At the end of June admiral Halsey with the light ships of the 3rd fleet, the 3rd amphibian fleet transporting the 1st Marine CA (under the orders of Vandegrift) and around 350 planes of the Airsol (Solomon aerial squadrons) leaves Guadalcanal. June 30th, 6000 men land on Rendova Island (South of New-Georgia) from where an attack on Munda in New-Georgia is launch. With its artillery Halsey bomb Seggi Point to cover the assault on Munda. To take over Munda admiral Turner has to use 32 000 Americans, 1700 Marines and 3 weeks to finally neutralize the 4500 Japaneses of the island that had retreated in the jungle. The japanese survivors take refuge in the Kolombagara island.
August 15th the 3rd Amphibian Force lands with its 6000 men on the Vella Lavella island (between the Kolombagara island and Bougainville) helped with cover of the Airsol installed at Munda since July 15th.
Admiral Kusaka who is stationed at Rabaul tries to reenforce by night the 17th japanese army of general Yakutake at New-Georgia and at Kolombagara with naval transports: the Tokyo Express. Halsey wants to intercept those transports. July 6th Halsey spots two transports and sinks them in the Koula gulf but he loses the light cruiser Helena. In the night of 12 to 13, counter-admiral Ainsworth destroy the cruiser Jintsu but its group receive a torpedo salvo that damages the cruisers Honululu and Saint-Louis while also sinking the destroyer Leander of the Australian Navy. August 6th frigate captain Moosbrugger spots japanese ships in the Vella gulf and sinks with torpedos three destroyers filled with troops and supplies. Only the Shigure escapes while the Arashi, Hagikaze and Kawakaze sinks with their 1200 men. The same story happens during the night of 17th to 18th when 5 japanese ships are sunk near Vella Lavella.
The 33 000 Japaneses of general Kusaka retreat from Kolombagara and take refuge in Bougainville, Buin and Kahili. But these reenforcements will prove to be useless since Halsey make a Hopping move and on November 1st with the help of the 39th Task Force and of the planes from the Saratoga and Princeton carriers; he lands its 1st Amphibian Corps behind the enemy (which is principally at Buin and at Buka) in the Empress-Augusta Bay (on the West coast) where he encounters only a small force of 300 soldiers. He lands also October 27th with a New-Zeland group on the islands of Tresure (between Vella Lavella and Bougainville). The counter-admiral Omori who came from Truk to reenforce the region launch a counter-attack with 2 heavy cruisers and 2 light ones on the Empress-Augusta Bay position. In the night naval fight that occurs November 2nd, four japanese ships collide and then with their radar the Americans sink the cruiser Sendaļ while another japanese destroyer sink from its damage.
Alarmed by the events admiral Koga send to Rabaul vice-admiral Takeo Kurita at the head of a cruiser group and 173 planes. But the Americans spots the move and November 5th the counter-admiral Sherman at the head of a fleet send 22 diving-bombers Dauntless, 23 torpedo-bombers Avenger and 42 of the new fighters Hellcat. The air group damages the Atago, Maya, Takao, the heavy cruisers Mogami and Chikuma, the light cruisers Agano and Noshiro and the destroyers Fujinami and Amagiri. The japanese commander launch a hundred airplanes after the american air group and at their return they report 2 carriers, 2 cruisers and one destroyer destroyed. But in truth they only shot down 10 american airplanes
At Bougainville the american Seabees (engineering and logistic) built 2 runways that bring the fighters and bombers at only 355km of Rabaul.
Going to Bougainville cost the Americans one cruiser and 7 destroyers while it cost the Japaneses 2 cruisers and 16 other ships. With New-Guinea taken by MacArthur, by the end of December the Americans positioned around Rabaul and its port is under the bombs continually from the Airsols and 5th Air Force planes. So Rabaul with its 90 000 soldiers is isolated and thus useless.
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