There is a small jungle-covered island in the Pacific known as Guadalcanal. The island is part of the Solomon Islands, which lie north-east of Australia. This island is the site of an important battle of World War Two. The position of the island is what made it strategically important for both the Axis and the Allies in the Pacific theatre of the War. On the Axis side, the Japanese could cut off the sea route between Australia and America. However on the Allies side, the Americans could better protect Australia from Japanese invasion and create a springboard for a major air assault on the Japanese with control of the island. In order to secure Australian protection and gain an advantage over the Japanese, the Americans invaded Guadalcanal…show more content… According to McEnery, “There were some small native settlement scattered over the rest of the island, but it was mostly uninhabited wilderness of impenetrable jungle and rugged mountains” (McEnery). The tropical climate of Guadalcanal is extremely humid, rainy days were common, and the stifling temperatures. The landscape of the island includes tall rugged mountain ranges, wet muddy swamps, and dense impassable jungles. Because the Marines had not yet experienced jungle combat, they were easily fatigued in this environment. In one account of the battle it was stated that “The jungle environment of Guadalcanal forced Americans to fight at very close quarters” (Guadalcanal), in addition “enemy positions usually were not visible until attacking troops had closed within fifty feet” (Guadalcanal). Further, the Marines were slowed because of the fear of trench foot and the wide spread contraction of malaria, a debilitating disease spread by mosquitoes. Actually, most of the Marines on Guadalcanal contracted malaria. As McEnery states “The Medical officers had made a standing rule that guys with the disease should be hospitalized for ten days. But after a few weeks, there were so many cases that they had to scrap that rule and start discharging malaria patients a lot sooner” (McEnery). These hospitalization crippled the…show more content… The Japanese would conceal themselves in the brushy foliage of the dense jungle quickly ambush the Marines before retreating into the tropical wilderness. The Japanese soldiers also followed the Bushido code, which meant they refused to be taken prisoner, an example of “death before dishonor.” In fact, the Japanese soldiers would often pull the pins off their grenades when aid from the marines would reach them, resulting in many Marine casualties. The Japanese soldiers would sometimes attach mines or grenades to themselves, and run into American lines before detonating their explosive devices. Despite this style of battle, the Japanese had ended the battle with “14,800 killed in battle, another 9,000 dead from disease, and about 1,000 taken prisoner”
