Guadalcanal

Summary

World War II with Tom Hanks – Episode 6: Guadalcanal

Date: June 9, 2026
Podcast by: The HISTORY Channel | Back Pocket Studios | Audacy
Host/Narrator: Tom Hanks with commentary by military historians, analysts, and experts

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Episode Overview

This episode, "Guadalcanal," pivots from the early crushing defeats of the Allies in the Pacific to the first major American offensive: the brutal and pivotal Guadalcanal campaign. Through Tom Hanks’ narration and contributions from military experts, the episode traces the Japanese advance following Pearl Harbor, the harrowing loss of the Philippines, the Bataan Death March, and the desperate fight for survival and victory on Guadalcanal. The narrative blends military history, frontline perspectives, and analysis to illustrate why Guadalcanal became the proving ground for the U.S. Marine Corps and the broader Pacific strategy.

Main Themes:

• Rapid Japanese expansion and the collapse of colonial defenses in Asia
• American and Allied defeats and resilience (Bataan, Singapore)
• The logistical and psychological challenges of early Pacific warfare
• Guadalcanal as a turning point from defense to Allied offense
• The human cost, morale, and endurance under extreme conditions

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Scale and Shock of Japanese Advance

[01:59]

• The Pacific theater’s daunting scale: “It stretches from Hawaii to Burma, from the Aleutian Islands to Indochina.”
• Immediate Japanese offensives after Pearl Harbor target the Philippines, Malaya, and Dutch/French colonies.
• The fall of Singapore, described as “Britain’s fall of Rome moment in its Asian empire.” (Military Historian, [06:46])
• Japan’s twin objectives: seize resources and replace Western colonial powers.

2. The Fall of the Philippines and the Bataan Death March

[03:14]–[18:15]

• The U.S. plan for Manila’s defense collapses; troops retreat to Bataan’s rugged peninsula.
• MacArthur’s leadership amid dwindling resources (“They don’t have what they need to survive.” – Tom Hanks, [12:24]).
• Sacrifice and desperation on Bataan:

  “The men spend a lot of their time just foraging for food. Every snake, monkey, anything within the Bataan Peninsula is fair game.” (Marine Corps Veteran/Expert, [12:27])

• FDR’s difficult choice to evacuate MacArthur (“You couldn’t afford to let MacArthur be captured...he’s a figure of history.” – Tom Hanks, [13:40])
• The ignominious end: U.S. and Filipino soldiers, suffering from malnutrition and disease, surrender and face a horrific forced march (“Thousands die on what will become known as the Bataan Death March.” – Narrator, [17:51])

  “The Battling Bastards of Bataan. No mamas, no papas, no Uncle Sam...and no one gives a damn for all the people left in Bataan. I’m sure that’s exactly what they thought.” (Military Analyst, [15:13])

3. Japanese Military Culture and the Nature of the Enemy

[09:17], [10:19]

• Admiration of German Blitzkrieg inspires Japanese tactics: rapid, bold movement.
• British underestimation of Japanese capability and outright racism (“They didn’t consider Asian people capable of what the Japanese are doing.” – Military Analyst, [09:54])
• Fanatical discipline, harsh internal abuse (“You can see in diaries...I got beaten up today...” – Japanese Military Expert, [11:01])
• Surrender equates to dishonor, affecting Japanese treatment of prisoners and their will to fight to the death.

4. Strategic Stakes: The “Island Bastions” and War Production

[20:34]–[23:27]

• With their new empire, Japan fortifies island outposts (“All these island chains, threaded like pearls, they have got to be strengthened…fortified into some kind of defensive perimeter.” – Military Historian, [20:56]).
• The United States’ industrial might kicks in as FDR calls for ramped-up production.
• The Battle of Midway turns the naval tide, but the challenge remains to recapture territory from entrenched Japanese forces.

5. The U.S. Marine Corps: Doctrine, Training, and Guadalcanal Preparations

[22:23]–[25:21]

• The USMC’s amphibious assault doctrine is tested on an unprecedented scale.
• Marines are “relatively inexperienced...hurried training...designed for amphibious warfare, but to travel relatively lightly.” (Jimmy Uso, [23:27])
• Mythologizing the Japanese opponent: “They’ve read stories about how the Japanese are almost supermen.” (Jimmy Uso, [24:11])

6. Guadalcanal: The First American Offensive

The Landing

[24:41]–[27:09]

• In August 1942, Marines land unopposed – a surprising and temporary relief.

