Photos show the Battle of Savo Island, a brutal US Navy defeat that stranded thousands of Marines on Guadalcanal

The Battle of Savo Island, a crushing World War II naval defeat for the Allies, ended on August 9, 1942.

After the guns fell silent, the Japanese Navy would sink four Allied heavy cruisers, kill 1,077 sailors and damage other ships.

The battle was a pivotal one, as Allied naval forces not only suffered heavy casualties, but were also forced to withdraw their transport and cargo ships that were supplying US Marines, whom had just invaded Guadalcanal two days before. 

A US Navy strategical and tactical analysis of the battle, which was published in 1950, praised the commanding Japanese admiral, Gunichi Mikawa, for the victory. 

"Vice Admiral Mikawa was an active, quick thinking, competent commander of naval forces," the analysis said. "He thought clearly, and had considerable initiative."

The defeat stranded the Marines without supplies for about three months on Guadalcanal, which they had invaded to seize an airstrip from the Japanese that could have been used to choke off supply lines between the US and Australia.

Here's how the Battle of Savo Island went down.

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Here's a map of the location of the Allied ships and the operating lines of the attacking Japanese cruiser force charged with taking out the Allied transport and cargo ships.

Shortly after midnight on August 9th, Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa, who was in command of the attacking Japanese cruiser force, slipped his column between the USS Blue and Ralph Talbot destroyers and their radars, positioning his ships for an attack on the Allies' Southern Force.

Source: US Navy

Using aerial flares and spotlights to illuminate and target the Allied ships, Mikawa ordered the opening salvo at 1:38 a.m.