Battle of the Northern Solomon Islands
The Battle of the Northern Solomon Islands is the name of the fighting during World War II from the American conquest of Guadalcanal to the complete conquest of the Solomon Islands . You were part of Operation Cartwheel to isolate the Japanese base in Rabaul .
prehistory
When the Japanese realized that they could no longer hold Guadalcanal, they began evacuating the troops. The Americans interpreted the resulting shipping traffic as preparation for another offensive and sent five task forces to support the troops on Guadalcanal. These were discovered by a Japanese submarine , which led to the Battle of Rennell Island on January 29 and 30, 1943 , in which the Americans lost one cruiser and the Japanese twelve aircraft.
The Americans continued to try to disrupt the Japanese supplies. On March 6, 1943, an American task force encountered two Japanese destroyers that were sunk in the battle in Blackett Strait . There were other incidents in Blackett Strait, such as on August 2, when the American torpedo boat PT-109, under the command of future President John F. Kennedy, was rammed and sunk by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri .
Landing on New Georgia
On June 20, 1943, the Americans began the conquest of New Georgia and the surrounding islands. The target of the Allied forces was the Japanese air base in Munda Point , from where the Japanese repeatedly launched attacks on Guadalcanal. In the Battle of New Georgia , the Americans did not manage to capture their main objective, the airfield, until August 5th. During the fighting, the Japanese supply voyages, called the Tokyo Express by the Americans , led to some sea battles such as the Battle of the Kula Gulf . In this naval battle the Americans lost one cruiser and the Japanese two destroyers. The Japanese could bring only 850 reinforcements ashore out of 2,600 men. On July 12, there was another meeting of a task force and a supply convoy, which led to the Battle of Kolombangara , this time the Japanese succeeded in bringing all troops ashore at Vila on Kolombangara and inflicting defeat on the Americans. Another meeting on August 6, 1943 led to the Battle of the Vella Gulf , in which the Americans were able to crush the Japanese destroyers. It was no longer possible for the Japanese to supply their base on Kolombangara; thus the supplies for the troops on New Georgia were interrupted. The base was bypassed by the Americans in further operations.
After the Battle of the Vella Gulf, the Japanese decided to evacuate all troops south of Bougainville . One of these journeys led to the Battle of Horaniu on August 17, 1943 when the Americans discovered this convoy. But the Japanese were able to save almost all of the landing craft and later evacuate 9,000 men. The Americans discovered another convoy on October 7, which led to the battle of Vella Lavella . In this battle the Japanese won their final victory at sea in this war.
Landing on Bougainville
On November 1st, the Americans began landing on Bougainville. They brought their troops ashore near Torokina in Empress Elisabeth Bay, where they could form a bridgehead. There they built three airfields from which they could attack Rabaul , the largest Japanese base in the South Pacific, which was only 300 km away. The Japanese tried to attack the ships that were involved in the landing, which led to the naval battle at Empress Augusta Bay , in which the Americans were able to repel the Japanese. However, it was not until April 1944 that the Americans were victorious in the Battle of Bougainville and the island was considered secure.
Due to the American offensive, the Japanese army tried to strengthen its garrison on Buka , north of Bougainville, which led to the battle of Cape St. George on November 26, 1943 . In this battle the Japanese suffered a crushing defeat, as they lost more than half of their units and the Americans suffered no losses. This was the end of the Tokyo Express , the supply and evacuation trips for the Japanese in the Solomon Islands.
A smaller operation followed, the landing on the Green Islands on February 14, 1944 , which marked the end of operations in the Solomon Islands. An airfield was created on the atoll, only 190 km from Rabaul, to attack Rabaul.
Result
As part of the offensives in the Solomon Islands, the Americans succeeded in stopping the Japanese offensive in the South Pacific and proceeding to counterattack. They used the tactic of island hopping , where they tried to bypass strong Japanese garrisons and thus isolate them. As a result, the Japanese only had the option of withdrawing their troops from them.