the 8th Fleet headquarters staff was isolated on Bougainville Island with remnants of Imperial Japanese Army forces. Commander in chief Chief of staff Guadalcanal Guadalcanal ( / ˌ ɡ w ɑː d əl k ə ˈ n æ l / ; indigenous name: Isatabu )

989-402: The entire Pacific theater of war. Immediately after landing on the island, U.S. Navy Seabees began finishing the airfield begun by the Japanese. It was then named Henderson Field after a Marine aviator killed in combat during the Battle of Midway . Aircraft operating from Henderson Field during the campaign were a mix of U.S. Marine, Army, Navy, and other Allied aircraft that became known as

1032-448: The greatest contiguous area of cloud forest in the Solomons. Although it also contains gardens and old village sites, most of it has never been permanently inhabited. Significant birds for which the site was identified include chestnut-bellied imperial pigeons , Woodford's rails , Guadalcanal moustached kingfishers , Meek's lorikeets , Guadalcanal honeyeaters , Guadalcanal thicketbirds , and Guadalcanal thrushes . Potential threats to

1075-476: The highest in Solomon Islands, with an elevation of 7,661 ft (2,335 m) above sea level. The Mbokokimbo River is the island's longest river, with a total length of 98.7 km (61.3 mi). List of peaks in Guadalcanal by elevation List of longest rivers by length The island has been settled since at least 4500–2500 BC based on archaeological finds at Poha Cave and Vatuluma Posovi. During

1118-492: The island's shores. In recent times, these crocodiles have been found only on the Weather Coast in the south of the island, but during World War II, they were found along the north coast in the vicinity of the airstrip where the fighting was taking place, as evidenced by names such as Alligator Creek . Venomous snakes are rare on the island and are not considered to be a serious threat, but a kind of centipede there has

1161-699: The island, and islanders still bring the Japanese groups bones that they say are those of unearthed Japanese soldiers. Immediately after the Second World War, the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate was moved to Honiara on Guadalcanal from its previous location at Tulagi in the Florida Islands . In 1952, the high commissioner for the Western Pacific moved from Fiji to Honiara, and

1204-541: The lack of land bases in the Solomon Islands area. The unit's primary mission was to protect resupply convoys headed for Guadalcanal and to conduct aerial reconnaissance . Since regular resupply runs by destroyers only could not deliver heavy equipment (such as artillery ) to the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) on Guadalcanal, the 8th Fleet's Reinforcement Unit started using seaplane tenders Chitose and Nisshin as high-speed transports. To cover

1247-447: The local Guale people on Guadalcanal and more recent migrants from the neighbouring island of Malaita erupted into violence. The Guadalcanal Revolutionary Army, later called Isatabu Freedom Movement , began terrorising Malaitans in the rural areas of the island in an effort to force them out of their homes. About 20,000 Malaitans fled to the capital, and others returned to their home island; Guale residents of Honiara fled. The city became

1290-399: The loss of Furutaka and one Japanese destroyer, in exchange for the loss of one US destroyer. Furthermore, Rear Admiral Gotō was also mortally wounded in the battle. Nevertheless, the convoy managed to successfully unload the supplies and equipment on Guadalcanal. Two of its destroyers, while retreating from Guadalcanal, were sunk by air attacks the following day. Another major resupply run

1333-590: The minelayer Tsugaru , the seaplane tender Kiyokawa Maru , and the 2nd Air Group were initially assigned to the 8th Fleet, where the latter was soon transferred to the 25th Air Flotilla of 11th Air Fleet in August 1942. On 25 July, Vice Admiral Mikawa led the fleet to Truk in Caroline Islands . From there he then moved to Rabaul on New Britain and arrived on 30 July, where he established his headquarters. He detached CruDiv6 under Rear Admiral Gotō to Kavieng on New Ireland , in order to move them out of

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1376-419: The new capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate and later the capital of the independent nation of Solomon Islands. Guadalcanal is the largest island in Solomon Islands , with a total land area of 5,302 km (2,047 sq mi), and has a population of 155,605 people, making it the second-most populous island in the country after Malaita. Mount Popomanaseu is the island's highest point and

1419-737: The period 1200-800 BC, Austronesian Lapita peoples settled the islands. A Spanish expedition from Peru in 1568 under the command of Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira were the first Europeans to see the island. Mendaña's subordinate, Pedro de Ortega Valencia, named the island after his home town Guadalcanal in Andalusia, Spain. In the years that followed the discovery, the island was variously referred to as Guadarcana, Guarcana, Guadalcana, and Guadalcanar, which reflected different pronunciations of its name in Andalusian Spanish. European settlers, whalers, and missionaries began to arrive in

