Japanese Navy participation in the Battle of Cape Esperance on 11th–12th October 1942

The goal of this article is to present the events of the night of 11–12 October 1942, when the Imperial Japanese Navy and the US Navy battleships clashed near the island of Guadalcanal. The battle, which took place in the waters around Solomon Islands, was inseparably linked with the fierce Guadalcanal Campaign fought in 1942–1943. The first part of the article describes the units involved on each side of the conflict as well as the sides’ theoretical strategic goals in the region. The second part discusses the course of the battle in which the Americans, during the night artillery combat, demonstrated their advantage for the first time. The third part of the text presents the outcome, indicates the mistakes made and enumerates the losses sustained by each side, including those to the vessels and the crews.