The Battle of Savo Island was the first major naval engagement of the Guadalcanal campaign. It took place on August 8–9, 1942, in the straits later named Ironbottom Sound. The battle has often been cited as the worst defeat in the history of the United States Navy. It was one of five costly, large-scale sea and air-sea actions fought in support of the ground battles on Guadal canal.
About Battle of Savo Island in brief
The Battle of Savo Island was the first major naval engagement of the Guadalcanal campaign. It took place on August 8–9, 1942, in the straits later named Ironbottom Sound. The battle has often been cited as the worst defeat in the history of the United States Navy. It was one of five costly, large-scale sea and air-sea actions fought in support of the ground battles on Guadal canal. The final naval battle, the Battle of Rennell Island, took place months later on January 29–30, 1943, by which time the Japanese were preparing to evacuate their remaining land forces and withdraw. The landings were meant to deny their use to the Japanese as bases, especially the nearly completed airfield at Henderson Field. The Allies also wanted to use the islands as launching points for a campaign to recapture the Solomons, isolate or capture the major Japanese base at Rabaul, and support the Allied New Guinea campaign, which was then building strength under General Douglas MacArthur. Allied forces in the Solomon Islands initiated the six-month-long Guadal Canal campaign in August 1942. The Allied landings began on August 7, 1942; the landings ended on August 14, 1942. This was the start of the Allied invasion of the eastern Solomon Islands, and the beginning of the Second World War in the Pacific. The Japanese responded by sending a task force of seven cruisers and one destroyer under the command of Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa.
Mikawa thoroughly surprised and routed the Allied force, sinking one Australian and three American cruisers, while suffering only light damage in return. After the initial engagement, Mikawa, fearing Allied carrier strikes against his fleet in daylight, decided to withdraw under cover of night rather than attempt to locate and destroy Allied invasion transports. This missed opportunity to cripple the supply of Allied forces on Guadelcanal contributed to Japan’s failure to recaptured the island. At this critical early stage of the campaign, it allowed the Allied forces to entrench and fortify themselves sufficiently to defend the area around Henderson Field until additional Allied reinforcements arrived later in the year. The Battle of Tassafaronga was the last battle of the Pacific campaign, taking place on November 30, 1942 and ending with the surrender of the Japanese on December 31, 1943. This battle was to protect the Australian cruiser HMAS Australia 621–24, which delivered the 16,000 troops that delivered Guadal canal and Tulagi : 14 under Rear Admiral Victor Turner. This force was used to protect Turner’s ships and provide gunfire support for the Allied amphibious fleet that delivered the 16,000 troops to GuadalCanal and Tulagi : 621-24. The U.S. carrier task groups providing air cover for the landments were also providing cover for Turner’s flagship, HMAS KAS 24–24–21, and HMAS Richmond 621 24.
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This page is based on the article Battle of Savo Island published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 08, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
