Victory Fever on Guadalcanal

In the five months after Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces moved into the Solomon Islands, intending to cut off the critical American supply line to Australia. When they began to construct an airfield on Guadalcanal in July 1942, the Americans captured the almost completed airfield for their own strategic use. The Japanese Army countered by sending a reinforced battalion under the command of Col. Kiyonao Ichiki. During the initial battle on the night of August 20-21, 1942, Marines wiped out Ichiki's men who, imbued with "victory fever," had expected a quick and easy victory.