Operation Watchtower: the turning point of the War in the Pacific
Operation Watchtower: the turning point in the Pacific theatre of World War II
The small island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands held little strategic value prior to World War II. Operation Watchtower, also known as the Guadalcanal Campaign, was the military operation undertaken by Allied forces, predominantly American, between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 to deny the use of Guadalcanal by the Japanese in response to the threat to the supply and communication routes between the US, Australia and New Zealand. It marked the first offensive effort undertaken by American troops in the Second World War and the first amphibious operation since the Spanish American War in 1898.1
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, and taking advantage of a temporarily crippled US battleship fleet, Japanese forces moved quickly to capture areas rich in natural resources and establish strategic military bases throughout South East Asia and the Pacific. Attempts by Japan to maintain the strategic initiative and offensively expand their outer defensive stronghold in the South and Central Pacific to the point where they could threaten Australia or the US West Coast were thwarted in the naval battles in the Coral Sea and Midway respectively. The Battle of Midway, six months after the attacks in Pearl Harbour, was especially significant. It marked the first major victory against the Japanese, significantly reducing the offensive capability of Japan’s carrier forces. Prior to these major battles, the Allies had been on a defensive footing in the Pacific, but these strategic victories allowed the opportunity to seize the initiative from Japan.2 The Allies, with a new found confidence, chose the Solomon Islands as its first target in the South Pacific. Occupied by the Imperial Japanese Navy from May 1942, Allied concern grew after intelligence reported in July that the Japanese had commenced construction of a large airfield at Lunga Point in Guadalcanal. The
The small island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands held little strategic value prior to World War II. Operation Watchtower, also known as the Guadalcanal Campaign, was the military operation undertaken by Allied forces, predominantly American, between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 to deny the use of Guadalcanal by the Japanese in response to the threat to the supply and communication routes between the US, Australia and New Zealand. It marked the first offensive effort undertaken by American troops in the Second World War and the first amphibious operation since the Spanish American War in 1898.1
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, and taking advantage of a temporarily crippled US battleship fleet, Japanese forces moved quickly to capture areas rich in natural resources and establish strategic military bases throughout South East Asia and the Pacific. Attempts by Japan to maintain the strategic initiative and offensively expand their outer defensive stronghold in the South and Central Pacific to the point where they could threaten Australia or the US West Coast were thwarted in the naval battles in the Coral Sea and Midway respectively. The Battle of Midway, six months after the attacks in Pearl Harbour, was especially significant. It marked the first major victory against the Japanese, significantly reducing the offensive capability of Japan’s carrier forces. Prior to these major battles, the Allies had been on a defensive footing in the Pacific, but these strategic victories allowed the opportunity to seize the initiative from Japan.2 The Allies, with a new found confidence, chose the Solomon Islands as its first target in the South Pacific. Occupied by the Imperial Japanese Navy from May 1942, Allied concern grew after intelligence reported in July that the Japanese had commenced construction of a large airfield at Lunga Point in Guadalcanal. The