Battle of Cape St. George

Overview

The Battle of Cape St. George was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on 25 November 1943, between Cape St. George, New Ireland, and Buka Island. It was the last engagement of surface ships in the Solomon Islands campaign. During the engagement, a force of five US Navy destroyers led by Captain Arleigh Burke intercepted a similar sized Japanese force that was withdrawing from Buka towards Rabaul, having landed reinforcements on the island. In the ensuing fight, three Japanese destroyers were sunk and one was damaged, with no losses amongst the US forces.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Cape St. George, fought on 25 November 1943 between Cape St. George, New Ireland, and Buka Island, marked the last surface engagement of the Solomon Islands campaign. A force of five U.S. Navy destroyers under Captain Arleigh Burke intercepted a Japanese force of comparable size withdrawing from Buka toward Rabaul after delivering reinforcements. Three Japanese destroyers were sunk, one was damaged, and the U.S. force suffered no losses. The engagement effectively closed out the surface-ship contest in the Solomons, cementing American naval dominance in those waters and further isolating Japanese positions in the region as the campaign moved toward its conclusion.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)