Drive on Munda Point

Drive on Munda Point
Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II
U.S. Army soldiers from the 172nd Infantry Regiment cross a creek during the drive towards Munda Point in July 1943
Date 2–17 July 1943 Location New Georgia, Solomon Islands Result Limited tactical gains by Allied forces
Belligerents
United States	Japan
Commanders and leaders
William Halsey Millard Harmon Richmond K. Turner John H. Hester Theodore S. Wilkinson Leonard F. Wing Oscar Griswold J. Lawton Collins	Minoru Sasaki Genjiro Hirata
Strength
30,000	9,000
Casualties and losses
100 killed 1,700 injured or sick 1,000 evacuated for combat stress	Unknown

The Drive on Munda Point was an offensive by mainly United States Army forces against Imperial Japanese forces on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands from 2–17 July 1943. The Japanese forces, mainly from the Imperial Japanese Army, were guarding an airfield at Munda Point on New Georgia that the U.S. wished to capture.

The U.S. offensive made small gains because of limited combat experience by its soldiers, poor leadership by inexperienced US Army officers, harsh terrain and conditions on New Georgia, and effective defensive measures by the Japanese. The U.S. soldiers experienced an unusually high number of severe cases of combat stress reaction. The drive on Munda was halted on 17 July when the Japanese launched a large, ultimately unsuccessful, counterattack on the American forces. The Americans eventually secured the airfield in the Battle of Munda Point.

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