Disaster at Iron Bottom Sound

[27:19]–[28:49]

• A night-time Japanese naval attack devastates the US fleet, resulting in “the worst naval defeat since Pearl Harbor” (Jimmy Uso, [28:17]).

The Fight for Survival

[28:49]–[31:57]

• Marines, cut off and low on supplies, fortify Henderson Field, the strategic airstrip.
• The first major Japanese assault (Aug 21, 1942):

  “The Japanese have gotten about 200 guys trying to get across this sand spit and then moan down.” (Jimmy Uso, [31:12])
  “How could a battalion commander throw 900 men away? Who would do that?” (Military Analyst, [32:01])

  • Colonel Ichiki’s force is destroyed; he commits suicide.

The Psychological and Physical Toll

[33:24]–[36:02]

• Brutal, close-combat warfare; relentless Japanese night attacks via “Tokyo Express.”
• Marines sleep-deprived, starving, combatting malaria and dysentery.

  “This is a war of man against man...as darkness comes down every night, the fear grows deeper and deeper.” (Tom Hanks, [34:53])

American Morale and National Stakes

[39:09]–[40:09]

• Guadalcanal dominates home-front consciousness:

  “Guadalcanal is not a name but an emotion. You young Americans today are conducting yourselves in a manner that is worthy of the highest, proudest traditions of our nation.” (Narrator & Jimmy Uso, [39:27])

• FDR demands that everything possible be devoted to the Guadalcanal struggle.

Admiral Halsey’s Command and the Turning Point

[40:14]–[41:26]

• Admiral William “Bull” Halsey takes charge; brings renewed aggression and urgency.

  “His line was, you hit them hard, you hit them fast, and you hit them often.” (Jimmy Uso, [40:33])

• US Navy’s bold stand blunts a major Japanese reinforcement.
• After months, marines are finally relieved, and the Americans have scored a costly but vital first victory.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Bataan’s despair:

  “No mamas, no papas, no Uncle Sam...and no one gives a damn for all the people left in Bataan.”
  – Military Analyst ([15:13])

• On the myth of Japanese invincibility:

  “They start to almost have these superpowers. They’re quiet at night. They’re all snipers. They don’t require any arrest. They’re fanatical. All of these things start to build almost a super samurai adversary.”
  – Military Analyst ([30:33])

• On the kind of war Guadalcanal became:

  “This is life or death. You go to sleep, you may not wake up. This man was with you 24 hours ago. Now his throat’s cut in the foxhole next to you. This is a war of man against man. This is personal.”
  – Tom Hanks ([34:53])

• On Admiral Halsey’s leadership:

  “Halsey’s coming into this campaign is like a defibrillator on the heart.”
  – Marine Corps Veteran/Expert ([40:20])

• On the significance of Guadalcanal:

  “Halsey put it best when he said: Prior to the battle, the Japanese advanced at their will. After the battle, they retreated at ours.”
  – Jimmy Uso ([42:58])

• On the road ahead:

  “It's a long road to Tokyo, but Guadalcanal is the first step.”
  – Tyler Reddick ([43:08])

---

Key Segment Timestamps

• Japanese expansion and Allied defeats – [01:59]–[07:54]
• Fall of the Philippines & Bataan – [03:14]–[18:15]
• MacArthur’s evacuation & legacy – [13:19]–[14:25]
• Bataan Death March – [15:42]–[17:51]
• Japanese military culture & tactics – [08:13]–[11:22]
• US and Allied strategy shift (island defense, Midway) – [20:34]–[23:27]
• Marines’ doctrine and training – [23:27]–[25:21]
• Guadalcanal landings & early success – [24:41]–[27:09]
• Naval disaster at Savo Sound – [27:19]–[28:49]
• Henderson Field & first battles – [29:07]–[32:13]
• Night fighting, brutality, and attrition – [33:24]–[36:08]
• Home front and Halsey’s leadership – [39:09]–[41:26]
• Outcome and consequences – [42:46]–[43:17]

---

Conclusion

This episode plunges listeners into the darkest days of the Pacific War—when hope was in short supply, defeat seemed assured, and the psychology of combat changed irreversibly for those who fought. But Guadalcanal proved decisive: a hard, bloody, and costly victory where American resolve—tested to the breaking point—began to turn the tide against Japan. The campaign’s toll, lessons, leadership, and legends (from MacArthur’s vow to Halsey’s audacity) echo across military history and underline why Guadalcanal became a crucible for the “Greatest Generation.”

