Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a island of the Pacific Ocean, of a surface of approximately 6.500 km ², which constitutes with it only a province of the the Solomon Islands.
The island, glaze of jungle on the major part of its surface, and on which is the Capitale of the Solomon Islands, Honiara, was the theater, during the Second world war, of the Bataille of Guadalcanal.
The island was discovered in 1568 by a Spanish forwarding ordered by Alvaro de Mendaña. It was the second of forwarding, Pedro de Ortega, which baptized the island according to the name of its birthplace, Guadalcanal, located in Andalusia. Ortega, afflicted with speech impediments, named the island in different manners (Guadarcana, Guarcana, Guadalcana, etc) and, during many years, it was known under the name of Guadalcanar .
Colonized, later, by the British , the island found its “legitimate” name of Guadalcanal in 1932.
After the attacks of Pearl Harbor and Singapore, the forces Japan eases progressed in the Southern Pacific, and reached Guadalcanal in May 1942. The the United States made the strategic choice then make of Guadalcanal the base of an important counter-offensive, by concentrating on it most of their efforts and by organizing there the first unloading in a territory controlled by Japan.
The Bataille of Guadalcanal began the October 11th 1942 with the course Esperance, on the north-western coast of the island. Less than one year after the disaster of Pearl Harbor, the American navy deployed an impressive armada around the island, to prevent any attempt of the Japanese fleet from coming to lend hand-strong to the Japanese terrestrial troops remained in the island. The last Japanese troops had to re-embark the January 15th 1943, thus sealing a true turning in the war of the Pacific.
Simple: Guadalcanal
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