185 - New Jersey Postal History Society

FROM GUADALCANAL TO THE GARDEN STATE, Part I ~ Lawrence Brennan
THE LANDINGS
Fig. 8: Guadalcanal landing map from Shaw’s article. 14
Once landed, the primary objective was the air strip.
The U.S. planning for the invasion and capture of Guadalcanal and its dependent islands
was abbreviated. Within seven months of the opening of hostilities and soon after the agreement
between the Combined Chiefs of Staff of the US and UK to give priority to the war against
Germany, after the successes at Coral Sea and Midway, the holding action in the Pacific was
expanded to preventing the Japanese from interrupting the sea lanes between the United States
and Australia and New Zealand. As explained in Morison, U.S. Naval Operations Vol. V:
This first offensive, Operation "Watchtower," was ordered by the Joint
Chiefs of Staff at Washington on 2 July 1942. The ultimate objective was defined as
“seizure and occupation of the New Britain-New Ireland-New Guinea area,”
including the principal enemy base at Rabaul. Task No. 1, with target date 1 August,
was to be seizure of the Santa Cruz Islands, Tulagi and adjacent positions. But on 4
July an Allied reconnaissance plane reported that the Japanese were starting work
on an airfield - the future Henderson Field - near Lunga Point, Guadalcanal.
That is why this large and fecaloid island became the immediate and urgent
Allied objective. For, if the enemy were allowed to complete the Lunga field and to
base planes there, he might be able to knock out Espiritu Santo, Efate or even
Kumac, the northern airfield on New Caledonia.
The planning for the invasion of Guadalcanal benefited greatly from photoreconnaissance,
an art which had been learned by U.S. Naval observers in Great Britain in 1941.
The flag officer in overall command of the invasion force was Commander South Pacific, Vice
NJPH 14
Vol. 40/No. 1
Feb 2012 Whole No. 185