Transcript

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sponsored by Chumba Casino the History Channel Original Podcast it's hard to comprehend the scale of the Pacific Asian Theater war. It stretches from Hawaii to Burma, from the Aleutian Islands to Indochina. In 1942, the United States sends fighting men to far off places most Americans had never heard of. They are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines from every town in America. They will confront an enemy whose moral code does not permit surrender.

[Tom Hanks]

This is World War II with Tom Hanks. Episode 6 Guadalcanal

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

Hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan invades the Philippines. They begin with a devastating strike against the US Air Base at Clark Field, then land 35,000 troops and advance on the capital, Manila. American and Filipino forces are overwhelmed. Within weeks, Manila is captured.

[Tom Hanks]

There was a Philippine war plan that in the event of a Japanese major invasion, the forces would withdraw to Bataan.

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

Bataan is strategically located next to Manila Bay. It's this rocky peninsula. It's got two dormant volcanoes that are sitting in the middle of it. And so it's really good defensive terrain.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

On December 23, 1941, US and Filipino troops begin their retreat to the peninsula of Bataan.

[Tyler Reddick]

You have this chaotic retreat, about 100,000 US and Filipino troops, and we should add the 25,000 civilians, Filipino, but also Americans, now desperate to escape the attacking Japanese.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

As the troops retreat, the Japanese continue following a well planned, well coordinated offensive aimed at British and Dutch colonies. They have already invaded Burma, Borneo and Malaya. They take Hong Kong on Christmas Day, then move further into Malaya. Malaya is considered difficult jungle terrain,

[Military Historian]

but

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

the Japanese, using bicycle infantry and some tanks, manage to push south to the island of Singapore, known as the Gibraltar of the East.

[Jimmy Uso]

Singapore was our military base with its massive naval facilities, guns facing into the sea so that it could protect that position. And really a military HQ for the empire in the Far East.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

They begin their assault on February 8th.

[Tyler Reddick]

Winston Churchill back in London, is looking on in horror. He's an Empire man. He said many times he didn't come to power to oversee the liquidation of His Majesty's Empire, but it's crumbling before his eyes.

[Military Historian]

Churchill cannot abandon the defense of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic. He cannot risk losing the whole of the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle east to Axis forces. So what got to go. Unfortunately for Churchill, he's got to scrimp and save when it comes to defense in the Far East. It's just too much for Britain to handle.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

The Japanese take advantage of British military mistakes and capture the island in only seven days. Tens of thousands of Commonwealth troops are trapped and imprisoned.

[Military Historian]

Singapore was the granite foundation of the British Empire in Asia. And boom. In the space of days, it falls.

[Japanese Military Expert]

The idea that Japanese forces could go into this historic place, a real symbol of British power and prestige in Asia, and take it within such a short time is absolutely tremendous. As far as Japanese are concerned.

[Military Historian]

This is Britain's fall of Rome moment in its Asian empire.

[Military Analyst]

Japan has plunged into the war and is ravaging the beautiful, fertile, prosperous and densely populated lands of the Far East.

[Tyler Reddick]

The British Empire now for centuries, had been the most powerful empire the world had ever seen. The Japanese had cracked it like an egg.

[Military Analyst]

By the time the shock of Pearl harbor wears off, the Japanese have taken their empire and expanded it seemingly overnight.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

Japan's Asian offensive has two primary war aims. First, the seizure of raw materials like oil and rubber. Second, to replace the western colonial powers who have long dominated the region and establish an empire of their own.

[Tyler Reddick]

This is one of the most audacious offensives in military history.

[Japanese Military Expert]

In late 1941, early 1942. It's good news every week, almost every day coming in. They are liberating Asia. They are pushing back white Western colonial power.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

The speed and scope of the Japanese offensive stuns the world. A year earlier, General Tomoyuki Namashita, the commander of the assault on the Philippines, consults with Japan's access ally, Nazi Germany. Japan is eager to adapt the Wehrmacht's blitzkrieg tactics to a very different theater of war.

