Guadalcanal Turning Point

First Paragraph:
The battle of Guadalcanal was a very long military effort that spanned the months from August of 1942 to February of 1943. The entire extended battle represents a World War II time period that changed the course of the Allied war with the Japanese. The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, which was the most clearcut turning point of the entire effort, showed the Japanese sending warships and infantry to bombard and recapture Henderson Field. Although the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal clearly showed heavy losses on both sides, the battle was the most important turning point of World War 2 because it moved the Japanese from offensive position to defensive position and ended the virtual tie in the war for control of the South Pacific.
The events of the three days from November 12th to November 15th, 1942 showed the bravery of military leaders and troops, the victory of the Allied leaders’ strategy in the war effort, and the beginning of the deterioration of Japanese strength in the war.
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Next:
a. Give a history of the war and the Battle of Guadalcanal leading UP to the Naval battle. Paraphrase your words from this source (it’s fairly easy to follow): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Battle_of_Guadalcanal II. Next Talk about the Allied leaders of the war efforts and how they showed bravery in the battle and helped to change the course of the war. PARAPHRASE! Good source is here: http://www.historynet.com/second-naval-battle-of-guadalcanal-turning-point-in-the-pacific-war.htm Focus on Vice Admiral Halsey, Rear Admiral Willis Lee, and Captain Glenn Davis. 1. Strategy/Risk-Taking: Start the paragraph talking about Halsey, and talk about the fact that leadership was more about taking risks and making decisions based on the current situation then following textbook military training.

A quote to include or text to paraphrase:
The Americans knew the enemy moves, thanks to their cryptographers. But Vice Adm. William F. Halsey, the aggressive commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater, had virtually no ships to hurl at Kondo. All his cruisers and destroyers had been used up in the Friday 13th battle. The carrier Enterprise was still only partially repaired after being damaged at the Battle of Santa Cruz, but her 78 planes could screen Guadalcanal by day. The problem would be a night surface
action.
All that was left for Halsey's use were two fast, new, battleships, USS South Dakota and USS Washington. Naval War College doctrine forbade the use of battleships in a tightly confined space such as Ironbottom Sound, just north of Guadalcanal, but Halsey knew that wars were won at sea, not in a textbook. He ordered the dreadnoughts committed. http://www.historynet.com/second-naval-battle-of-guadalcanal-turning-point-in-the-pacific-war.htm 2. Bravery: Despite facing odds that were against them and headed to battle outnumbered in numbers of ships and soldiers, the leaders did not back down. They showed only bravery as they moved to face their enemy, and from the leaders to the troops, each person on the ship was eager to engage in the battle and end victorious.

Here’s a quote you should include from a primary source to illustrate the bravery of outnumbered troops and ships:
“At dusk Lee ordered his ships to approach Guadalcanal. Washington's Capt. Glenn Davis told his crew: 'We are going into an action area. We have no great certainty what forces we will encounter. We might be ambushed. A disaster of some sort may come upon us. But whatever it is we are going into, I hope to bring all of you back alive. Good luck to all of us.'
The words settled down on Washington's 1,500-man crew. In the secondary battery fire control, Ensign Hal Berc later said: 'We had gone through a million drills, but who knew what a naval action was really about? When the captain finished his speech, there was a general sense of exhilaration. No one despaired.'”

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