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Solomon Islands Campaign
The Solomon Islands campaign was a major military campaign, campaign of the Pacific War during World War II. The campaign began with the Empire of Japan, Japanese seizure of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island, Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, during the first six months of 1942. Japanese troops subsequently began the construction of several naval and air bases in the area. Japan's initial goals were to protect the flank of their ongoing offensive in New Guinea, establish a security barrier for the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain, and construct bases from which they could interdict supply lines between the Allies of World War II, Allied powers of the United States and Australia and Dominion of New Zealand, New Zealand. In order to defend their communication and supply lines in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific, the Allies initiated a counteroffensive in New Guinea and counterattacked Japanese forces in the Solomons via lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theatre of the war, including the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Ocean theatre, the South West Pacific theater of World War II, South West Pacific theatre, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the brief Soviet–Japanese War, and included some of the Largest naval battle in history, largest naval battles in history. War between Japan and the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China had begun in 1937, with hostilities dating back to Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931, but the Pacific War is more widely accepted to have started in 1941, when the United States and United Kingdom entered the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodore Stark Wilkinson
Theodore Stark "Ping" Wilkinson (December 22, 1888 – February 21, 1946) was a vice admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. He also received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Veracruz, Mexico. Early life and career After attending St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, where his writings for school publications evinced an early interest in naval and amphibious warfare, Wilkinson entered the United States Naval Academy in 1905 and graduated first in the class of 1909. Among his classmates were Olaf M. Hustveldt, Alan G. Kirk, and Jesse B. Oldendorf. He served the two years of sea duty then required by law prior to commissioning, in the battleships and , before he received his ensign's commission on June 5, 1911. He enrolled at George Washington University, Washington, D.C., joining Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, and was instructed under the auspices of the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd). Wilkinson reported to the battleship on July 25, 1913, fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiyohide Shima
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography A native of Miyazaki prefecture, Shima was a graduate of the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1911, ranking 69th out of 148 cadets. As a midshipman, he served aboard the cruisers and and the battleship . As an ensign, he was assigned to the battleship , and as a sub-lieutenant, he served on the battlecruiser , and cruiser . Shima was promoted to lieutenant in 1918, and after taking courses in torpedo warfare and navigation, was assigned as Chief Communications Officer on the battlecruiser . In 1921, he graduated from the Naval War College and was promoted to lieutenant commander. In 1925–1926, Shima was appointed aide-de-camp to Prince Takamatsu Nobuhito, concurrently serving on the battleships and . In 1928–1929, he was sent to the United States and Europe. On his return, he served in a number of staff positions, primarily as an instructor at various naval ordnance sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takeo Kurita
was a vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Kurita commanded IJN 2nd Fleet, the main Japanese attack force during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history. Biography Early life Takeo Kurita was born in Mito city, Ibaraki Prefecture, in 1889. He was sent off to Etajima in 1905 and graduated from the 38th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1910, ranked 28th out of a class of 149 cadets. As a midshipman, he served on the cruisers and . On being commissioned as ensign in 1911, he was assigned to . After his promotion to sub-lieutenant in 1913, Kurita served on the battleship , destroyer and cruiser . Kurita became a lieutenant on 1 December 1916, and served on a number of ships: protected cruiser , destroyers and . He also served as either the chief torpedo officer or executive officer on ''Minekaze'', , and . In 1920, he was given his first command: the destroyer ''Shigure''. In 1921, he assumed command of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shigeyoshi Inoue
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was commander of the Japanese 4th Fleet and later served as Vice-Minister of the Navy. A noted naval theorist, he was a strong advocate of naval aviation within the Japanese Navy. General (Prime Minister) Nobuyuki Abe was his brother-in-law. Biography Early life Shigeyoshi Inoue was born on December 9, 1889, in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, the eleventh son of a vineyard owner and former samurai retainer Kanori Inoue. His name Shigeyoshi, consisting of the ''kanji'' 成 (to achieve) and 美 (beauty), was derived from a passage in ''Analects'' by Yan Hui saying "The Master said, the man of virtue seeks to achieve the beautiful qualities of men and does not seek to achieve their bad qualities. The small man does the opposite of this". Shigeyoshi, who was taught by his father to become a man like this, took great pride in this name. Early career Inoue attended the 37th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Aca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chūichi Nagumo
