From: CMSgt Mike Bergman <bergman@afnews.pa.af.mil>
Subject: Guadalcanal - America's First Offensive
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1992 17:58:02 GMT


From CMSgt Mike Bergman <bergman@afnews.pa.af.mil>


From the American Forces Information Service:


GUADALCANAL WAS AMERICA'S FIRST WAR OFFENSIVE.  AND IT WAS...
FIGHTING ON A SHOESTRING


     Before Aug. 7, 1942, every American action during World War II
was defensive.  Even the victories at Midway and Coral Sea were
triumphs of scratch forces with their backs against the wall.
     Guadalcanal -- one of the Solomon Islands east of New Guinea
-- changed that when Marines stormed ashore on that day.  For the
first time during World War II, the United States took the
offensive.
     The Japanese had taken the island in March 1942 as part of
their strategy to isolate Australia and started building an
airfield there.  Once Zeros started staging from the field, the
Japanese would be able to extend conquests and cut the sea lane
between the United States and Australia.
     It was important for the Allies to launch an offensive to
retake the island, but it was an offensive on a shoestring.
     The Allies had agreed to a Europe First strategy:  The major
effort against the Japanese would wait until the Allies had beaten
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.  So any equipment the United States
sent to the Pacific was out-of-date.
     Parts of the troops' uniforms dated to World War I.  Their
rifles were 1903 bolt-action Springfields.  Their machine guns and
mortars had been in storage since the Meuse-Argonne campaign of
1918.  The only thing first class about the operation was the
troops.  The units chosen for the 1st Marine Division were the
elite of the Corps.
     When the 1st Marine Division landed, it faced little
opposition.  It captured the airfield the first day and promptly
renamed it Henderson Field for a Marine aviator killed during the
Battle of Midway.  This soon changed as the Japanese realized they
were confronted with a test of wills.  The tiny malaria-wracked
island of Guadalcanal assumed importance way beyond its strategic
worth.
     At sea, the battle for the island attracted American and
Japanese fleets.  Five great sea battles near the island caused
Americans to rename the area "Ironbottom Sound."
     On the ground, the Japanese weren't the only enemy.  Hunger
and disease plagued the Marines and soldiers who fought there.
Malaria and jungle fevers spread.  Finally, the order came that no
one could leave the front line with a fever of less than 102
degrees.  Even so, more than 2,000 service members were
hospitalized by October.
     The Japanese shipped thousands of troops to the 'Canal.  They
launched a series of attacks to recapture the airfield taken by the
Marines.  It was the key to the battle.  They came close several
times, but failed.
     In the air, the battle was fought by whatever men and
equipment could be scrounged.  The island became the home of one of
the more unusual units of World War II -- the Cactus Air Force.
Cactus was the code word for Guadalcanal.  Planes, pilots and
ground support came from all American services and many Allied
nations.  This was a joint organization through necessity and not
design.  Army, Navy, Marine, Australian and New Zealand pilots and
ground crews were shipped to the island and became part of this
unofficial force.  They managed to beat the best the Japanese could
field.
     The 'Canal -- like El Alamein in North Africa and Stalingrad
in the Soviet Union, both going on at the same time -- marked a
turning point in the war.  Strategically, U.S. troops never again
would be on the defensive.  The tide had turned.


-- 
         
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