British Solomon Islands in the context of Japanese occupation of the Solomon Islands

The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia, its mandate Territory of New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago) and the Solomon Islands' western part. This area was defined by the Allied powers' South West Pacific Area (SWPA) command.

Japanese forces fought primarily against the United States and Australian forces in the South West Pacific theatre. The Philippines, New Zealand, the Netherlands (in the Dutch East Indies), the United Kingdom, and other Allied nations also contributed forces.

6°14′40″S 155°23′02″E / 6.24444°S 155.38389°E / -6.24444; 155.38389

The North Solomon Islands form a geographical area covering the more northerly group of islands in the Solomon Islands archipelago and includes Bougainville and Buka Islands, Choiseul, Santa Isabel, the Shortland Islands and Ontong Java Atoll. In 1885 Germany declared a protectorate over these islands forming the German Solomon Islands Protectorate. With the exception of Bougainville and Buka, these were transferred to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate in 1900. Bougainville and Buka continued under German administration until the outset of World War I, when they were transferred to Australia, and after the war, were formally passed to Australian jurisdiction under a League of Nations mandate.

The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War during World War II. The campaign began with the Japanese seizure of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, during the first six months of 1942. Japanese troops subsequently began the construction of several naval and air bases in the area. Japan's initial goals were to protect the flank of their ongoing offensive in New Guinea, establish a security barrier for the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain, and construct bases from which they could interdict supply lines between the Allied powers of the United States and Australia and New Zealand.

In order to defend their communication and supply lines in the South Pacific, the Allies initiated a counteroffensive in New Guinea and counterattacked Japanese forces in the Solomons via landings on Guadalcanal (see Guadalcanal campaign) and small neighboring islands on 7 August 1942. The ultimate Allied objective was to capture, isolate, or otherwise neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul. These Allied offensives initiated a series of land, air and naval engagements with Japan, beginning with the amphibious landings on Guadalcanal. Over the course of the campaign, multiple major battles were fought in the central and northern Solomons, on and around New Georgia Island, and on Bougainville Island.