AllMovie

An event immortalized by the novelist James Jones in his roman The Thin Red Line, the Battle of Guadalcanal marked one of the first major land-based conflicts of the Pacific region in World War II. As such, it jump-started the entire Pacific Front of the war. Strategists regarded the South Pacific island of Guadalcanal as both a territory pivotal to the successful defense of eastern Australia, and the first step in the acquisition of a series of islands that would lead Allied troops to mainland Japan. The documentary program War File: Battlefield - Guadalcanal recounts the details of the Guadalcanal battle by profiling the military figures responsible for it and discussing such elements as the weaponry employed, the tactics and strategies used and the individual steps taken toward an ultimate victory.