[Japanese Military Expert]

He was really admiring the German blitzkrieg, the German lightning war, and he took

[Military Historian]

the German blitzkrieg as the role model

[Jimmy Uso]

for a future Japanese war in Southeast Asia. So we must surprise the enemy. We must be fast.

[Japanese Military Expert]

It's always movement, movement, movement for the enemy, for their enemy, for the allies. It looks like the Japanese aren't even thinking about what they're doing because they're moving so fast and they're moving constantly. But this has a kind of shock effect on the troops there that are trying to defend the peninsula.

[Military Analyst]

The Japanese have learned to move quickly, move stealthily. They fight well at night, which is what most armies are not good at. They are pretty good at operational art. Don't attack strong points, envelop the enemy, put them in untenable positions either in time or space, and hence it defined a lot of their victories. Early in the war,

[Military Historian]

the British underestimated the Japanese. I think part of that was racism. I think they were. They were astonished that a non European race could defeat Europeans in battle.

[Military Analyst]

They didn't consider Asian people capable of what the Japanese are doing. After the Japanese land in Malaya, Singapore's governor, Sir Shenton Thomas, allegedly says, well, I suppose you'll have to shove the little men off.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

But British hubris is no match for Japanese military prowess.

[Japanese Military Expert]

There had always been this faction in the Imperial Japanese army called the kdoha, the Imperial Way faction, whose belief was because of Japan's extraordinary fighting spirit in the blood of their soldiers, we can overcome the odds. And that really is drummed into the soldiers.

[Military Analyst]

So there is this esprit de corps within the Japanese army. It's guided by this belief in bushido, the way of the warrior.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

Japanese military discipline is instilled by physically harsh measures. Officers abuse non Commissioned officers who in turn abused the men.

[Japanese Military Expert]

You can see in diaries and in letters home people saying, I got beaten up today. I got slapped. I got punched. I had a rifle butt get me in the stomach.

[Military Analyst]

There is a fair amount of ritualistic abuse that takes place as they go through what they would refer to as lessons.

[Japanese Military Expert]

It's all about self sacrifice. They are all about suppressing individual needs and desires for the sense of whatever the nation needs, for whatever the Emperor might need.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

In just two months of fighting, Japan has achieved most of its objectives and appears to be winning the war, except in the Philippines, where U.S. and Filipino troops are fighting back. After more than a month of fighting, US And Filipino forces continue to resist the Japanese on the Bataan Peninsula. But supplies, food, and ammunition are running perilously short.

[Tyler Reddick]

Supplies, provisions, ammunition. They're strewn about the Philippine Islands, and they're not where the defenders need them.

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

The American forces are now completely isolated and surrounded.

[Tom Hanks]

They don't have what they need to survive.

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

The men spend a lot of their time just foraging for food. Every snake, monkey, anything within the Bataan Peninsula is fair game.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

The commanding officer of both American and Filipino troops in the Philippines is the charismatic and controversial General Douglas MacArthur.

[Tom Hanks]

MacArthur is the son of a Civil War hero. He's confident, courageous, a proven battlefield leader.

[Tyler Reddick]

MacArthur's begging for more troops, for more supplies, for more ships. But none of those things are coming. The US doesn't have them.

[Tom Hanks]

The Japanese, of course they're coming after MacArthur's force. They know they can't leave an army like this with MacArthur and consider the Philippines have been occupied.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

In Washington, President Roosevelt faces a very difficult situation. The American people expect the troops to be supported, but he knows resupplying and reinforcing Bataan is impossible. Also, for both political and symbolic reasons, he must retrieve General MacArthur from the Philippines.

[Tom Hanks]

You couldn't afford to let MacArthur be captured. You couldn't do it because it would bad for the American spirit. You can't let a man like this go down. He's a figure of history. Macarthur does everything he can to inspire his troops in Bataan, and he's prepared to go down with a ship.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

But FDR orders MacArthur to leave the Philippines. Three weeks later, he sends a rescue operation, and MacArthur, with his wife and young son, leaves the Philippines on a small torpedo boat.

[Tom Hanks]

He promises, I will return. And this is his commitment to the American people, but more importantly, to himself.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

Knowing that America must make a stand, General MacArthur issues a final order to his men.

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

MacArthur orders the garrison to fight to the last which is completely unrealistic.

