Seventy Years Ago: Guadalcanal

The morning of August 7, 1942, an invasion force of 48 ships under Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner rounded Cape Esperance and Savo Island in the southern Solomons and bombarded Japanese targets on Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Florida Islands. Bad weather had concealed the force from the Japanese, who were caught completely by surprise.

A supporting force of three US Carriers (Saratoga, Enterprise and Wasp) and the battleship North Carolina, under command of Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, stood offshore and attacked Japanese objectives with carrier aircraft. After the bombardment, 14,000 marines under Major General Vandegrift went ashore on Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the largest US amphibious operation undertaken up to that time. The principal objective: an air base under construction by the Japanese at Lunga Point on the north shore of Guadalcanal.

The US land offensive had begun.