Asia Pacific 1942: Operation Watchtower

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Political map of East Asia and the Western Pacific on 26 Aug 1942 (WWII: The Greater East Asia War: Operation Watchtower), showing the following events: Henderson Field; Kokoda Trail campaign; Guadalcanal Landings; Japan occupies Nauru.

After their defeat at Midway, Japan canceled further plans of seaborne invasions in the South Pacific, instead deciding to conquer New Guinea by land and to build air bases in the Solomons to strike at Allied shipping. The US responded by landing troops in the Solomons, disrupting the construction of a large Japanese airfield on Guadalcanal, while the Australians moved to defend New Guinea.

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Main Events

9 Jul 1942 Henderson Field ▲

Japanese engineers and construction teams—over 2,500 men in all—began work on an airfield at Lunga Point on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. The project was observed by Coastwatchers—British personnel and Solomon Islanders working behind enemy lines on the islands—and reported, prompting the United States to make plans to land on Guadalcanal and capture the airfield (which they would name ‘Henderson Field’). in wikipedia

21 Jul–16 Nov 1942 Kokoda Trail campaign ▲

Japanese troops landed near Gona, on the north coast of the island of New Guinea and part of the Australian Territory of Papua, the starting point of their attempt to capture Port Moresby by advancing south over the Owen Stanley Range using the Kokoda Trail. On 23 July they were met by Australian forces at Awala, south of Kokoda, with whom they fought a series of battles before eventually being forced to withdraw. The Australians retook Kokoda on 2 November, reaching the north end of the track by 16 November. in wikipedia

7–8 Aug 1942 Guadalcanal Landings ▲

At 09:10 on 7 August, 11,000 US Marines under the command of Major General Alexander Vandegrift came ashore on Guadalcanal, in the British Solomon Islands, between Koli and Lunga Points. They encountered little resistance, capturing their main objective—an airfield under construction by the Japanese—by 16:00 on 8 August. Meanwhile Japanese aircraft attacked the invasion fleet from Rabaul, damaging a transport and a destroyer. in wikipedia

26 Aug 1942 Japan occupies Nauru ▲

Japan occupies Nauru in wikipedia

1940s 1942 Asia-Pacific War August August 26 Australia Chinese Civil War Chinese history Japan Japanese history maps Nauru Second Sino-Japanese War Solomon Islands World War II

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