[Military Analyst]

Soldiers are dying in medical tents merely because there's not enough medicine to save them. So everybody's in a weakened condition, but the defense is quite heroic.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

But the soldiers on Bataan realize that they're being sacrificed.

[Military Analyst]

So the Battling Bastards of Bataan is written by a journalist named Hewitt. The Battling Bastards of Bataan. No mamas, no papas, no Uncle Sam, no aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces, no pills, no planes, no artillery pieces. And no one gives a damn for all the people left in Bataan. I'm sure that's exactly what they thought.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

After four months of fatigue, hunger, and disease, the Bataan garrison surrenders. But their ordeal is just beginning.

[Jimmy Uso]

The Japanese didn't expect that so many Allied defenders of the Philippines would actually surrender and become prisoners of war.

[Japanese Military Expert]

One of the things you're taught in the Japanese military is you don't surrender. You're disgracing your family. You're disgracing your home, your village, your country, the Emperor.

[Military Analyst]

Surrender is dishonorable not only to yourself, but to your family. Anybody who surrenders is inherently dishonorable.

[Japanese Military Expert]

The idea that you would surrender and that you would expect to be treated with respect, having done so really is disgusting to a lot of the Japanese soldiers.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

The Japanese march the 75,000American and Filipino troops to a POW camp 65 miles north of Bataan.

[Tom Hanks]

These men are exhausted. They're malnourished. The Japanese, they line them up and they march them out

[Military Historian]

in 110 degree heat with no food, no water, and Japanese guards just beating you and kicking you and stabbing you the whole way.

[Japanese Military Expert]

And so if you're a recruit out there and you've received umpteen beatings from your own senior officers on the way to where you are now, then it's a very short hop to having a Westerner in front of you asking for food, asking for water and slapping them, punching them, perhaps even shooting them.

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

The Japanese will drink their canteens and then dump the contents out on the roadside. Wounded troops will fall to the ground. They will be instantly bayoneted or shot.

[Japanese Military Expert]

They have been taught to regard Western soldiers and I think white Western civilians generally with really no respect at all. These people are lesser, almost to the point of being a slightly lesser species.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

Thousands die on what will become known as the Bataan Death March. The loss of the Philippines will cripple America's military capability in the Pacific for months. It's also a serious blow to morale at home.

[Tyler Reddick]

In a matter of just a few months, the Japanese have conquered an Empire of 500 million people.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

The Japanese have the upper hand in the Pacific work. It's not clear what or who can stop them.

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Spring in Tokyo. Japan controls vast areas of the Pacific and Southeast Asia. To protect this growing empire, Japan will consolidate its new territory and push into various island chains to create an even stronger barrier against the United States.

[Military Historian]

The Japanese saying, we gotta consolidate our position quickly. We have to create a defensive bastion between the United States and Japan. So all these island chains, threaded like pearls, they have got to be strengthened, they've got to be fortified into some kind of defensive perimeter.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

Japan deploys thousands of troops to outposts stretching far into the South Pacific.

[Jimmy Uso]

The Japanese are making absolutely sure that what they've got they will hold.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

In the US war production accelerates. FDR calls for 60,000 planes and 125,000 tanks to be produced in 1942. And in June, the US Navy defeats the Japanese at the Battle of Midway. It's Japan's first decisive defeat.

[Jimmy Uso]

The victory at Midway has taken place in June 1942. But this is a naval victory. It's only directed against Japanese warships. Eventually, the Americans, now they're going to have to retake real estate. They're going to actually have to capture islands. The Japanese plan in the South Pacific is to build a lot of airstrips which are going to allow them to use air power to defend these stronghold

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

positions to counter America sends in the old breed. The 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps was

[Military Analyst]

always soldiers from the sea. Back in the Revolution, when we invade Nassau, right, we are meant to come from the sea. That's the mission in support of the Navy. That's their purpose. After World War I, what they really start to do is turn their attention to what does the next war look like. And what they start to realize is Japan is becoming a power in the Pacific. If we're going to fight in the Pacific, then we need to figure out how to conduct amphibious landings.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

Amphibious landings on this scale are unprecedented.

[Military Analyst]

Well, there's no sneaking up on an island. They can see ships coming. So everything across the beach is a frontal assault. Machine guns, rapid fire, artillery. It's suicide. Terrible idea. And the Marine Corps goes, got it. We'll take that one. And that's how they get into amphibious operations, because that would be what was necessary to operate in the Pacific.

