to interdict barge traffic. Vella Lavella, Oct. 1943 On the night of 2 October, she, Terry (DD-513), and Ralph Talbot (DD-390) engaged enemy barges and a surface force in the waters between Choiseul and Kolombangara. Four nights later came the big action of the Vella Lavella and Kolombangara evacuations, the Battle of Vella Lavella. While south of New Georgia escorting a convoy, Taylor, Ralph Talbot, and La Valette (DD-448) were ordered to join O'Bannon, Chevalier, and Selfridge already embroiled in a slugfest with nine Japanese destroyers covering the Vella Lavella evacuation group. During the ensuing battle, the American and Japanese forces traded torpedo salvoes and gunfire, as well as exchanged destroyer Chevalier for . During the battle, Selfridge also received a torpedo hit and O'Bannon ran into Chevaliers stern, but neither was lost. Taylor went alongside Selfridge in the closing moments of the battle and evacuated most of her crew while a skeleton crew began their successful attempt to save the damaged destroyer. She then screened the two cripples while they limped back down the "Slot" to Purvis Bay. On 17 October, Taylor departed the southern Solomons with the other members of DesDiv 41. She and her consorts escorted a convoy of troop transports to Efate, where they reported for duty with TF 37. Between 23 and 26 October, she made a round-trip voyage between Efate and Nouméa, escorting Lassen (AE-3) to Nouméa and Aldebaran (AF-10) to Efate. Nov. – Dec. 1943 Taylor and her division were reassigned to the Central Pacific Force on 31 October in preparation for the first step in the Navy's central Pacific thrust, the seizure and occupation of the Gilbert Islands. For that operation, she was assigned to the screen of TG 50.1, built around carriers , and . She screened TG 50.1 during the raids on Jaluit and Mili in the Marshalls conducted during the first half of November in preparation for the Gilberts assault. During the actual landings and occupations, she protected her charges from enemy aircraft and submarines while their planes took off to help those of the escort carriers maintain air supremacy over the islands. Following the Gilberts operation, she steamed with the carriers during raids on the Marshall Islands. Near the end of those forays, she teamed up with La Vallette and to splash two of four enemy Nakajima B5N "Kates" which attacked the task group just after noon on