Battles for Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo

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Battles for Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo
United States Marines land on Tulagi, August 7, 1942
United States Marines land on Tulagi, August 7, 1942
date August 7, 1942 to August 9, 1942
place Florida Islands in the Solomon Islands
output allied victory
Territorial changes Florida Islands
consequences Establishment of a naval base on Tulagi
Parties to the conflict

United States 48United States United States Australia
AustraliaAustralia 

Japanese EmpireJapanese Empire Japan

Commander

Alexander A. Vandegrift
William H. Rupertus

Miyazaki Shigetoshi

Troop strength
about 3,000 about 886
losses

122 dead,
200 wounded

863 dead,
20 prisoners

Battle of Guadalcanal (1942–1943)

The fighting over Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo was a series of battles between units of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States Marine Corps , which received support from smaller contingents of the Australian Defense Force . They took place from August 7th to 9th, 1942 in the course of the Pacific War and represented the Allied opening attack for Operation Watchtower , the Battle of Guadalcanal.

During the fighting, the US Marines landed under the command of Major General Alexander Vandegrift successfully on the islands of Tulagi , Florida, Gavutu and Tanambogo , the Marines had the Japanese Navy under supported, American airstrikes occupied in May 1942nd The Japanese were clearly inferior both materially and numerically, but took on the defense of the naval and seaplane base they had built. With the exception of a few prisoners, they perished.

At the same time as the landings on Tulagi, Florida and Gatuvu-Tanambogo, Allied troops landed on the nearby Guadalcanal in order to conquer the Japanese airfield that was being built there. These landings met with no resistance compared to those on Tulagi and Gatuvu-Tanambogo. The landings on both Tulagi and Guadalcanal initiated the six-month battle for Guadalcanal, during which there were a number of land, air and sea battles in the waters and on the islands of the Solomon Sea .

Background and American preparations for operations

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Empire opened the war against the United States with the attack on the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor . This attack destroyed or damaged a large part of the US battle fleet anchored there. The main goals of the Japanese leadership for this war were to neutralize the American fleet and the allied troops throughout the Pacific, to conquer resource-rich areas and to permanently occupy strategically important positions in order to take over the Japanese Empire in both Asia and the Pacific protect. In support of these objectives, Japanese forces attacked the Philippines , Burma , Thailand , British Malaya , Singapore , the Dutch East Indies , Wake , the Gilbert Islands , New Britain and Guam immediately after the air strike on Pearl Harbor . Much of the attacked areas could be captured by Japanese troops, causing the Allies to suffer heavy losses during this invasion of Southeast Asia . Almost all resource-rich areas and several important enemy bases were occupied by the Japanese.

Strategic importance of Tulagi

The Solomon Islands had been sparsely populated. In total there were only 500 Europeans, 200 Chinese and 97,700 indigenous people who were spread over the few settlements. European settlers especially avoided Guadalcanal and the surrounding islands because of the unhealthy climate. Tulagi, a British administrative post, offered itself as a natural anchorage, which is why the Royal Navy had considered building a naval base here in 1914. Nevertheless, Tulagi had hardly been expanded, so that there were only a few smaller piers and warehouses. There were no repair options or replenishment stations. Even so, Tulagi was the only significant anchorage in the Solomon Islands. At the beginning of the war in the Pacific, the priorities of the Japanese armed forces were initially further northwest, where they developed Rabaul as their most important base. Only on January 22, 1942, they bombed Tulagi and neighboring Gavutu, where 20 Australian soldiers and a division of seaplanes were stationed. Shortly afterwards, most of the European residents left the island.

Officers and NCOs of the 3rd Kure Special Landing Forces, which Tulagi occupied in May 1942 and which was almost completely wiped out during the Allied reconquest (photo from February 17, 1942)

In the spring of 1942 the Japanese advanced further south-east across the Solomon Islands (→ Operation MO ). They hoped to secure good starting bases and airfields for their further operations against New Guinea, Fiji , New Caledonia and the Samoan Islands , which they needed to break the connection between Australia and North America. As part of this plan, Tulagi and Guvutu were bombed again on May 1st and captured on May 4th by 3rd Kure Special Marine Infantry ( 第 3 呉 海軍 特別 陸 戦 隊 , Dai san Kure Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai ) under Rear Admiral Shima Kiyohide. At the same time they occupied the islands of Gavutu, Tanambogo and Florida in the immediate vicinity without a fight and set up posts there. Already on the following day, Allied forces flew air strikes on Tulagi (→ Battle in the Coral Sea ), whereby two Japanese destroyers, a transport ship and several smaller vehicles were sunk. Shortly thereafter, in June 1942, the defeat in the Battle of Midway put an end to the medium-term plans of the Japanese to advance south.

