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Guadalcanal Campaign
Guadalcanal Campaign
Surprised by the Allied offensive, the Japanese made several attempts between August and November
1942 to retake Henderson Field. Three major land battles, five large naval battles, and continual, almost
daily aerial battles culminated in the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November 1942, in
which the last Japanese attempt to land enough troops to retake Henderson Field was defeated. In
December 1942, the Japanese abandoned further efforts to retake Guadalcanal and evacuated their
remaining forces by February 7, 1943 in the face of an offensive by the U.S. Army's XIV Corps, conceding
the island to the Allies.
The Guadalcanal campaign was a significant strategic combined arms victory by Allied forces over the
Japanese in the Pacific theatre. The Japanese had reached the high-water mark of their conquests in the
Pacific, and Guadalcanal marked the transition by the Allies from defensive operations to the strategic
offensive in that theatre and the beginning of offensive operations that resulted in Japan's eventual
surrender and the end of World War II.