In 1941, Imperial Japan was fighting a war on the Asian mainland. Then, on December 7th, they left their shores and flew east and south to simultaneously attack the Philippines, Wake, Guam, Hong Kong, the Malay Peninsula and Pearl Harbor.

The United States was poorly prepared for war in the South Pacific; the administration had been preoccupied with the German threat. But, Japan’s rapid expansion demanded an immediate response. The supply lines between the U.S. and Australia had to be protected; New Zealand, New Guinea, and a host of other islands were also at stake. The Allies devised a plan to mount a Pacific offensive; American troops would attack separately from a different direction to trap Japan in a giant pincer. Today, we begin a four-part series about the role North Dakotans played during America’s first offensive action in World War II... Guadalcanal.

The campaign in the South Pacific differed from previous wars, because island warfare demanded equal participation of air, land, and sea forces. In six months, the number of surface-to-surface naval battles in the South Pacific outnumbered the naval battles fought by the all the British Navy battles in World War I. So many ships were sunk in the strait between Guadalcanal and Savo Island, that it became known as the “Iron Bottom Sound.”

American leadership held onto its “Europe first” doctrine and was unhappy about having to divert manpower and equipment to the South Pacific. In fact, American troops in the Pacific Theatre called it “Operation Shoestring.” American citizens, on the other hand, were far more focused on Japan than on Germany. They wanted revenge for Pearl Harbor.
The first American offensive against Japan took place on August 7th when the 1st Marine Division landed on Guadalcanal. This island was the most threatening of the enemy strongholds. It was the last one between the Solomon Islands and Australia and was a must-have if supply lines between the U.S. and Australia were to remain open.

The Marine landing was plagued by a lack of planning and inexperience with island warfare. After a heavy artillery barrage, they landed almost unopposed. But, because their position was vulnerable, many of the transports pulled away before the cargo was unloaded, and the Marines found themselves without adequate food, construction equipment or barbed wire for defending their front-line positions.

Luckily, the Japanese had abandoned an airstrip they were building. With it, came equipment, machinery and a large supply of food, including many cases of canned crab. The Marines finished the landing strip for themselves and named it Henderson Field.

In the ensuing weeks, Japan tried again and again to take back Henderson Field. Attacking in ever increasing numbers, the Japanese temporarily dislodged the Marines in mid-September, but the Marines managed to stop the assault on a knoll they called “Bloody Ridge.”

By mid-October, the two sides had reached a stalemate. The Japanese couldn’t budge the Marines, and the Marines didn’t have enough men to mount an offensive. On this day in 1942, the U.S. Army came to their aid in what was the Army’s first offensive engagement of World War II. The regiment assigned to the campaign was the 164th Infantry, otherwise known as. . . the North Dakota National Guard. Tune in tomorrow to learn the fate of the 164th at Guadalcanal.

 

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