Nevertheless, the bases on Tulagi and the bases under construction on Guadalcanal were still of great importance to the Japanese high command. On the one hand, the sea aviation division stationed there could be used to get hold of New Guinea and to carry out air raids on Port Moresby . On the other hand, they also represented important outposts for the protection of Rabaul, from which the Japanese operations in the west could be shielded. By August, the Japanese had stationed around 900 soldiers on Tulagi and the nearby islands and 2,800 Korean and Japanese workers on Guadalcanal.

US offensive planning

Brigadier General Rupertus (center) monitors the attacks on Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo from his command ship while landing craft and an American destroyer are cruising in the background (photo taken on August 7 or 8, 1942)

After the decisive victories in the Coral Sea and at Midway, the United States was able to take the initiative and launch its own offensive at a location of its choice in the Pacific. The Allies were aware of the Japanese activities on Tulagi and were further concerned in early July 1942 when the Japanese began to build a large airfield at Lunga Point on the nearby Guadalcanal. The American General Staff therefore selected the Solomon Islands for this first Allied offensive of the Pacific War, and especially the southern islands of Guadalcanal and the Florida Islands . The Allied plan to attack the southern Solomon Islands came from the Commander in Chief of the US Navy , Admiral Ernest J. King . He justified his choice with the fact that the Japanese could not be allowed to use the southern Solomon Islands as a base to threaten the supply routes between the United States and Australia. The offensive was also intended to serve as the starting point for a campaign to eliminate the Japanese base in Rabaul and to support the Battle of New Guinea . The long-term goal was to pave the way for the reconquest of the Philippines. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz , Commander in Chief of the Allied Forces in the Pacific, set up the South Pacific Area (SOPAC) under the command of Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley , which was supposed to coordinate the offensive against the Solomon Islands.

In preparation for the offensive, Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift received instructions in May 1942 to move the 1st US Marine Division under his command from the United States to New Zealand. Other Allied land, air and naval forces were relocated to Fiji, New Caledonia and Samoa to establish bases. Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides was chosen as the headquarters and main base for the upcoming offensive, code-named Operation Watchtower , the start date of which had since been set for August 7th. The first draft plan only envisaged the conquest of Tulagi and the Santa Cruz Islands , leaving out Guadalcanal. After Allied reconnaissance missions discovered the Japanese airfield under construction, the plan was expanded to include the conquest and the occupation of the Santa Cruz Islands was discarded for the time being.

The fighting for the islands

Overview map of the US landings on the Florida Islands on 7./8. August 1942

The Allied Watchtower Expeditionary Force, consisting of 75 American and Australian war and transport ships, was assembled near Fiji on July 26th and carried out a training landing there before setting off for the Guadalcanal on July 31st. Vandegrift was the commander in chief of the approximately 16,000 ground troops, largely consisting of US Marines, who were involved in the landings and personally led the attack on Guadalcanal. Brigadier General William H. Rupertus , who set up his headquarters on the transport ship USS Neville, was in command of the approximately 3,000 Marines who were to land on Tulagi, Florida, Gavutu and Tanambogo .

Due to bad weather, the Allied fleet was able to position itself in the vicinity of Guadalcanal unnoticed by the Japanese until the morning of August 7th. After intercepting the enemy radio traffic, the Japanese launched a reconnaissance plane at daybreak to track down the enemy. The landing fleet was divided into two parts, one of which took a course for Guadalcanal, while the other headed for Tulagi, Florida and Gavutu-Tanambogo. Aircraft of the aircraft carrier USS Wasp attacked the islands for the first time, destroying 15 flying boats at their anchorages. Some of the flying boats were already fully occupied and warmed up their engines in preparation for take-off, which if destroyed resulted in the wounding and death of the crews and a number of ground personnel.

