Japan had had seven large carriers—six at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack and one new construction. Four were sunk at Midway. This did not win the war, but evened the odds between Japanese and American fleet carriers. Following the battle, Fletcher was promoted to vice admiral and continued to command a carrier group at sea, after shifting his flag to . Landing at Guadalcanal: August 7–9, 1942 As the United States took the offensive in August 1942, Vice Admiral Fletcher commanded Task Force 61 during the invasion of Tulagi and Guadalcanal by the 1st Marine Division. Carrier close air support was provided at Tulagi. The invasion of Guadalcanal was uncontested on the beach. Fletcher requested permission from Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, the overall commander, to withdraw his carriers from dangerous waters when they were no longer needed, claiming that his aircraft losses and fuel state due to maneuvering required him to leave. Fletcher thought that the few U.S. carriers should not be risked against multi-engine, land-based, torpedo bombers, when they were needed for combat against carriers. Fletcher chose to withdraw on the evening of August 8, to prepare for the inevitable Japanese counterattack. The battle of Savo Island occurred in early morning of August 9, 1942. Allied warships screening the transports were surprised at midnight and defeated in 32 minutes by a Japanese force of seven cruisers and one destroyer, commanded by Japanese Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa. One Australian and three U.S. heavy cruisers were sunk, and one other U.S. cruiser and two destroyers were damaged in this lopsided Japanese victory. As Crutchley notes, the transports were not touched. Fletcher is sometimes criticized because his carriers were at the far end of their nightly withdrawal, steaming back for the morning, yet too far away to seek revenge. Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner's offloading of supplies did not go as well as expected because of Japanese air raids. He had to withdraw the transports on the evening of August 9, after Fletcher left and most of his cruisers were sunk, over the strenuous objections of the ground commander, Marine General Alexander Vandegrift. The Marines refer to this as the "Navy Bugout", because the reserve Marine regiment and the division's heavy artillery, much of its ammunition and also most of its medical supplies and rations had yet to be unloaded. The Navy's withdrawal left the Marines ashore initially completely unprotected