In launching this war, Japanese leaders sought to neutralize the American fleet, seize possessions rich in natural resources, and obtain strategic military bases to defend their far-flung empire.

Japanese forces also attacked and took control of Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaya, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, Wake Island, New Britain, and Guam.

[6][7] On 7 August 1942, the First Marine Division landed on Tulagi and Guadalcanal at Lunga Point, capturing the uncompleted Japanese airfield, and marking the first counter-offensive by the Allies in the Pacific Theater.

[8] Immediately after landing on Guadalcanal, Marines from the 1st Engineer Battalion worked around the clock using captured Japanese heavy equipment to complete construction of the airfield.

It was an irregular blob cut out of the island growth, half-in and half-out of a coconut grove, with a short runway, and few revetments to protect the aircraft from shrapnel.

[10] Upon landing on Henderson Field on 4 September, Commanding Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 25, Colonel W. Fiske Marshall described the scene -- "looked like a Doré drawing of hell.

"[11] The runway was a northwest to southeast running, 2,400-foot (730 m) long gravel surface with an extra 1,000 feet (300 m) of Marston Mat frequently pockmarked with craters from Japanese artillery and naval gunfire.

In the heat, the field was a bowl of black dust which fouled the warplanes' engines;[12] during rain, the airfield quickly turned muddy, miring planes in liquid muck.

"[13] The heavier SBD dive bombers had it the worst, since their hard rubber tires, designed for aircraft carrier landings and take-offs, ripped up the runways like plowshares.

The airfield was bombed nearly every day around noon by Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers flying at 20,000 feet (6,100 m) in a perfect "Vee formation" escorted by fighter planes.

[21] On 3 September 1942, the fortunes of the beleaguered aviators changed with the arrival of Brigadier General Roy Geiger on board the first Marine Aircraft Group 25 plane to land on the island, an R4D Skytrain.

The R-Area Air Force mainly provided cover for Japanese convoys delivering troops and supplies to Guadalcanal, conducted reconnaissance missions around the Solomon Islands' area, and occasionally attacked Henderson Field.

At the end of August, these warplanes were joined by 19 more Wildcats from VMF-224 under Major Robert E. Galer, and a dozen more SBD dive bombers from VMSB-231, also part of the Marine Air Group 23.

Major Smith claimed the first air-to-air victory for the CAF, but two other pilots crashed while landing their damaged aircraft, with both of the Wildcats deemed a total loss except for salvaged parts.

The Ryūjō mission was likely in response to a request from Nishizo Tsukahara, the naval commander at Rabaul, for help from the Japanese combined fleet in neutralizing Henderson Field.

[45] On 2 September, the U.S. Marine 3rd Defense Battalion began operating an air search radar at Henderson Field, which, along with reports from the coastwatchers, helped provide early warning of incoming Japanese warplanes.

[13] Due to the heavy losses that the CAF had sustained, Admiral McCain decided to immediately deploy the USS Saratoga's fighter squadrons to Guadalcanal.

On 9 September the Japanese resumed air operations against Henderson Field, with the objective of destroying the CAF and isolating the American forces on Guadalcanal.

[48] Between 21 August and 11 September, the Japanese raided Guadalcanal a total of ten times, losing 31 aircraft destroyed and seven more heavily damaged, primarily due to the defensive efforts of CAF fighter planes.

The morning of this same day, Tsukahara sent a reconnaissance mission of two Type 2 aircraft escorted by nine Zeros to find out if the Japanese Army had captured Henderson Field during the night.

On that same day, two R Area floatplane Zeros from Rekata Bay swept over Lunga Point and shot down a scout plane SBD from VMSB-231, killing both of its crewmen.

[56] On the morning of November 14, scout planes from the USS Enterprise spotted a large number of Japanese troop transports north of New Georgia headed for Guadalcanal.

[60] U.S. Navy and Marine fighter pilots, with little high-altitude experience, were at a disadvantage because their F4F Wildcat was slower, heavier, less maneuverable, and a slow climber compared to the agile Japanese A6M Zero.

[64] From 3 September to 4 November 1942, the Cactus Air Force claimed 268 Japanese planes downed in aerial combat, and the damage inflicted on others is estimated to be as great.

[citation needed] Because of the limited number of aircraft and fuel available during the early stages of the campaign, the CAF was unable to maintain a standing combat air patrol over Henderson Field.

Read in northern and Paul Mason in southern Bougainville, Donald Kennedy on New Georgia, and Geoffrey Kuper on Santa Isabel relayed as Japanese airplane formations were heading for the island, giving the defenders on Guadalcanal time to get airborne.

[66][67] On 16 August, Lieutenant Commander Hugh A. Mackenzie of the Royal Australian Navy, the Deputy Staff Intelligence Officer for the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, established a radio station at Henderson Field to monitor coastwatcher transmissions and relay their warnings to the CAF.

[citation needed] Several coastwatchers were stationed around Guadalcanal, including Martin Clemens (a local official for the British Solomon Islands Protectorate), Leif Schroeder, Donald Macfarlan, Ken Hay, and Ashton Rhoades.

The largest vessel was the battleship Hiei, which was finished off by the CAF, along with aircraft from the Enterprise, and B-17s from Espiritu, after being crippled by American cruisers and destroyers during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.

[58] The fifteen Marine combat squadrons on Guadalcanal during this time suffered 94 pilots killed or missing-in-action, with another 177 evacuated with wounds or with sickness (especially severe malaria).