Battle of Enogai

Battle of Enogai
Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II
A dead Japanese heavy machine-gun crew after the battle on 11 July 1943
Date 10–11 July 1943 Location New Georgia, Solomon Islands Result U.S. victory
Belligerents
United States	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Harry B. Liversedge	Minoru Sasaki Saburo Okumura
Strength
1 Marine battalion, 2 infantry battalions (overall) 4 Marine companies (final assault)	~ 400
Casualties and losses
47 – 51 killed[1][2]	150 – 350 killed[1][2]

The Battle of Enogai was a battle between United States and Imperial Japanese Army and Navy forces on 10–11 July 1943. It took place in the early phase of the New Georgia campaign in the Solomon Islands during the Pacific War. Prior to the battle, US troops had landed at Rice Anchorage, in the Kula Gulf, on the northern coast of New Georgia, tasked with supporting efforts further south to advance on the airfield at Munda.

After the landing, three battalions of United States Marines and United States Army soldiers had begun advancing inland to secure Bairoko Harbor. They marched through dense jungle towards an inlet around the small port of Enogai. A series of minor engagements took place before the main assault. A battalion of Marines attacked a force of around 400 Japanese, forcing the defending troops to withdraw after a firefight that lasted into the early afternoon. Mopping up operations continued into the following day, after which Enogai was used as a base prior to the attack on Bairoko later in the month.