October 12, 1942 - U.S. Defeats Japan at the Battle of Cape Esperance

October 14, 1942 headlines of the New York Times

Today marks the 71st anniversary of the United States defeat of Japan in the Battle of Cape Esperance during WWII. The battle was part of a six-month power struggle between U.S. and Japanese navy fleets fight for control of the Guadalcanal. The two navies were fighting over the airfield built by the Japanese which was currently under the control of U.S. Marines since August 1942, named Henderson Field. The battle lasted less than an hour, but the destruction was enormous, with damages to both navies. However, the win helped to boost moral for the U.S. military during WWII. [1]

For over two months, the U.S. had maintained control of the sea surrounding the island during daylight hours, which forced the Japanese to perform reinforcement and supply missions at night. The missions, called the “Tokyo Express,” brought supplies to the Imperial Japanese Navy or IJN soldiers who were trying to regain control of Henderson Field from the U.S. Marines. The U.S. let these missions occur without much interference until the night of October 11-12, 1942. The IJN had become accustomed to only encountering its own ships at night to the point that when a fleet of U.S. Naval destroyers and cruisers appeared, their warships assumed that it was a part of the Japanese supply fleet and contacted the U.S. fleet. The U.S. Navy leader commanded that the recognition lights be turned on in order to see the Japanese ships and immediately fired on them, which led to over forty minutes of gunshots and torpedo launchings in the darkness.[2]

The entire battle was essentially a mistake. Both the U.S. Navy and the IJN had the wrong information and their actions ultimately led to the Battle of Cape Esperance. First, the U.S. Navy knew that there was a Japanese supply convoy mission, but they did not know that there was a fleet of IJN warships tagging along behind the convoy. The U.S. ran into the warships instead of the convoy they had planned on attacking. They quickly realized their mistake, and attacked the Japanese warships.[3] Secondly, there had been a reinforcement and supply mission earlier in the day on October 11th and the IJN warships assumed that the U.S. ships were stragglers from that mission. The Japanese made the mistake of not following their proverb of “treat a stranger as a thief.” The proverb basically meant that if you did not know the person, you should assume that they would steal from you or were there to harm you. The IJN did not know the ships, but assumed that the ships were part of the Japanese fleet and contacted the ships over the radio, which allowed the U.S. to pinpoint their exact location. The U.S. took advantage of the IJN’s mistake, and immediately fired on them. The U.S. Navy had the element of surprise and overtook the IJN in a tactical win.[4]

The U.S. Navy won the Battle of Cape Esperance by a small margin, but the IJN’s reinforcements and supplies still arrived safely. The U.S. entered the battle with four cruisers and five destroyers. They walked away from the battle with a loss of 163 men, one sunken destroyer and two severely damaged ships. The IJN entered the battle with three cruisers and eight destroyers.

USS Boise entering the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for Repairs

They left the battle with a loss of 450 men, one cruiser and three destroyers. The battle gave the U.S. Navy a false sense of ability in regards to nighttime warfare because it was the first night battle win against the Japanese. The U.S. had not, however, perfected the art of nighttime warfare. The U.S. had stumbled upon a victory once, but the IJN would not make the same mistake twice, as the U.S. would learn in the next several battles. On a positive note, the battle taught the U.S. military that it was capable of successfully planning and executing nighttime warfare with practice.[5]

- Jordan C. and Amanda D.






[1] “United States Defeats Japan in the Battle of Cape Esperance,” History website for This Day in History: World War II: October 11-12, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-defeats-japanese-in-the-battle-of-cape-esperance (accessed on October 2, 2013); Hickman, Kennedy. “World War II: Battle of Cape Esperance,” About Military History website: Conflict and Dates, http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/navalbattles1900today/p/capeesperance.htm (accessed on October 2, 2013).

[2] “The Battle of Cape Esperance,” The Americans in Wartime Museum website, www.nmaw.org/the-battle-of-cape-esperance/ (accessed on October 2, 2013); “Stumbling into Victory: The Battle of Cape Esperance October 11-12, 1942,” The Microworks website, http://www.microworks.net/pacific/battles/cape_esperance.htm (accessed on October 2, 2013).

[3] “Stumbling into Victory: The Battle of Cape Esperance October 11-12, 1942,” The Microworks website, http://www.microworks.net/pacific/battles/cape_esperance.htm (accessed on October 2, 2013).

[4] “Treat a Stranger as a Thief,” Today’s History Lesson Website: Posts tagged ‘Cape Esperance,’ http://todayshistorylesson.wordpress.com/tag/cape-esperance/ (accessed on October 2, 2013).

[5] “The Battle of Cape Esperance,” The Americans in Wartime Museum website, www.nmaw.org/the-battle-of-cape-esperance/ (accessed on October 2, 2013); “Treat a Stranger as a Thief,” Today’s History Lesson Website: Posts tagged ‘Cape Esperance,’ http://todayshistorylesson.wordpress.com/tag/cape-esperance/ (accessed on October 2, 2013); “United States Defeats Japan in the Battle of Cape Esperance,” History website for This Day in History: World War II: October 11-12, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-defeats-japanese-in-the-battle-of-cape-esperance (accessed on October 2, 2013); Hickman, Kennedy. “World War II: Battle of Cape Esperance,” About Military History website: Conflict and Dates, http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/navalbattles1900today/p/capeesperance.htm (accessed on October 2, 2013); “Stumbling into Victory: The Battle of Cape Esperance October 11-12, 1942,” The Microworks website, http://www.microworks.net/pacific/battles/cape_esperance.htm (accessed on October 2, 2013).