During the Pacific War of World War II, the New Georgia Sound was known as "The Slot" by Allied combatants due to its geographical shape and the amount of warship traffic that traversed it. The Japanese naval efforts to resupply their garrison on Guadalcanal were referred to as the Tokyo Express. A large number of naval battles were fought in and around the sound during 1942 and 1943, between the Imperial Japanese Navy, and the allied forces of the United States Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and Royal New Zealand Navy.