Battle with Horrano – Wikipedia

The battle of Horanium The night between 17 and 18 August 1943 took place, in the waters north of the island of Vella Lavella, between a formation of four Japanese destroyers, conducted by the contract with Matsuji Ijūin to cover a flotable of barrels of reinforcements for the garrison of the Island, and a group of four other US destroyers, alerted by the aerial reconnaissance and mobilized to prevent the Japanese mission. The battle was resolved in an inconclusive exchange of shots, which remained almost without consequences, and with the success of the refueling operation.

Conquered after months of ferocious terrestrial and naval battles, the island of Guadalcanal, the United States of America had spent months from February 1943 onwards reorganizing their forces in the checkerboard of the south-western Pacific and tarturing the Japanese airports with air and naval raids with air and naval raids In New Georgia, on Kolombangara and Vella Lavella. ^[first] On June 30, 1943, the deputy amateur William Halsey gave started to the reconquest campaign of the Solomons, using the new technique called “Cavallina jump”, aimed at isolating too strong nipponical positions or of irrelevant strategic value to hit and occupy the really important or poorly important positions defenses. The island of Vella Lavella was manned by a negligible garrison, since the headquarters of the fleet of the south-eastern area held by the deputy amateur Jin’ichi Kusaka had concentrated great forces on Kolombangara, closer to the front line and considered certain objective of the Next US offensive. Instead, on the morning of August 15, about 6 000 soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division landed in Vella Lavella, throwing the Japanese commands into confusion: therefore an urgent refueling mission was required, despite the great dangers of interception by the light naval forces US. ^[2]

Deputy amateur Kusaka therefore gave provisions to help Vella Lavella; The 8th fleet of the deputy amateur Tomoshige Samejima detached the flagship ship from the 3rd destroyer squadron Sazanami and three other units ( Shigure , Hamakaze , Scatter ) under the orders of the commander, the recipient Matsuji Ijūin. This team sailed from Rabaul at 05:00 on August 17th and headed for Bougainville, from where a small convoy of twenty motorized barges would start with 400 men on board. During navigation, however, the Japanese units were identified by an American reconnaissance and at 13:30 Ijūin received a message that warned him of the presence of three American destroyers in the Gizo Strait, south of Vella Lavella: he increased the speed to reach the bargers , starting from Buin at 12:27. ^{[3] [4]}

At sunset the Japanese forces were gathered and were falling from North-West on Vella Lavella, hoping to escape the opponent; From 23:00, however, two aerosiluents Gumman Tbf Avenger restored the contact and, then, eight nursing bombers attacked the Japanese units, without however achieving any results. The journey continued undisturbed and before the Gulf of Vella the recipient Ijūin approached 180 ° to the west, but at 00:30 he ordered to take on a north-west route, moving away from the barge: in fact, US ships had been detected at 15 000 meters. Suddenly, at 00:40, a Japanese plane released an illuminating rocket that revealed the presence of the four American destroyers of Uss Chevalier , USS Taylor , USS Nicholas Euss O’Bannon In approach to the west and in dangerous approach to the group of bargers. ^[5] Despite the great distance, Ijūin ordered a launch of torpedoes at 00:52: nobody affected the US ships of the twenty-three bombs, who in any case put the bow to the north-west to escape them. At 00:57 Lo Hamakaze , immediately followed by the admiral Sazanami , he began to shoot against the opposing units who, after an appropriate to the west in line in a row, had resumed the previous route; Even the US destroyers began to cannon the Japanese and at 00:59 they framed the Shigure , however, without hitting him, then at 01:00 precise they directed to the north. In that, it Hamakaze He identified with the radar apparatus with which a second enemy team was equipped, reporting the discovery to Ijūin, who ordered the retreat to the north-west; Japanese and Americans still exchanged some borders but no blow scored and the damage recorded by the two formations were small. ^[6]

During the battle, the convoy of Chiattte had maintained a south-east route to reach the coast as soon as possible; He was reached by some grenades and lost two boats, ^[7] But the bulk of the boats landed at the dusk of August 19 in the Bay of Kokolope near Horanu, on the northern coast of Vella Lavella. ^{[4] [8]} The battle therefore ended with the Japanese strategic victory, because the purpose of the mission was achieved with very contained losses; It is true that both formations gave proof of little bite and the Japanese above all did not unlike the surprise, even fleeing only the announcement of a second US formation. ^{[7] [8]}