On 7 August 1942, US and Australian naval forces undertook the invasion of the Japanese-held islands of Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the lower Solomon Islands chain, the first Allied offensive in the Pacific Theatre. The landing of the US 1st Marine Division on the beaches of Savo Sound began the unexpectedly long and extremely arduous Guadalcanal Campaign, lasting officially until 9 February 1943.
The naval forces dedicated to Operation Watchtower were minuscule compared to those deployed for later Allied offensives such as the invasion of the Gilberts and the capture of Okinawa. This is owing to the commitment the United States had made to Great Britain to undertake the invasion of North Africa in the fall of 1942, a commitment which essentially left the Guadalcanal operation with the naval leftovers. For this reason, American sailors and Marines referred to the invasion as "Operation Shoestring".[1]
US Navy combat ships:
3 fleet carriers, 1 fast battleship, 9 heavy cruisers, 2 anti-aircraft light cruisers, 31 destroyers
Since the Solomons lie in the Southern Pacific, the landings of 7 August 1942 on Guadalcanal were the responsibility of the South Pacific Fleet, led by Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley from his headquarters at Noumea, New Caledonia.[2] Adm. Ghormley's pessimism, inadequate staff work and unwillingness to visit the front led Adm. Nimitz to replace him with the much more aggressive and hands-on Vice Admiral William F. Halsey on 18 October 1942.[3]
Operational command
Operational command of the invasion was assigned to Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, who also had direct command of the covering force, designated Task Force 61, where he flew his flag aboard fleet carrier Saratoga. This embodiment of two levels of command in a single officer enabled a decision-making process that left the Marine forces on Guadalcanal essentially stranded and short-supplied. The amphibious forces, Task Force 62, were led by Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner aboard transport McCawley.
Bitter disputes between the two men arose during both the planning and execution of the invasion over how long Fletcher's aircraft carriers would stay in the vicinity of Guadalcanal to provide air cover for the Marines ashore. Fletcher decided the matter after multiple assaults on the Allied amphibious task force by bombers from the Japanese base at Rabaul on D-Day and D+1. These attacks convinced Fletcher that his crucial aircraft carriers could not be risked in the waters of the Solomons any longer and he ordered his carriers along with Turner's still-half-full cargo ships out of the area on the night of 8 August. This decision resulted in much hard feeling among the Marines ashore, who felt that the Navy had abandoned them.
Maj. Gen. Alexander A. Vandegrift, USMCRear Adm. Turner's flagship, transport Hunter LiggettMitsubishi G4M "Betty" land-based bomber carrying out torpedo attack in Savo Sound, 8 August 1942
Convoy (Task Group 62.1)
Captain Lawrence F. Reifsnider in transport Hunter Liggett
^These cruisers were intended as destroyer leaders when designed. After the first two to be used in this role, Atlanta and Juneau, were lost at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, this mission was rejected and the anti-aircraft mission adopted.[4]
^Committed suicide upon learning he would be held partially responsible for the disaster at the Battle of Savo Island.
^Sunk by air attack following Battle of Savo Island, Lt. Cmdr. Graham had had all lifeboats and rafts removed to save weight, so there were no survivors; the Jarvis was one of only two US vessels lost with all hands during the war.[5]
^These cruisers were intended as destroyer leaders when designed. After the first two to be used in this role, Atlanta and Juneau, were lost at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, this mission was rejected and the anti-aircraft mission adopted.[6]
Morison, Samuel Eliot (1949). Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions, May 1942 – August 1942. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. IV. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. ISBN0-3165-8304-9.
Morison, Samuel Eliot (1948). The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. V. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. ISBN0-7858-1306-3.
Silverstone, Paul H. (1970). U.S. Warships of World War II. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co. ISBN0-8702-1773-9.
Stille, Mark (2016). US Navy Light Cruisers, 1941-45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, Ltd. ISBN978-1-4728-1140-0.
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