1462-414: The post was combined with that of the governor of the Solomon Islands. The airfield which was the cause of the fighting in 1942, and which became well known as Henderson Field, is now the international airport for the Solomon Islands. It sits about five miles to the east of Honiara. The secondary airfield, known as "Fighter Two", is now the local golf course. In early 1999, long-simmering tensions between

1505-495: The range of Allied aircraft. When the news of Allied landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi reached the 8th Fleet headquarters on August 7, Mikawa promptly decided to make a night-time counter-attack with his available surface naval forces, despite the presence of American carriers. He ordered CruDiv6 to leave Kavieng to meet his flagship Chōkai . Initially, Mikawa did not want to take the two available old light cruisers from CruDiv18 ( Tenryū and Yūbari ), since he deemed them as

1548-450: The unloading of supplies by the convoy on 11 October, the 8th Fleet assigned CruDiv6 with heavy cruisers Aoba , Kinugasa and Furutaka and two destroyers under Rear Admiral Gotō to bombard the Allied position on Guadalcanal. On the night of 11/12 October they were ambushed by two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and five destroyers under Rear Admiral Norman Scott , which resulted in the Battle of Cape Esperance . The battle accounted for

1591-466: The village of Guadalcanal , in the province of Seville , in Andalusia , Spain, birthplace of Pedro de Ortega Valencia, a member of Mendaña's expedition. During 1942 and 1943, it was the scene of the Guadalcanal campaign and saw bitter fighting between Japanese and U.S. troops. The Americans were ultimately victorious. At the end of World War II , Honiara , on the north coast of Guadalcanal, became

1634-550: The west, Vilu War Museum houses an outdoor collection of remains of various parts of military equipment and of several aircraft. Several memorials for the American, Australian, Fijian, New Zealand, and Japanese soldiers who died were erected, as well. The island hosts a native marsupial known as the phalanger or grey cuscus, Phalanger orientalis . The only other mammals are bats and rodents. Many species of colourful parrots are found there, and estuarine crocodiles inhabit

1677-539: Was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) established during World War II . The 8th Fleet was established on 14 July 1942 and was given the operational title of Outer South Seas Force, which reflected its mission of guarding conquests in the South Pacific . In this respect, it essentially replaced the 4th Fleet , which was then given the operational title of Inner South Seas Force, and

1720-475: Was a major turning point in the war, as it stopped further Japanese expansion. Two U.S. Navy ships have been named for the campaign: To date, the only U.S. Coast Guardsman recipient of the Medal of Honor is Signalman 1st Class Douglas Albert Munro , awarded posthumously for his extraordinary heroism on 27 September 1942 at Point Cruz . Munro provided covering fire and helped evacuate 500 besieged Marines from

1763-508: Was conducted on the night of 14/15 October by Nisshin , while Vice Admiral Mikawa with Chōkai and Kinugasa shelled Allied position on Guadalcanal to cover the cargo unloading process. The 8th Fleet was also involved in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal , where Vice Admiral Mikawa led a naval force that consisted of heavy cruisers Chōkai , Kinugasa , Maya , Suzuya , light cruisers Isuzu and Tenryū , and four destroyers. In

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1806-736: Was not seriously affected by World War I. In 1932, the British confirmed the name Guadalcanal in line with the town in Andalusia, Spain. In the months following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Japanese drove the Americans out of the Philippines , the British out of British Malaya , and the Dutch out of the East Indies . The Japanese then began to expand into the western Pacific, occupying many islands in an attempt to build

1849-816: Was primarily tasked with defending the Mandates . Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa was appointed as the first commander of the 8th Fleet. Initially, the 8th Fleet included the Takao -class heavy cruiser Chōkai as its flagship , Cruiser Division 6 (CruDiv6) under Rear Admiral Aritomo Gotō with the entire Furutaka and Aoba classes of four older and somewhat smaller heavy cruisers ( Aoba , Kinugasa , Kako and Furutaka ), Cruiser Division 18 (CruDiv18) under Rear Admiral Mitsuharu Matsuyama with three old light cruisers ( Tenryū , Tatsuta and Yūbari ), eight old destroyers , and Submarine Squadron 7 (SubDiv7) with five submarines . In addition,

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