The Battle off Horaniu (Japanese: 第一次ベララベラ海戦) was a minor

naval battle Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large lan ...

of the Pacific campaign of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, fought near

Vella Lavella Vella Lavella is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies to the west of New Georgia, but is considered one of the New Georgia Group. To its west are the Treasury Islands. Environment The island of Vella Lavella is loc ...

, in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

. On the night of 17–18 August 1943, four

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s intercepted an

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

convoy carrying troops to Horaniu, on the northern coast of Vella Lavella, where they were to establish a barge base to support the movement of troops through the region. The Japanese convoy was escorted by four destroyers, and both sides exchanged torpedoes and gunfire from long range. After two Japanese destroyers were slightly damaged, the escort withdrew, allowing the U.S. force to sink five small ships from the convoy. However, the majority of the troop carrying barges escaped by hiding along the Vella Lavella coast, and subsequently completed their mission on 19 August. In October, the Japanese used the base to support the mass withdrawal of troops from

Kolombangara Kolombangara (sometimes spelled ''Kulambangara'') is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the nation state of Solomon Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The name is from a local language, a rough translation of its meaning is ...

Background

In mid-1943, in the wake of the

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...

, the Allies launched their next offensive in the Solomon Islands, focused upon seizing the major Japanese airstrip at Munda on New Georgia Island. After the fall of Munda on 4–5 August, and defeat in the

Battle of Vella Gulf The was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of 6–7 August 1943 in Vella Gulf between Vella Lavella Island and Kolombangara Island in the Solomon Islands of the Southwest Pacific. This engagement was t ...

on 6–7 August, the Japanese decided to evacuate their garrisons in the central Solomons, firstly moving to Baanga Island while planning to bring forces south from

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

for a potential counterattack. On 15 August, the Allies landed on Vella Lavella, bypassing the main Japanese troop concentration on

. To maintain contact with these troops, and ensure their later withdrawal, the Japanese planned to establish a staging base at Horaniu, on the northern tip of Vella Lavella.Stille, ''The Solomons 1943–44'', pp. 62 & 66 Commanded by Rear Admiral

Matsuji Ijuin Baron was a commander in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, who was promoted posthumously to vice admiral after being killed in action in combat off Saipan. Life and military career Born in the Kōjimachi district of Tokyo, Ijui ...

, the

s , , , and left Rabaul on 17 August to rendezvous with a troop convoy from Buin, on Bougainville. This convoy included 13 barges, four motor torpedo boats, the

subchaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

s ''Cha-12'' and ''Cha-5'', and a ''Soukoutei-class'' armored boat. The troops embarked consisted of two

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

and an

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

Battle

After the Japanese force was located by Allied reconnaissance aircraft, Admiral

Theodore S. Wilkinson Theodore Stark "Ping" Wilkinson (December 22, 1888 – February 21, 1946) was a Vice-Admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. He also received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Veracruz, Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico. Early lif ...

, commander of the

Third Amphibious Force Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

, dispatched a

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of four destroyers from

Purvis Bay Purvis Bay is located in the Nggela Islands, part of the Solomon Islands. Purvis Bay is the sheltered area to the south of the island Nggela Sule (referred to as Florida Island during World War II), including and trending southeast from the neighbo ...

Florida Island The Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of Solomon Islands, a sovereign state (since 1978) in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The chain is composed of four larger islands and about ...

to intercept them. This force consisted of , , , and , under Captain Thomas J. Ryan. They departed their anchorage at 15:27 on 17 August and began a fast run up the

New Georgia Sound New Georgia Sound is the sound in the New Georgia Islands region that runs approximately southeast–northwest through the middle of the Solomon Islands archipelago in the Southern Pacific Ocean and Melanesia.Morison, ''Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier'', p. 234 Despite a full moon, visibility was limited to due to low lying clouds and intermittent rain showers. However, at about 23:30, the Japanese convoy was attacked by eight

AirSols AirSols was a combined, joint command of Allied air units in the Solomon Islands campaign of World War II, from April 1943 to June 1944. It was subordinate to the Allied but U.S.-led Commander, South Pacific Area, itself part of Pacific Ocean Area ...