The light cruiser USS San Juan and the destroyers USS Monssen and USS Buchanan shelled the planned landing sites on Tulagi and Florida. To cover the attack on Tulagi and Gatuvu-Tanambogo, Marines from the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment landed on Florida at 7:40 a.m., where they did not encounter any enemy. They were led by some Australians such as Lieutenant Frank Stackpool, who were familiar with the topography of the Florida Islands because they had lived and worked there in the past. This was important because on large stretches of beach on the islands dense mangrove vegetation made landings much more difficult.

Landing on Tulagi

Landings and Skirmishes on Tulagi (August 7-8, 1942)

On August 7th at 8 o'clock the 1st Raider Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A. Edson and the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines on the west coast of Tulagi, went ashore in the middle of the elongated island and encountered no resistance. Since offshore coral reefs prevented the landing craft from reaching the beach, the Marines had to wade the last stretch through the shallow water. While crossing this approximately 100 m wide expanse of water, they were not disturbed by the Japanese occupiers of Tulagi, who caught the landing unprepared. Around this time the Japanese troops, consisting of a unit of the 3rd Kure Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai and some members of the Yokohama Air Group under the command of Lieutenant Miyazaki Shigetoshi, sent a radio message to their superior, Lieutenant Captain Yamada Sadayoshi in Rabaul. In this message, they reported that they were under attack and that their equipment and documents would be destroyed. They concluded that the enemy attacked with overwhelming strength and that they would therefore defend their positions to the last man. For this purpose, Suzuki Masaaki, commander of the 3rd Kure , ordered his soldiers to occupy previously established defense positions.

The Marines of the 2nd Battalion secured the northwest of Tulagi without encountering any resistance and then joined the 1st Raider Battalion , which advanced on the southeastern end of the island. While advancing slowly throughout the day, the Marines destroyed some isolated Japanese defenses. In the afternoon, Suzuki moved its main line of defense to an elevation named Hill 280 by the US command and a nearby ravine at the southeast end of the island. In some sources this hill is also referred to as Hill 281 . The defense at this position consisted of numerous caves dug in the limestone and machine gun nests protected by sandbag barricades. The marines reached these defensive positions shortly before sunset, but when they saw them, they withdrew into defensive positions for the night, as there was no longer enough daylight for a successful conquest.

Docks on Tulagi destroyed by bombs

During the night, the Japanese attacked the American defense lines a total of five times from 10:30 p.m. The attacks consisted of frontal attacks, supported by the attempts of smaller groups to penetrate between the individual American posts, which sometimes led to close combat . At times the Japanese were able to break through the enemy lines and capture a machine gun, but were soon thrown back. With a few more casualties, the Marines managed to hold their lines for the rest of the night. The Marine Edward H. Ahrens is said to have killed a total of 13 Japanese in this defense before he fell himself, for which he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross .

At dawn on August 8, six Japanese soldiers who were hiding in the island's former British colonial headquarters during the previous night's attacks shot dead three Marines. In the ensuing battle for the building, all six Japanese were killed. Later that morning, the Marines received reinforcements from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines and then surrounded Hill 280 and the ravine. During the morning they shot mortar fire at the Japanese positions and then proceeded against two positions. The Japanese caves and fortified positions were turned off by the use of improvised explosive charges. The coordinated Japanese resistance ended in the afternoon of August 8th, and scattered remains of the Japanese were eliminated within the next few days. A total of 307 Japanese and 45 Americans were killed in the fighting around Tulagi, and three Japanese soldiers were taken prisoner.

Landing on Gavutu and Tanambogo

Aerial photo of the fighting on Tanambogo (front) and Gavutu (back) on August 7, 1942; The connecting dam between the two islands is easy to see
Landings on Gavutu and Tanambogo 7./8. August 1942

On the islands of Gavutu and Tanambogo, located near Tulagi, there was a base for flying boats, which was operated and guarded by 536 members of the Yokohama Air Group and the 3rd Kure Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai as well as Japanese and Korean civilian workers from the 14th construction unit . The two islands consist mainly of coral deposits and are connected to each other by an approximately 500 m long natural dam. The elevations on Gavutu and Tanambogo were given the names Hill 148 and Hill 121 by the Allies , which corresponds to the highest point above sea level in feet and a height of about 45 and 37 m respectively. The Japanese had built strong defenses on both islands and built a series of bunkers and caves on the slopes of the hills. Since the two islands are within firing range of each other, the Japanese were able to give each other cover fire. The Americans wrongly assumed that Gavutu and Tanambogo were only occupied by about 200 workers and marines.

