His force depleted, the Marine commander on Gavutu radioed for reinforcements before attempting to assault Tanambogo. Then working from the top, the Marines cleared the Japanese fighting positions on the hill with explosive charges, grenades and hand-to-hand combat. After about two hours of heavy fighting, Marines reached and climbed the coral mound.

At 12:00 on 7 August, Gavutu was assaulted by the US Marine 1 st Parachute Battalion consisting of 397 men. Gavutu and Tanambogo are mounds of coral, both about 40 m high, connected to each other by a 500 m long causeway. Their commander signalled their commander at Rabaul that they were under attack, were destroying their equipment and papers, and signed off with the message, 'Enemy troop strength is overwhelming, we will defend to the last man.' The, commander of the SNLF unit, ordered his troops into pre-prepared defensive positions on Tulagi and Gavutu. On 7 August, the Japanese forces on Tulagi and Gavutu, consisted of a detachment of the 3rd Kure Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF) plus members of the Yokohama Air Group.

The objectives there were a seaplane base established by the Japanese on the islands of Gavutu and Tanambogo using port facilities developed by ICI as part of a chemical processing plant and the administration centre on Tulagi where the Japanese had taken over the British capital of their Solomon Islands Protectorate. The nearby islands, part of the Florida Islands chain are about 35 kilometres distant and clearly visible from Guadalcanal. The objective on the main island of Guadalcanal was an airfield under construction near Laguna point. The 1 st Marine Division landed on Guadalcanal and the nearby islands of Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo on 7 August 1942. The lesson was costly but when applied the Stuart (only one made it to the point of battle) was the bunker buster essential to victory in the last major incident of the campaign. Guadalcanal was possibly the first deployment of allied tanks in the jungle (the Japanese had effectively used light and medium tanks in Malaya), in the course of the action in the Solomon Islands the Marines learned the need to protect tanks (particularly light ones) in close country. The ground, and in particular the tank battle was fought by US Marines. The battle for Guadalcanal though on Australia's doorstep and an integral part of the Battle for Australia, had limited Australian involvement.

Usa vs japan tank battle ww2