1942 Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 5

Today is November 13, and on this date in history we witness the Third Battle of Savo Island in 1942, off the coast of the island of Guadalcanal. This battle is part of the larger Naval Battle of Guadalcanal that took place from November 12 to November 15, 1942. The battles off Guadalcanal were probably the most savage that the United States Navy ever fought and most were slug-fests at close range. The United States Navy usually tactically lost the battles as more American ships were sunk than Japanese. The battles were usually fought at night, and the Imperial Japanese Navy was much better trained for night warfare than was the United States Navy. The main part of this particular engagement started just after midnight and was fought in the aptly named Ironbottom Sound between Guadalcanal and Tulagi. Ironbottom Sound had many ships already on its seabed and many more were to follow. Admiral Yamamoto, Japanese theather commander, was determined to hold Guadalcanal against the invading Americans and drive off the invaders. Guadalcanal was athwart the Japanese supply lines and threatened Japanese bases and assets. It also blocked Japanese advance towards Australia and the Australian part of New Guinea. The Guadalcanal campaign had been going on for months, and the American base on Henderson Field was a real hindrance to Japanese power. Yamamoto sent a powerful naval force including battleships and transports full of troops and supplies to retake Guadalcanal. A numerically inferior American force prepared to meet it and the two blundered into each other in the early morning hours of November 13. The ships fought at point-blank range similar to the wooden ships in the olden days. The Japanese disabled the main United States ships, two heavy cruisers, killing both commanders, Admirals Norman Scott and Daniel J. Callaghan. Both admirals were awarded the Medal of Honor. The US light cruisers also suffered heavy damage. With total victory in his grasp, the Japanese commander on the scene, Admiral Hiroaki Abe, ordered a withdrawal. The confusion of the battle, expenditure of ammunition, the wounding of Admiral Abe, the damage to the flagship, the death of the admiral's chief of staff, Japanese naval orders to conserve ships and not take risks, the scattering of the Japanese fleet in the battle and perhaps other reasons are given for the withdrawal. In any event, no matter what the reason, the Japanese withdrawal caused the invasion force to halt, and eventually the tactical defeat of the US Navy in the early morning hours of November 13, 1942, turned into a strategic victory. This was the beginning of the end of the Japanese struggle for Guadalcanal, and was the first giant step towards Tokyo Bay and surrender.