At 12:00 noon on August 7, 397 men from the US Marine 1st Parachute Battalion attacked Gavutu. In contrast to the attack on Tulagi, the attack on Gavutu was scheduled for midday, as there were not enough aircraft available to cover the landings on Guadalcanal, Florida, Tulagi and Gavutu in parallel against enemy air attacks. The previous sea bombardment had damaged the flying boat dock, which the landing Marines should use for their purposes. Therefore, the landing craft had to land the soldiers on a nearby beach that offered little cover. Japanese machine gun fire wounded or killed a tenth of Americans while landing before they could cross the beach and take cover inland.

The surviving Marines finally managed to position two Browning M1919 machine guns that put the Japanese positions under barrage and allowed the Americans to advance further. As they sought cover, American forces dispersed and were locked in their positions by continued enemy fire. On Tanambogo, battalion commander George Stallings ordered the Japanese machine gun nests to be taken under mortar and machine gun fire. Shortly afterwards, American dive bombers attacked Tanambogo and were able to destroy some of the enemy positions.

After about two hours, the Marines reached and climbed Hill 148 . From its top they began to clear the remaining Japanese positions on the hill flanks mainly by using grenades and explosive charges. From the top of the hill, the Marines could also fire on Tanambogo. Before the Americans launched the attack on Tanambogo, Major Miller radioed General Rupertus for further reinforcements.

Most of the approximately 240 Japanese defenders on Tanambogo were flight and maintenance personnel from the Yokohama Air Group . Rupertus responded to the request for reinforcements by moving a company from the 1st Battalion 2nd Marine Regiment from Florida Island to the combat area to support the attack on Tanambogo. Rupertus ignored the concerns of his staff that one company would not be enough. Since the American commanders assumed that Tanambogo would only be slightly defended, they let the additional company land directly on Tanambogo shortly after the night of August 7th. When approaching the island, the crews of the five landing craft were blinded by fire blazing there and came under heavy fire, which caused many of the men to fall or be wounded. Three of the boats were badly damaged. Since he believed his position to be untenable, the American company commander ordered the intact boats with his wounded men to leave the island, while he and twelve other soldiers who had already landed on the beach saved themselves via the connection route to Gavutu. Over the course of August 7th, the Japanese defenders on Tanambogo had to mourn ten dead, while the Americans lost 84 men in their attack, including 30 dead.

Destroyed dock facilities on Tanambogo after the fighting

During the night the Japanese launched several isolated attacks under cover of a thunderstorm on Gavutu, while Vandegrift planned to move further reinforcements for the next attack on Tanambogo. For this purpose, the 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines was informed, which was still on its transport ships and was supposed to support the American advance on Guadalcanal.

The 3rd Battalion began to land on Gavutu on August 8th from around 10:00 a.m. and supported the destruction of the last Japanese positions on the island, which could be completed by around 12:00 p.m. The battalion then prepared for the attack on Tanambogo. In preparation for this, carrier-supported dive bomber attacks and fire by ship artillery were requested. After two airmen mistakenly dropped bombs on the Americans on Gavutu, killing four Marines, the air strikes were called off. The USS San Juan bombarded Tanambogo for about 30 minutes. A combined attack on Tanambogo via the inter-island dam and an additional amphibious landing that landed two M3 Stuart tanks in support began at 16:15 . One of the tanks temporarily lost contact with the supporting infantry during its advance inland and was surrounded by Japanese soldiers, whose fire killed two of its crew before the marines were able to free the rest of the crew. The Marines later found a total of 42 Japanese bodies around the burned-out tank wreck, including the commanding officer of the Yokohama Air Group and several pilots. A prisoner involved in the attack later reported that his commander, Corvette Captain Katsuta Saburo, climbed onto the tank before losing eye contact with it.

