Date

6-17-2026

Department

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree

Master of Arts in History - Thesis (MA)

Chair

Christopher Smith

Keywords

World War II, World War I, The Great War, Spanish-American War, Guadalcanal, Guadalcanal Campaign, United States Navy, U.S. Navy, Navy, Solomon Islands, Pacific War, Pacific, South Pacific, Norman Scott, Admiral Scott, Admiral Callaghan, Frank J. Fletcher, Admiral Fletcher, Cruisers, Cruiser Doctrine, Interwar, Inter-war, General Board of the Navy, General Board, Washington Naval Conference, Washington Naval Treaty, Five Powers Treaty, Cruiser Design, London Naval Treaty, London Naval Treaty of 1930, London Naval Treaty of 1936, Battle of Guadalcanal, Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Battle of Savo Island, Battle of Cape Esperance, Interwar Navy, Navy Doctrine, Fleet Problem, Fleet Problems, USS San Francisco, USS Pensacola, USS Northampton, USS New Orleans, USS Atlanta, USS Boise, Naval Warfare, Admiral Nimitz, Admiral King, Ernest J. King, Chester W. Nimitz, Daniel J. Callaghan, Naval History, American Naval History, American Navy

Disciplines

History

Abstract

The Guadalcanal campaign was one of the most important campaigns of the Second World War. It was the first American offensive action and began the rolling back of Japanese forces. Guadalcanal would also be a watershed moment in American naval doctrine. The experiences suffered during the six-month campaign led to significant changes in how the Navy employed its surface forces. Since the outcome of the campaign leads to significant changes in how the Navy fights, it is important to understand what led to the battles and why they went poorly. To be more specific, how did the Navy prepare itself to fight a future war even before the Second World War began? The ships and tactics that entered Iron Bottom Sound were not intended to engage in the night surface actions that were required by the strategic situation. As such, it is important to understand what war the peacetime Navy thought it would fight and how that was adopted for the realities seen at Guadalcanal. Upon entering the Second World War, the US Navy’s doctrine focused on long range, open seas, decisive battles centered on a battleship battleline with cruisers serving as scouts or on independent cruises. The Guadalcanal campaign saw close range, nighttime, defensive battles fought by vessels not designed for the task and men untrained for that style of combat.

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