[Jimmy Uso]

The training for the US Marines Corps is probably the toughest in the US Armed forces at this point. They are designed for amphibious warfare, but to travel relatively lightly because, of course, if you attack a coast from the, from the sea, you can't take much heavy equipment with you. Their job is as an elite assault force. But don't leave them in a campaign for too long because they don't have all the heavy weapons to be able to do the job over a considerable period of time.

[Military Analyst]

The Navy has ships and the army has tanks and artillery. What does the Marine Corps have? It has culture. So if you join the Marine Corps, it's because maybe you can be one of those elite. You know, you get to go fight the Japanese.

[Jimmy Uso]

The majority are new recruits. They were relatively inexperienced. They've had some pretty hurried training. And now all of a sudden, in 1942, they're going to go into action against what they know and fear is A very formidable opponent. They've read a lot of the stories about how the Japanese are almost supermen. Until we actually face in close combat, we'll never know if we're good enough to take on these guys.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

In the summer of 1942, an American B17 on routine patrol reports that the Japanese are building an airstrip on the largest of the Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal.

[Military Analyst]

If the Japanese are successful, they will build an air base on Guadalcanal and potentially sever the lines of communication with Australia, which is meant to be a jumping off point for any campaign that's going to come from the southern Pacific. We cannot let that happen.

[Jimmy Uso]

The Americans know that Australia is crucial to their hold over the Pacific.

[Military Analyst]

What's at stake, certainly for the United States Marine Corps, is they've hitched their horse to this idea of amphibious operations. Now they actually have to go execute it.

[Tyler Reddick]

If the Americans are going to roll back Japanese power in the Pacific, it's going to have to be boots on the boots on the ground. It will be in Guadalcanal.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

Early on August 7, 1942, the 1st Marine Division approaches Guadalcanal. They are the first U.S. troops to take the offensive in World War II.

[Jimmy Uso]

What's interesting about all amphibious landings is if they're opposed and you don't really understand the terrain you're getting into, there's always the possibility of disaster. And that was absolutely the case at Guadalcanal.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

After the naval bombardment, the Marines will land and attempt to capture the airfield and secure the island.

[Jimmy Uso]

The intelligence for the landings at Guadalcanal is so thin that they don't know what the interior looks like, and they certainly don't know how many defending troops are there.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

10,000 Marines reach the shore. To their relief, the landing is unopposed. There are no Japanese defending the beach head. The Japanese have only 2,500 men on the island. Most of them conscripted, labor to build the airfield.

[Jimmy Uso]

The Marines are astonished at how easy it is. They move in land, and then very quickly capture the airfield.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

The Marines build a defensive perimeter around the airstrip, which they name Henderson Field after a Marine dive bomber killed at the Battle of Midway. Supplies for the Marines on Guadalcanal are being held just offshore by a U.S. navy task force anchored in Savo Sound. But two days after the landing, the calm of Savo Sound is shattered.

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

It's the middle of the night. These American cruisers are asleep. They don't come to battle stations quickly. In the space of 25 to 30 minutes, the Japanese have sunk four Allied cruisers killed more than 1,000 Allied sailors.

[Jimmy Uso]

So it's a disastrous defeat for the Americans. The worst naval defeat since Pearl Harbor.

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

You've got bodies washing up on the shore. It's grisly.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

So many American ships are sunk that Savo Sound is christened Iron Bottom Sound. Vulnerable to air attack. The task force pulls out before they've unloaded all the Marines food and ammunition.

[Jimmy Uso]

General Vandegrift is the commander of the 1st Marine Division. Is understandably upset that the Navy have skedaddled, but it's absolutely vital also that he gives a sense of confidence to his men. We're going to get through this. We are US Marines, after all.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

The first wave of Japanese troops land east of the Marines defensive perimeter on August 18th. Their objective, Henderson Airfield. The airfield is in a key position to maintain the shipping lanes from America to Australia.

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

That supply line is like the Allied sciatic nerve. So this is a very serious development.

[Jimmy Uso]

It must have been very spooky for the Marines. They are abandoned on the island. They can hear the Japanese ships coming in. They know there must be trouble ahead.