During the day, slowly advancing, the Marines methodically destroyed every Japanese position they found, destroying most of them by about 9:00 p.m. During the night some surviving Japanese repeatedly unsuccessfully attacked the American positions, which sometimes ended in hand-to-hand fighting. By the afternoon of August 9, the last Japanese resistance on Tanambogo ended.

Landings on Guadalcanal

In contrast to Tulagi, Gatuvu and Tanambogo, the landings on Guadalcanal experienced considerably less resistance. On August 7th at 9:10 am General Vandegrift landed with about 11,000 US Marines on the Guadalcanal coast between Koli Point and Lunga Point. During the advance on Lunga Point, the Americans faced no resistance other than rough rainforest terrain, so that at nightfall they camped around 1,000 meters from the Japanese airfield. The next day, again with little resistance, the Marines advanced on the Lunga River and secured the airfield around 4 p.m. on August 8. The Japanese navy construction crews had already evacuated their base at this point, leaving behind supplies as well as undamaged building materials and machines.

consequences

Some of the few Japanese prisoners made during the fighting for Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo.

During the fighting, about 80 Japanese managed to swim from Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo to Florida Island and to hide. They all fell within the next two months in skirmishes with the British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defense Force , which was targeting these soldiers.

The Allies converted Tulagi, which has one of the best natural harbors in the South Pacific, into a naval base and refueling station, something the Japanese had already begun during their occupation. During Operation Watchtower and the conquest of the rest of the Solomon Islands, Tulagi served as an important base for the Allied naval operations in the Solomon Sea. Since the Japanese controlled the waters around Guadalcanal at night throughout the course of Watchtower, many Allied ships sought refuge in the port of Tulagi at sunset. Ships that were damaged in the sea battles in the area of ​​Guadalcanal between August and December 1942 often first called Tulagi for makeshift repairs before calling at the nearest shipyards.

Later, the Navy also stationed PT speedboats at Tulagi, which should interrupt the so-called Tokyo Express , with which the Japanese brought supplies and reinforcements to Guadalcanal. Aside from a few garrison and construction crews, most of the US Marines who had captured Tulagi and the other Florida Islands moved to Guadalcanal, where all subsequent land battles for Operation Watchtower took place. There they defended the Allied airfield at Lunga Point, which was later called Henderson Field .

The escort aircraft carrier USS Tulagi, commissioned in 1943, was named to commemorate the fighting . After the war it was decommissioned and scrapped in 1946.

literature

  • Joseph H. Alexander: Edson's Raiders: The 1st Marine Raider Battalion in World War II. Naval Institute Press, 2000, ISBN 1-55750-020-7 .
  • James F. Christ: Battalion of the Damned: The 1st Marine Paratroopers at Gavutu and Bloody Ridge, 1942. Naval Institute Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-59114-114-3 .
  • Richard Frank: Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. Random House, New York 1990, ISBN 0-394-58875-4 .
  • Oscar E. Gilbert: Marine Tank Battles in the Pacific. Da Capo Press, 2001, ISBN 1-58097-050-8 .
  • Samuel B. Griffith: The Battle for Guadalcanal. University of Illinois Press, Champaign, Illinois 1963, ISBN 0-252-06891-2 .
  • Eric Hammel: Carrier Clash: The Invasion of Guadalcanal & The Battle of the Eastern Solomons August 1942. Zenith Press, St. Paul, Minnesota 1999, ISBN 0-7603-2052-7 .
  • Stanley Coleman Jersey: Hell's Island: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas 2008, ISBN 1-58544-616-5 .
  • Bruce Loxton, Chris Coulthard-Clark: The Shame of Savo: Anatomy of a Naval Disaster. Allen & Unwin, Australia 1997, ISBN 1-86448-286-9 .
  • John B. Lundstrom: The First Team And the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942. Naval Institute Press, 2005, ISBN 1-59114-472-8 .
  • William L. McGee: The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bouganville - Pacific War Turning Point. Volume 2 of Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII. BMC Publications, 2002, ISBN 0-9701678-7-3 .
  • Samuel Eliot Morison : The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 - February 1943. Volume 5 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Little, Brown and Company, Boston 1958, ISBN 0-316-58305-7 .
  • Williamson Murray, Allan R. Millett: A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2001, ISBN 0-674-00680-1 .
  • Oscar F. Peatross, John P. McCarthy, John Clayborne (Eds.): Bless' em All: The Raider Marines of World War II. ReView Publications, Madison 1995, ISBN 0-9652325-0-6 .

