Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse 1942
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 15 December 1942 – 23 January 1943 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1942 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Solomon Islands | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Oceania | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Pacific War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | -9.4347, 159.9669 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse, part of which is sometimes called the Battle of the Gifu, or the Battle of the Mountain of Blood among the Japanese, took place from 15 December 1942 to 23 January 1943 and was primarily an engagement between United States and Imperial Japanese forces in the hills near the Matanikau River area on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign. The U.S. forces were under the overall command of Major General Alexander Patch and the Japanese forces were under the overall command of Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake.
In the battle, U.S. soldiers and Marines, assisted by native Solomon Islanders, attacked Imperial Japanese Army forces defending well-fortified and entrenched positions on several hills and ridges. The most prominent hills were called Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse by the Americans. The U.S. was attempting to destroy the Japanese forces on Guadalcanal, and the Japanese were trying to hold their defensive positions until reinforcements could arrive.
Both sides experienced extreme difficulties in fighting in the thick jungles and tropical environment of the battle area. Many American troops were also involved in their first combat operations.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse (revision 1379677097), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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- Battle of Corregidor 1942
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All 56 battles of the Pacific War →
Browse more: battles in Solomon Islands · Oceania · World War II era battles