Avenger Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

torpedo bombers, and forced to scatter, although no ships were damaged. Two of the escorts, ''Isokaze'' and ''Shigure'', sailing abreast, began herding the smaller craft back into formation, while ''Sazanami'' and ''Hamakaze'' continued on a northwesterly course.Dull, '' A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy'', p. 282 Ryan was advised by the Avengers the Japanese ships were still heading for Vella Lavella, although his destroyers were detected shortly afterwards by a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft, which began circling in preparation for an attack. The convoy was still reforming, when at 00:29 on 18 August, Ryan's radar detected the Japanese destroyers to the northwest, at a range of , then the Japanese barges; at 00:32, Japanese lookouts spotted the U.S. destroyers, which had closed to . The Japanese convoy was still short of its destination, and Ijuin was under orders to avoid decisive engagement. He dispatched two of his destroyers to turn to the north in an effort to lure the U.S. force away from the troop carrying vessels. To conceal his position, Ryan decided not to use his deck guns, and began maneuvering for a torpedo attack on the Japanese destroyers, rather than attacking the barges. This surprised Ijuin who had expected the opposite. Around 00:40, the Japanese aircraft dropped several flares over the U.S. ships, giving away their location, and Ryan turned back to engage the convoy to his east. Ijuin ordered his ships to begin firing torpedoes six minutes later, loosing 31 between 00:50 and 00:54 at a range of . By making a series of turns to avoid the Japanese barges, the American destroyers unintentionally avoided all 31 torpedoes, and around 00:56, the Japanese gunners opened fire. However, to avoid revealing their position, their searchlights were turned off, and no damage was inflicted on Ryan's destroyers.Stille, ''The Solomons 1943–44'', p. 67 HoraniuGunfire

After a series of turns, the U.S. destroyers opened fire with radar controlled 5-inch guns at 00:58, which damaged ''Hamakaze'', while ''Chevalier'' loosed a salvo of four torpedoes towards ''Shigure'' from a distance of . This attack was unsuccessful.Morison, ''Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier'', pp. 236–237 The Japanese ships laid down a smokescreen and began to zigzag to throw off the U.S. gunners' aim.Dull, ''A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy'', p. 283 Torpedo attacks by both ''Shigure'' and ''Isokaze'' were also unsuccessful, and was followed by an inaccurate radar report that another U.S. naval force was advancing from the south. Ijuin could not afford to lose any of his destroyers, and after an ineffective long-range exchange of torpedoes and gunfire, he ordered them to withdraw at about 01:00. Ryan's ships kept firing until the Japanese were out of range, then pursued them, moving onto a parallel course, while undertaking evasive maneuvers until 01:11 to avoid any torpedoes that might have been fired. At this time, ''Isokaze'' fired a torpedo salvo from , which failed to score a hit, but in return was damaged by an American 5-inch shell, wounding several sailors. Due to a mechanical fault on ''Chevalier'', the Americans were unable to catch the fast-moving Japanese destroyers, who were withdrawing at . Ryan turned back to locate the troop convoy, but the small craft had taken advantage of the destroyer contest to disperse; although the Americans managed to sink five, the majority subsequently escaped. Harassed by the Japanese reconnaissance aircraft, Ryan's destroyers returned to

Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 18 ...

.Morison, ''Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier'', p. 237

Aftermath

As a result of the battle, a total of five Japanese auxiliary ships were sunk. This included two subchasers, two motor torpedo boats, and one powered barge with an unknown number of personnel killed or injured. In addition, two destroyers, ''Hamakaze'' and ''Isokaze'', were slightly damaged, although this was not significant and both took part in further actions three days later. Despite these losses, the Japanese saved the majority of their barges which spent 18 August quietly lying in hiding along the northern coast of Vella Lavella and were subsequently able to land 390 troops on 19 August. These personnel established a barge base at Horaniu, while Ijuin's force returned to Rabaul believing that they had sunk one U.S. destroyer. The Japanese withdrawal in the central Solomons continued throughout August and September. After Baanga Island was evacuated on 22 August, the Japanese garrison withdrew to

Arundel Island Arundel Island is an island of the New Georgia Islands archipelago in the Western Province of Solomon Islands. Its indigenous names are ''Kohinggo'' and ''Ndokulu''. Geography Arundel Island is located between Kolombangara and New Georgia islands, ...

, and over the course of a month they fought a series of delaying actions there until late September. Meanwhile, on Vella Lavella, Horaniu fell to Allied forces on 14 September, while the base's 600 personnel were pushed into a small perimeter on the northwestern part of the island. They were withdrawn on the night of 6–7 October, along with almost 10,000 troops that were evacuated from Kolombangara to Choisel and Bougainville.Rottman, ''Japanese Army in World War II'', p. 68

Notes

References

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External links

Order of battle WW2DB: Solomons Campaign
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Horaniu Horaniu 1943 in the Solomon Islands Horaniu 1943 in Japan Horaniu