Web links

Commons : Battles for Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John B. Lundstrom: The First Team And the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942. 2005, pp. 41-42.
  2. ^ A b Richard Frank: Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. 1990, pp. 50-51.
  3. ^ A b c Richard Frank: Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. 1990, pp. 78-79.
  4. ↑ 15 of these prisoners were workers of Korean descent.
  5. ^ Williamson Murray , Allan R. Millett : A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War. 2001, pp. 169-195.
  6. ^ Gordon L. Rottman: World War II Pacific Island Guide - A Geo-Military Study , Westport 2002, p. 103
  7. ↑ John B. Lundstrom, ' The First Team - Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway , Annapolis 2005, pp. 168-178
  8. ^ Gordon L. Rottman: World War II Pacific Island Guide - A Geo-Military Study , Westport 2002, p. 104
  9. ^ Richard Frank: Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. 1990, pp. 23-31, 129 and 628.
  10. ^ Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millett: A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War. 2001, p. 196.
  11. ↑ Bruce Loxton and Chris Coulthard-Clark: The Shame of Savo: Anatomy of a Naval Disaster. 1997, p. 3.
  12. ^ Samuel Eliot Morison: The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 - February 1943. 1958, p. 12.
  13. ^ Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millett: A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War. 2001, pp. 199-200.
  14. ↑ James F. Christ: Battalion of the Damned: The 1st Marine Paratroopers at Gavutu and Bloody Ridge, 1942. 2007, p. 25. The 1st Marine Division was selected because it was the only US unit trained for amphibious landings at the time was.
  15. ↑ Bruce Loxton and Chris Coulthard-Clark: The Shame of Savo: Anatomy of a Naval Disaster. 1997, p. 5.
  16. ^ Richard Frank: Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. 1990, pp. 35-37, 53.
  17. ^ William L. McGee: The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bouganville - Pacific War Turning Point. 2002, pp. 20-21.
  18. ^ A b Samuel Eliot Morison: The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 - February 1943. 1958, p. 15.
  19. ^ Richard Frank: Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. 1990, pp. 57, 619-621.
    Stanley Coleman Jersey: Hell's Island: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. 2008, p. 129.
  20. ↑ Stanley Coleman Jersey: Hell's Island: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. 2008, p. 77.
    William L. McGee: The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bouganville - Pacific War Turning Point. 2002, p. 21.
  21. ^ Richard Frank: Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. 1990, p. 60.
  22. ↑ Eric Hammel: Carrier Clash: The Invasion of Guadalcanal & The Battle of the Eastern Solomons, August 1942. 1999, pp. 46-47.
    Stanley Coleman Jersey: Hell's Island: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. 2008, p. 78.
  23. ^ A b c John B. Lundstrom: The First Team And the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942. 2005, p. 38.
  24. ↑ Oscar F. Peatross, John P. McCarthy and John Clayborne (Eds.): Bless' em All: The Raider Marines of World War II. 1995, p. 36.
    John L. Zimmerman: The Guadalcanal Campaign. 1949, pp. 26-27.
    Stanley Coleman Jersey: Hell's Island: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. 2008, pp. 96, 124-125.
  25. ↑ None of the combat troops stationed on Tulagi were killed in the shelling and bombardments preceding the landing. At 10:04 a.m., a propellant charge exploded on the USS San Juan , killing 7 crew members and wounding 11 others.
  26. ^ Richard Frank: Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. 1990, pp. 72-73.
  27. ↑ Joseph H. Alexander: Edson's Raiders: The 1st Marine Raider Battalion in World War II. 2000, pp. 51, 81-82.
    Stanley Coleman Jersey: Hell's Island: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. 2008, pp. 80, 133-134.
    John L. Zimmerman: The Guadalcanal Campaign. 1949, pp. 27-28.
