February 9, 1943: Japanese forces with draw from the island of Guadalcanal, in the Solomon Islands, ending one of the biggest battles of the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the 1st major land victory for U.S. forces in the war.
On August 7, 1942, Allied forces, predominantly United States Marines, under the command of Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida Island, with the objective of using Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases in supporting a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain.
The Japanese defenders, who had occupied those islands since May 1942, were outnumbered and overwhelmed by the Allies, who captured Tulagi and Florida, as well as the airfield, later named Henderson Field, that was under construction on Guadalcanal.
Surprised by the Allied offensive, the Japanese made several attempts between August and November to retake Henderson Field. In December, the Japanese abandoned their efforts to retake Guadalcanal and evacuated their remaining forces by February 7, 1943.
This led to the "island-hopping" campaign by U.S. forces, including New Guinea, the Gilbert Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Mariana Islands, Palau, the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Admiral Ghormley lived until 1958.
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February 9, 1943 was a Tuesday. Actor Joe Pesci was born. This was also the day the Volhynian Massacres began in Poland. I have a separate entry for that event.
Baseball and football were out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. There was 1 game played in the NHL: The Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 at the Boston Garden.
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