By Arnold Blumberg
By June 1942, the military might of Imperial Japan threatened Australia. The string of spectacular Japanese conquests in the South Pacific menaced lines of supply and communication between the United States and its allies and bases in the region.
The initial threat would come from airfields established on the islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Florida, and Savo, all in the Solomons archipelago. Allied bases in the New Hebrides, Fiji, and New Caledonia could be interdicted by Japanese airpower, seriously hindering, if not forestalling, any Pacific counteroffensive against Japan.
Eager to take the fight to the Japanese, Allied planners searched for an opportunity to hit back. Situated closest to concentrations of Allied forces in the Pacific, Guadalcanal became a likely target, and a plan for an amphibious assault to capture the enemy airfield being constructed there was devised by the U.S. military. The island was located halfway between Allied bases in the New Hebrides and the major Japanese naval base at Rabaul on the island of New Britain. The capture of Guadalcanal would allow the Americans to base airpower on the island. This, in turn, would not only make for an easier defense of the lines of communication with Australia, but also provide a jumping off point for offensive action against enemy positions in the Bismarck Sea and on New Guinea.
A Dress Rehearsal with Few Records
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