  28. ↑ This unit of the 3rd Kure Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai was formally subordinate to the 8th Japanese Fleet under the command of Admiral Mikawa Gun'ichi. The 3rd Kure Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai consisted mainly of reservists, most of whom were over 40 years old. On Tulagi there were also electricians and engineers of the 14th unit who, although they had no combat training, supported the defense of the island.
  29. ↑ Joseph H. Alexander: Edson's Raiders: The 1st Marine Raider Battalion in World War II. 2000, p. 82.
    Stanley Coleman Jersey: Hell's Island: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. 2008, pp. 82, 131, 138-139.
    John L. Zimmerman: The Guadalcanal Campaign. Pp. 28-31.
  30. ↑ a b Oscar F. Peatross, John P. McCarthy and John Clayborne (ed.): Bless' em All: The Raider Marines of World War II. 1995, pp 37-41.
  31. ↑ Stanley Coleman Jersey: Hell's Island: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. 2008, p. 140.
    Henry I. Shaw: First Offensive: The Marine Campaign For Guadalcanal. 1992, pp. 8-9.
  32. ↑ Joseph H. Alexander: Edson's Raiders: The 1st Marine Raider Battalion in World War II. 2000, pp. 96-99.
    Stanley Coleman Jersey: Hell's Island: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. 2008, p. 140.
  33. ^ A b John L. Zimmerman: The Guadalcanal Campaign. P. 33.
  34. ^ Richard Frank: Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. 1990, p. 628.
    Stanley Coleman Jersey: Hell's Island: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. 2008, p. 150.
  35. ↑ The 14th construction unit was divided into the construction crews Hara and Hashimoto.
  36. ↑ James F. Christ: Battalion of the Damned: The 1st Marine Paratroopers at Gavutu and Bloody Ridge, 1942. 2007, p. 46.
  37. ↑ James F. Christ: Battalion of the Damned: The 1st Marine Paratroopers at Gavutu and Bloody Ridge, 1942. 2007, p. 55.
    Samuel B. Griffith: The Battle for Guadalcanal. 1963, p. 61.
  38. ↑ James F. Christ: Battalion of the Damned: The 1st Marine Paratroopers at Gavutu and Bloody Ridge, 1942. 2007, p. 33.
    John L. Zimmerman: The Guadalcanal Campaign. 1949, p. 34.
  39. ↑ James F. Christ: Battalion of the Damned: The 1st Marine Paratroopers at Gavutu and Bloody Ridge, 1942. 2007, pp. 40-41.
  40. ↑ James F. Christ: Battalion of the Damned: The 1st Marine Paratroopers at Gavutu and Bloody Ridge, 1942. 2007, pp. 52-58.
    Richard Frank: Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. 1990, pp. 75-76.
  41. ↑ James F. Christ: Battalion of the Damned: The 1st Marine Paratroopers at Gavutu and Bloody Ridge, 1942. 2007, pp. 59-69.
  42. ↑ Stalling, who had the rank of captain, took command of the battalion after the previous commander, Major Robert Miller, suffered a nervous breakdown and Front Commander Major Robert Williams was badly wounded.
  43. ↑ a b James F. Christ: Battalion of the Damned: The 1st Marine Paratroopers at Gavutu and Bloody Ridge, 1942. 2007, p. 94.
  44. ↑ Stanley Coleman Jersey: Hell's Island: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. 2008, p. 144.
  45. ↑ Major Miller had meanwhile recovered from his nervous breakdown and took command again around 4:30 p.m.
  46. ^ Samuel B. Griffith: The Battle for Guadalcanal. 1963, p. 62.
  47. ↑ James F. Christ: Battalion of the Damned: The 1st Marine Paratroopers at Gavutu and Bloody Ridge, 1942. 2007, p. 113.
  48. ↑ James F. Christ: Battalion of the Damned: The 1st Marine Paratroopers at Gavutu and Bloody Ridge, 1942. 2007, pp. 134-135.
  49. ^ Richard Frank: Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. 1990, pp. 78-79.
    John B. Lundstrom: The First Team And the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942. 2005, p. 38.
  50. ^ John L. Zimmerman: The Guadalcanal Campaign. 1949, p. 38.
  51. ^ Richard Frank: Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. 1990, pp. 61-62, 81.
  52. ↑ Stanley Coleman Jersey: Hell's Island: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. 2008, p. 3.
  53. ^ A b Samuel B. Griffith: The Battle for Guadalcanal. 1963, p. 93.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on June 28, 2012 .