That night , as the transports unloaded , two groups of screening Allied cruisers and destroyers , under the command of British Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley VC , were surprised and defeated by a Japanese force of seven cruisers and one destroyer from the 8th Fleet based at Rabaul and Kavieng and commanded by Japanese Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa .
That night , as the transports unloaded , two groups of Allied cruisers and destroyers , under the command of British Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley VC , were defeated by a Japanese force of seven cruisers and one destroyer from the 8th Fleet based at Rabaul and Kavieng and commanded by Japanese Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa .