Battle off Horaniu [SEP] start time
Battle off Horaniu
The Battle off Horaniu (Japanese: 第一次ベララベラ海戦) was a minor naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of 17 August 1943 near the island of Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands.
Background.
After the fall of Munda and their defeat in the Battle of Vella Gulf, the Japanese had decided to evacuate their garrisons in the central Solomons. An evacuation convoy escorted by four destroyers (, , , and ) commanded by Rear Admiral Matsuji Ijuin set out from its
by the in 1941. At the end of December 1942, he was given command of the "Kongō".
Ijuin saw no direct combat during the early months of World War II. However, on his promotion to rear admiral on 1 November 1943, he commanded DESRON-3, based at Rabaul, New Britain during the Solomon Islands campaign. He was the main Japanese commander at the minor Battle off Horaniu and larger Naval Battle of Vella Lavella, during which time he successfully evacuated the 600 man Japanese garrison from the island