CASUALTY RECORD // November 25, 1943
Battle of Cape St. George
Estimated casualties — killed, wounded, captured, and missing — by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Casualties by side
1 sides catalogued · combined 647 estimated
Empire du Japon
647
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
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.
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