[Military Analyst]

What options do ground forces have? You can attack, you can defend, and you can retreat. Well, guess what?

[Tom Hanks]

What?

[Military Analyst]

The Marines can no longer retreat. So no matter what, we're going to have to fight it out.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

The untested Marines are about to face Japanese soldiers for the first time. On Guadalcanal. The 1st Marine Division is dug in around Henderson Airfield, bracing for a Japanese assault. Assault. Commanding the Japanese troops is the veteran Colonel Kianao Ichiki.

[Military Analyst]

The Marines know that all the Japanese have done up to this point is win. They start to almost have these superpowers. They're quiet at night. They're all snipers. They don't require any arrest. They're fanatical. All of these things start to build almost a super samurai adversary.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

On August 21, Ichiki's troops attack the Marine lines. The Marines respond with rifle, mortar and machine gun fire.

[Jimmy Uso]

The Japanese have gotten about 200 guys trying to get across this sand spit and then moan down.

[Military Analyst]

Ichiki just sloughs that off. He'll launch two more attacks. The Marines will beat them back.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

The fighting is brutal, often hand to hand. Some Japanese soldiers even use ancestral samurai swords. The battle doesn't end until 5 o'. Clock. That evening, 44 marines are dead,

[Jimmy Uso]

but

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

nearly 900 Japanese soldiers are killed.

[Military Analyst]

The Marines are stuck. How could a battalion commander throw 900 men away? Who would do that?

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

After the battle, Colonel Ichiki commits suicide. Just a single Japanese soldier surrenders.

[Tom Hanks]

They may look dead, but if they've got a weapon, they're going to shoot you when you go past. If they got a grenade, they may blow themselves up with a grenade to kill you. This is a different kind of enemy.

[Jimmy Uso]

The US Marines on Guadalcanal realized that to combat that and to protect themselves, they are going to have to be equally ruthless. And this produced incredibly brutal form of warfare that I think was unequaled in the Second World War.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

The Marines now understand what will be required to defend Guadalcanal. The island has become a prudent for a generation of young Americans. The Japanese conduct regular airstrikes on Henderson Field. And continue to move men and supplies into attacking positions.

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

Every night the Japanese are using fast transports and depositing troops and supplies on Guadalcanal via what's going to be known as the Tokyo Express.

[Jimmy Uso]

They are absolutely determined to retake this island. Their whole strategy for moving forward in the Southern Pacific is based on recapturing Guadalcanal. And they're going to pretty much send as many troops as they can to make sure that they do the job. Vandegrift and his staff start taking preventative action in case they're overwhelmed. So they start burning vital intelligence papers.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

By October, the Japanese force has more than doubled its size. But the US Navy is able to resupply the Marines from newly constructed supply bases. Guadalcanal is now a battle of attrition. Who will give in first?

[Military Analyst]

The Japanese are very good at night attacks and so knights are horrific. Imagine being a 19 or 20 year

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

old American kid and you're in a foxhole, maybe with one other person, right?

[Military Analyst]

One guy sleeps, the other's on watch. And you can hear the other foxholes with your compatriots, but they're not visible in the dark. Remember, these islands are really black as night. And you hear screaming from another foxhole.

[Tom Hanks]

This is life or death. You go to sleep, you may not wake up. This man was with you 24 hours ago. Now his throat's cut in the foxhole next to you. This is a war of man against man. This is personal. And as darkness comes down every night, the fear grows deeper and deeper.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

Even though they're deprived of sleep, lack sufficient food and battle tropical diseases. The Marines maintain their morale, but their casualty rate is climbing and they begin to suspect they're being abandoned.

[Jimmy Uso]

A lot of people are catching malaria, dysentery, they don't have enough food. They're just becoming increasingly incapable of functioning.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

General Van der Griff estimates that less than Half his force is fit enough to fight.

[Tyler Reddick]

The Japanese are still coming. Guadalcanal is going to be where the Japanese teach the Americans the cost of punching a hole in that defense perimeter. They'll say, look at the effort it took. Look at the number of men you lost on Guadalcanal. How long do you think it'll take you to batter your way across the Pacific?

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

One night, two months into the battle, the Japanese deliver a bombardment designed to crush the Marine spirits. But the Marines Marines just dig their foxholes deeper.

