Allied Forces
- Troops from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, British Solomon islands and Fiji.
- However, almost all of the Allied Force's troops were American.
- 60,000 ground forces(Roughly 20,000 US Marines and 40,000 US army troops)
- 7,100 casualties
- 7,789+ wounded
Ernest J. King
Ernest J. King had originally gained prestige in the U.S. armed forces when he served as assistant chief of staff to Admiral Henry Mayo, commander of the Atlantic Fleet during World War I. After the war was over, King remained in the military, as he studied and took leadership in the newest two branches of the navy: submarines and aviation. Eventually, in January of 1941, Ernest King would be appointed as commander of the Atlantic Fleet early, before America formally joined the war. Come December of 1941, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the U.S. joined the Allied forces and King was appointed to the head of all naval operating forces.
During the Summer of 1942, King discovered Japan's plans to isolate Australia from the U.S. supply lines by expanding into the South Pacific. King planned a counter attack, in which the U.S. would attack the island of Guadalcanal, where the Japanese planned to build an air force base. |