Night Stalkers - The Battle of Savo Island

On August 7, 1942, Japan received an urgent distress call reporting that Allied forces had begun an invasion of the Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal Island in the South Pacific.

Determined to not lose any territory, the Imperial Japanese Navy immediately commissioned Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa and his fleet to intercept the Allied transports and interrupt the landings before they were completed.

Mikawa’s fleet then sailed from Rabaul in a fervent dash to reach the Solomon Islands, reaching their objective on August 8 after clever evasion maneuvers to confuse Allied reconnaissance aircraft. The Allied forces had no idea what was coming.

The Vice Admiral had a plan for a nighttime attack to take advantage of his sailor’s unmatched night battle doctrine and the US Navy’s inexperience at fighting in complete darkness.

Thus, the Allied northern force was abruptly intercepted, and its crews were blinded by the scorching Japanese searchlights.

The Navy officers didn’t know what was happening, as they were certain an attack of any significant scale would have been detected by their aerial reconnaissance forces. However, the Japanese showed no mercy while unleashing their attack and taking advantage of their enemies’ confusion.

As the Allied sailors realized they were being attacked, a desperate fight for their lives ensued, turning into one of the most devastating confrontations in US Navy history...