If you have a chance read James D. Hornfischers “Neptune’s Inferno”. It relates in very painful detail how the U.S. Navy learned to fight.
Not to take anything away from the Marines who held on when the Navy pulled back and left them to the mercy of the big Jap guns.
Read the book and while Midway checked the Japs and destroyed air power that was never to return, Guadalcanal marked one of the major turning points in the war. The Japs were defeated by bleeding them to death and then we just when island to island until they were bled dry.
Hornfischer has my nod for all his works. Well researched and well written. Enjoy
left them to the mercy of the big Jap guns.
i have indeed read the Hornfischer work. It is quite good.
I do believe that the Solomons campaign, and especially the loss of Guadalcanal turned the tide against the Japanese. The campaign stopped their territorial gains cold, and bled them white, in many aspects.
Not to take anything away from the Midway battle..it was certainly catastrophic for the Imperial Japanese Navy, but they lost no territory in that battle, and were still able to field an impressive surface fleet after Midway, which the US Navy discovered in the waters off Savo on August 8. They were still very much on the offensive on Guadalcanal. That defeat, however, marked the last time they were on the offensive. After that, they fought a defensive struggle only.
It can be argued that the impact of Japanese air power was diminished to a certain degree around Guadalcanal, due to the loss of 4 carriers, forcing them to fly from land bases in Rabaul, etc. We will never know.
I also think that Guadalcanal was a huge psychological defeat for the Japanese, also...up to that time, their land forces had not lost a campaign, having fought in China for many years prior.
By their own admission, “victory disease” did them in..AKA hubris...similar to Hitler at Stalingrad.
The Solomons campaign is certainly worthy of deep study.