As the Japanese forces occupied Tulagi in the Solomon Islands in May of 1942 and expanded their Empire’s defensive perimeter, they turned their attention to a much more ambitious target: Australia.

The Allies were then forced to intervene before letting the enemy destroy any of their precious bases in the Southern Hemisphere, leading to the first naval confrontation between the two most notorious participants in the Pacific War.

Soon, the American warships were steaming toward the disputed waters to halt a Japanese invasion, and they unknowingly set the stage for an improvised encounter that would become the world’s first carrier battle in history…