World War II
Japanese forces occupied the Solomon Islands in January 1942. The counter-attack was led by the United States; the 1st Division of the US Marine Corps landed on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in August 1942. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II took place on the islands for almost three years.
Tulagi, the seat of the British administration on the island of Nggela Sule in Central Province was destroyed in the heavy fighting following landings by the US Marines. Then the tough battle for Guadalcanal, which was centred on the capture of the airfield, Henderson field, led to the development of the adjacent town of Honiara as the United States logistics centre.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Solomon Islands
Famous quotes containing the words world and/or war:
“When I tried to talk to my father about the kind of work I might do after college, he said, “You know, Charlotte, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to that, and it seems to me that the world really needs good, competent secretaries. Your English degree will help you.” He said this with perfect seriousness. I was an A student at Bryn Mawr ...”
—Charlotte Palmer (b. c. 1925)
“War is thus divine in itself, since it is a law of the world. War is divine through its consequences of a supernatural nature which are as much general as particular.... War is divine in the mysterious glory that surrounds it and in the no less inexplicable attraction that draws us to it.... War is divine by the manner in which it breaks out.”
—Joseph De Maistre (1753–1821)