The Battle of Cape Esperance took place on 11–12 October 1942, in the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was the second of four major surface engagements during the Guadalcanal campaign and took place at the entrance to the strait between Savo Island and Guadal canal in the Solomon Islands. The strategic outcome was inconclusive because neither the Japanese nor United States navies secured operational control of the waters around Guadal Canal.
About Battle of Cape Esperance in brief
The Battle of Cape Esperance took place on 11–12 October 1942, in the Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Navy. The naval battle was the second of four major surface engagements during the Guadalcanal campaign and took place at the entrance to the strait between Savo Island and Guadal canal in the Solomon Islands. The strategic outcome was inconclusive because neither the Japanese nor United States navies secured operational control of the waters around Guadal Canal as a result of this action. Allied aircraft operating out of Henderson became known as the \”Cactus Air Force\” after the Allied codename for GuadalCanal. Due to the threat posed by Allied aircraft, the Japanese were unable to use large, slow transport ships to deliver their troops and supplies to the island, and warships were used instead. In addition, heavy equipment and supplies, such as heavy artillery, vehicles, and much food and ammunition, were expended on high-speed defense runs throughout the campaign, which were later called the ‘Tokyo Express’ by the Allies and ‘Rat-Rat’ by Japan. The Japanese had established operational control over the waters surrounding GuadalCANal at early August, and their victory at the Battle of Savo Harbor in early August was seen as a victory at their base at Rabaul. The Allied forces, mainly consisting of U.S. Marines, had secured Tulagi and nearby small islands, as well as an airfield under construction at Lunga Point on Guadal CANAL.
The objective was to deny the islands to the Japanese as bases for threatening the supply routes between the U. S. and Australia, and secure starting points for a campaign to isolate the major Japanese base atrabaul while also supporting the Allied New Guinea campaign. On 19 August, various units of the 17th Army began to arrive on the island. On the morning of 12 October, four Japanese destroyers from the supply convoy turned back to assist Gotō’s retreating, damaged warships. Later that day, two of these destroyers were sunk by air attacks by Allied planes from Henderson Field. In response, Japanese Imperial General Headquarters assigned the Imperial Japan Army’s 17th. Army with the task of retaking Guadalcanoal. The battle took its name from this point, which is the northernmost point on Guadelcanal, and the battle took a similar name from the name of the airfield, Cape Esperances. It was the only naval battle of the Pacific war to take place in the South Pacific Ocean, and was the first to be fought in the area that was then under Japanese control. It also took place during the Second Battle of the Coral Sea, which took place in June and July 1942, and ended in a Japanese victory over the United States in the Battle for the Philippines. The Battle of Saipan, which followed in July and August 1942, was the last naval battle in which the Japanese had control of Guadal canal.
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This page is based on the article Battle of Cape Esperance published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 08, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
