Battle Of Guadalcanal Essay

World War II was not a small battle with little loss, it was a complex war that consisted of many separate smaller battles and almost every country was involved. The battle I chose, that contributed to World War II, is the Battle of Guadalcanal. I chose this battle, due to my family connections to Guadalcanal. Also, because it is a topic that you do not hear about often, when talking about World War II. Finally, it is the first major participation in the Pacific war. In this essay I will cover the basic premises of Guadalcanal, the impact of Pearl Harbor on America. I will also address, Naval tragedies, specific contributors to the Navy, and each of the smaller battles within this large battle. On December 7, 1941 our greatest military disaster happened, the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese planes came in two waves hitting our base with bombs. The Japanese planes left behind mass chaos with 2,403 dead, 188 destroyed
Two days following the army’s arrival, the Communications building was destroyed by a shelling of Henderson Field. On October 25, is the start of The Battle of Matanikou. This battle started when the Japanese tried to cross the Matanikou River. Sgt. John Basilon along with a handful of other marines defended their position during the battle. By the morning they had shot over 26,000 rounds, leaving his guns completely burnt out. After this, he received a medal of honor.
This battle was probably the heaviest of them all, especially how the second day went. The artillery battle lasted for an entire night, which, resulted in over 3,000 deaths on the Japanese side and 300 on the marines’ side. During the month of November all Guadalcanal was, was constant shooting and air raids. Journal entries state that each day there was hundreds of rounds shot everyday, along with multiple air raids a day. On November 12, America had a large victory thanks to their