[Jimmy Uso]

A thousand shells are sent over in 80 minutes. We're talking about 14 inch shells described by some of the guys like the weight of small cars.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

Most of the Marines planes at Henderson Field are destroyed in the bombardment. The US reinforces the Marines, but the Japanese reinforce their troops as well. Control of the island and the entire US campaign in the Pacific is at stake. All eyes are on Guadalcanal.

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[Military Historian]

Oh yeah, it's a World cup holder.

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[Military Historian]

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[Carvana Representative]

It has a the Carvana logo.

[Military Historian]

Carvana made it. They buy and sell cars. So they made a car cup holder. So, got any good cups lately?

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

I used to.

[Carvana Representative]

I just couldn't figure out where in the world to put them.

[Military Historian]

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[Bob's Discount Furniture Narrator]

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[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

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[Tyler Reddick]

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[Military Analyst]

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[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

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[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

In America. Guadalcanal is front page news. It's on everyone's minds. It was observed. Guadalcanal is not a name but an emotion. You young Americans today are conducting yourselves

[Jimmy Uso]

in a manner that is worthy of

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

the highest, proudest traditions of our nation.

[Jimmy Uso]

All the attention of the American public is focused on this island. Roosevelt knows this is the first big American grand offensive of the war is going horribly wrong. They have to hold on to Guadalcanal.

[Tyler Reddick]

Roosevelt sends a note to the Joint Chiefs and says, I want to be sure of something, that every available man, ship and plane is being devoted to the struggle on Guadalcanal.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

We here at home are supremely conscious of our obligations to you.

[Jimmy Uso]

We will not let you down.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

The campaign gets a new commander. Admiral William Bull Halsey.

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

Halsey's coming into this campaign is like a defibrillator on the heart.

[Military Analyst]

Halsey looks the part. Halsey's this leathery old commander who's been successful. He's a can do, combative guy. He can't wait to get to the Japanese.

[Jimmy Uso]

They his line was you hit him hard, you hit him fast, and you hit him often.

[Military Analyst]

This is entirely in keeping with the mentality of your average Marine.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

Admiral Halsey promises the Marines all the support they need on Guadalcanal. In just a few weeks, he gets the chance to demonstrate it. A large Japanese fleet carrying 14,000 troops is approaching Guadalcanal.

[Marine Corps Veteran/Expert]

This body of water is the size of a bathtub. So risking your battleships to send them up to Iron Bottom Sound, I mean, it honestly makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck even now. But Halsey is determined that he is going to fight with everything that he's got. And so he pushes all his chips into the middle of the table.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

Halsey instructs the US Navy task force to attack the Japanese fleet in the Sound. For two days, American and Japanese warships battle in Savo Sound. The fighting is fierce. It's ship to ship combat at its most intense. Nearly 2000Americans are killed, but the Japanese are only able to land a quarter of their force. Bull Halsey and the US Navy have turned the tide and the Japanese begin to withdraw from Guadalcanal. Most of the Marines on Guadalcanal are relieved by the US Army. A generation of Americans have proven to the world that they're capable of fighting this war. But Guadalcanal has also revealed how long and difficult this conflict is going to be and how steep the price of victory

[Tyler Reddick]

it was the first clash of arms between the Japanese army and American Marines and soldiers, and in that victory, the Americans came out ahead.

[Jimmy Uso]

Halsey put it best when he said prior to the battle, the Japanese advanced at their will. After the battle, they retreated at Ars.

[Tyler Reddick]

It's a long road to Tokyo, but Guadalcanal is the first step.

[Narrator (History Channel WWII Podcast)]

The Marines, who hold the line for months on Guadalcanal, are sure their country has forgotten them. But when the 1st Marine Division is relieved by army units and sent to Australia to recuperate, they learn that they're actually heroes. That year, in 1942, Hitler escalates his campaign against the Jews of Europe to an unimaginable level. Foreign.

[Tom Hanks]

Is Produced by Neutopia Ltd. A E Factual Studios, Playtone Productions and Back Pocket Studios in association with Motion Entertainment for the History Channel. This episode was narrated by Tom Hanks and mixed by John Lloyd. Additional voicing provided by Jeremy Reagan from the History Channel. Our executive producers are Eli Lehrer and Liv Fiddler. For Playtone, executive producers are Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. For Back Pocket Studios. Our executive producer is Ben Dickstein.