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Nagumo led Japan's main carrier battle group, the ''Kido Butai'', in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and over the next months in successful raids on Darwin in Australia and in the Indian Ocean. In June 1942, he participated at the Battle of Midway, where his strike force suffered a crushing defeat. Nagumo was re-assigned to another fleet during the Guadalcanal campaign, and later stationed in the Japanese home islands. In 1944, he was deployed to a naval command in the Mariana Islands, where he committed suicide during the Battle of Saipan. Early life Nagumo was born in the city of Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, in northern Japan in 1887. He graduated from the 36th class of the IJN Academy in 1908, with a ranking of 8 out of a class of 191 cadets. As a midshipman, he served in the protected cruisers and and the armored cruiser . After his promotion to ensign in 1910 he was assigned to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isoroku Yamamoto
was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II. He commanded the fleet from 1939 until his death in 1943, overseeing the start of the Pacific War in 1941 and Japan's initial successes and defeats before his plane was shot down by U.S. fighter aircraft over New Guinea. Yamamoto graduated from the Imperial Naval Academy in 1904 and served in the Russo-Japanese War, where he lost two fingers at the Battle of Tsushima. He later studied at Harvard University in the United States and was appointed naval attaché to the Japanese embassy in Washington. His experiences convinced him that naval power depended on access to oil and industrial capacity, and that Japan thus had little hope to defeat the U.S. in a war. He was one of the first naval leaders to conclude that naval aviation and aircraft carriers would play a decisive role in any future conflict. In 1936, Yamamoto was appointed navy vice minist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Sydney Marchant
William Sydney Marchant (10 December 1894 – 1 February 1953) was a British colonial administrator. He served as the Resident Commissioner of the Solomon Islands from 1939 to 1943. Biography Marchant became an Assistant District Commissioner in East Africa Protectorate in 1919. In 1926 he was promoted to District Officer in Kenya, and then became Deputy Provincial Commissioner and Assistant Secretary in Zanzibar in 1935. In 1937 he moved to neighbouring Tanganyika to continue as a Deputy Provincial Commissioner. As commissioner, he directed the evacuation of European settlers from the Solomon Islands prior to the Japanese occupation of the islands during World War II as well as leading the organisation of coastwatcher units throughout the islands. Marchant relocated from this headquarters at Tulagi to Malaita about two months before the Japanese occupied Tulagi in May, 1942. On Malaita he helped operate a coastwatcher radio relay station in support of the Allied Solomon I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Barrowclough
Major General Sir Harold Eric Barrowclough (23 June 1894 – 4 March 1972) was a New Zealand military leader, lawyer and Chief Justice from 1953 to 1966. Born in Masterton, Barrowclough commenced legal studies in 1913 and joined the Territorial Force the same year. In 1915, partway through his law degree, he volunteered for service abroad with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and fought on the Western Front. He finished the First World War in command of a battalion in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. After the war he finished his law studies and became a successful lawyer. He also resumed duty in the Territorial Force, serving until 1931 when he moved to Auckland to join a law firm based there. Following the outbreak of the Second World War Barrowclough volunteered for service with the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF). He commanded an infantry brigade in the 2nd New Zealand Division during the campaign in Greece and Operation Crusader. In 1942, he was recom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanley Savige
Lieutenant general (Australia), Lieutenant General Sir Stanley George Savige, (26 June 1890 – 15 May 1954) was an Australian Army soldier and officer who served in the First World War and Second World War. In March 1915, after the outbreak of the First World War, Savige enlisted in the First Australian Imperial Force. He served in the ranks during the Gallipoli Campaign, and received a Commissioned officer, commission. He later served on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, where he was twice recommended for the Military Cross for bravery. In 1918, he joined Dunsterforce and served in the Caucasus Campaign, during which he was instrumental in protecting thousands of Assyrian people, Assyrian refugees. He subsequently wrote a book, ''Stalky's Forlorn Hope'', about his experiences. After the war he played a key role in the establishment of Legacy Australia, the war widows and orphans benefit fund. During the early years of the Second World War, Savige commanded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coastwatchers
The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II to observe enemy movements and rescue stranded Allied personnel. They played a significant role in the Pacific Ocean theatre and South West Pacific theatre, particularly as an early warning network during the Guadalcanal campaign. Overview Captain Chapman James Clare, district naval officer of Western Australia, proposed a coastwatching programme in 1919. In 1922, the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board directed the Naval Intelligence Division of the Royal Australian Navy to organise a coastwatching service. Walter Brooksbank, a civil assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, worked in the 1920s and 1930s to organise a skeleton service of plantation owners and managers whose properties were in strategic locations in northern A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
