US-Japan Sea Clash in Guadalcanal Campaign

choi

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(1) The turning point of US-Japan battles in World War II was Midway, which place, a year before Guadalcanal Campaign (Aug 7, 1942-Feb 9, 1943).

George Will, On Lybia, Too Many Questions. Washington Post, Mar 9, 2011.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/08/AR2011030805532.html
("The tide-turning defeat of Japan's navy at the Battle of Midway occurred June 7, 1942 - exactly six months after Pearl Harbor")

(2) I recently read a book review on the sea clash of Guadalcanal Campaign.

Ronald Spector, Near a Small Island, a Gigantic Naval Clash. Wall Street Journal, Feb 22, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703954004576090092301041646.html
(book review on James Hornfischer, Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal. Bantam, 2011)

Quote: "Without tactical superiority, what ensured American success in the campaign was the tenacity and luck with which the U.S. military thwarted all Japanese attempts, by sea and land, to capture Guadalcanal's only airfield

Note:
(a) Neptune is Roman god of the sea, whose Greek counterpart is Poseidon.
(b) Guadalcanal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalcanal
(section 1 History: 1.1 Western charting  1.2 The Second World War)

Please take note: "The initial landings of US Marines on 7 August 1942."  See (d).
(c) Battle off Samar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_off_Samar
(The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on 25 October 1944; Result Japanese tactical victory  American strategic victory; section 2 Battle summary)

* Battle of Leyte Gulf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf
(considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history; fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar from 23 to 26 October 1944; also notable as the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks)

* The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Stand_of_the_Tin_Can_Sailors

tin can (n): "slang: DESTROYER"

(d) The WSJ review states, "The Only two days after the initial landings, Adm. Frank Jack Fletcher, who commanded the aircraft carriers covering the operation, withdrew his ships from the area, leaving the amphibious task force and the Marines without air cover.

* Frank Jack Fletcher
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Jack_Fletcher
(section 4.5 Landing at Guadalcanal— August 7–9, 1942)

(e) The review next said, "The next night a Japanese cruiser force under Rear Adm. Mikawa Gunichi surprised the Allied cruisers and destroyers guarding the transports and sank three U.S. cruisers and one Australian.

* This refers to
Battle of Savo Island 萨沃岛海战
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Savo_Island
("Mikawa's failure to destroy the Allied invasion transports when he had the chance, however, would prove to be a crucial strategic mistake for the Japanese as it allowed the Allies to maintain their foothold on Guadalcanal and eventually emerge victorious from the campaign")

Please also read the last three paragraphs.

* Savo Island
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savo_Island
* MIKAWA Gunichi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunichi_Mikawa
(三川 軍一; 1888-1981)
(f) Tassafaronga Point
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tassafaronga_Point
(g) all in all: "on the whole : GENERALLY <all in all, things might have been worse>"
www.m-w.com
(h) The "cant" in "navigated a steeply canted learning curve"
(intransitive verb): "SLOPE"
(i)
* learning curve
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_curve
(A learning curve is a graphical representation of the changing rate of learning (in the average person) for a given activity or tool. Typically, the increase in retention of information is sharpest after the initial attempts, and then gradually evens out, meaning that less and less new information is retained after each repetition)

* "The phrase "steep learning curve" is sometimes used incorrectly to mean "hard to learn" whereas of course it implies rapid learning."
This definition of steep learning curve is found in a few web pages, one of which attributes it to Hyperdictionary. This I am uncertain of.

(j) The review commented, "Fletcher commanded the only three U.S. carriers in the Pacific. No new ones would be available for a year.

The second sentece alluded to the second carrier of this clasee: USS Yorktown. See
Essex class aircraft carrier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_class_aircraft_carrier
(In commission: 1942 – 1991; section 10 The Essex class)

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