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The campaign for Guadalcanal was a turning point in the Pacific War. After the stop of Midway, it is the first attempt on the allied side to retake the Japanese gains. The Americans will need six months after the landing (August 7, 1942) to complete the conquest of the island (February 9, 1943). To achieve that, they will have to break a fierce resistance by the Japanese, on land, on sea and in the air. Two major carrier battles will be fought, both indecisive. Two battles with battleships will be fought too, and those will be decisive.

That the fighting were so fierce and so long drawn was a reflection of the global balance of power on the whole Pacific area. The era of easy victories is a foregone memory for the Japanese but they still remain a formidable adversary for the Americans, whose overwhelming material superiority is still to come.