On February 7th, in a skillful night maneuver, the Imperial Navy evacuated all their forces before their enemy realized they’d left.
Both sides lost many men, planes, and especially ships – the seas around earned the name “Iron Bottom Sound.”  Resupply proved hardest for Japan – so many ships were sunk, and the Americans resupplied their forces faster. By January 1943, the starving Japanese troops faced defeat as the Americans fought their way up the island. On February 7th, in a skillful night maneuver, the Imperial Navy evacuated all their forces before their enemy realized they’d left.