Matanikau Offensive
Encyclopedia
The Matanikau Offensive, from November 1–4, 1942, sometimes referred to as the Fourth Battle of the Matanikau, was an engagement between United States (U.S.) Marine
and Army
and Imperial Japanese
Army
forces around the Matanikau River
and Point Cruz area on Guadalcanal
during the Guadalcanal campaign
of World War II
. The action was one of the last of a series of engagements between U.S. and Japanese forces near the Matanikau River during the campaign.
In the engagement, seven battalions of U.S. Marine and Army troops under the overall command of Alexander Vandegrift
and tactical command of Merritt A. Edson
, following up on the U.S. victory in the Battle for Henderson Field
, crossed the Matanikau River and attacked Japanese Army units between the river and Point Cruz, on the northern Guadalcanal coast. The area was defended by the Japanese Army's 4th Infantry Regiment under Nomasu Nakaguma
along with various other support troops, under the overall command of Harukichi Hyakutake. After inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese defenders, U.S. forces halted the offensive and temporarily withdrew because of a perceived threat from Japanese forces elsewhere in the Guadalcanal area.
, and Florida Islands
in the Solomon Islands
. The landings on the islands were meant to deny their use by the Japanese as bases
for threatening the supply
routes between the U.S. and Australia, and to secure the islands as starting points for a campaign
with the eventual goal of isolating the major Japanese base at Rabaul
while also supporting the Allied New Guinea campaign
. The landings initiated the six-month-long Guadalcanal campaign
.
Taking the Japanese by surprise, by nightfall on August 8, the 11,000 Allied troops, under the command of Lieutenant General
Alexander Vandegrift and mainly consisting of United States Marine Corps units, had secured Tulagi
and nearby small islands, as well as an airfield under construction at Lunga Point
on Guadalcanal. The airfield was later named Henderson Field by Allied forces. The Allied aircraft that subsequently operated out of the airfield became known as the "Cactus Air Force
" (CAF) after the Allied codename for Guadalcanal. To protect the airfield, the U.S. Marines established a perimeter defense around Lunga Point.
In response to the Allied landings on Guadalcanal, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters
assigned the Imperial Japanese Army's 17th Army, a corps
-sized command based at Rabaul and under the command of Lieutenant-General Harukichi Hyakutake, with the task of retaking Guadalcanal from Allied forces. Beginning August 19, various units of the 17th Army began to arrive on Guadalcanal with the goal of driving Allied forces from the island.
Because of the threat by CAF aircraft based at Henderson Field, the Japanese were unable to use large, slow transport ships to deliver troops and supplies to the island. Instead, the Japanese used warships based at Rabaul and the Shortland Islands
to carry their forces to Guadalcanal. The Japanese warships, mainly light cruiser
s or destroyer
s from the Eighth Fleet
under the command of Vice Admiral
Gunichi Mikawa
, were usually able to make the round trip down "The Slot" to Guadalcanal and back in a single night, thereby minimizing their exposure to CAF air attack. Delivering the troops in this manner, however, prevented most of the soldiers' heavy equipment and supplies, such as heavy artillery, vehicles, and much food and ammunition, from being carried to Guadalcanal with them. These high speed warship runs to Guadalcanal occurred throughout the campaign and were later called the "Tokyo Express
" by Allied forces and "Rat Transportation" by the Japanese.
The first Japanese attempt to recapture Henderson Field failed when a 917-man force was defeated on August 21 in the Battle of the Tenaru
. The next attempt took place from September 12 through September 14, with the 6,000 soldiers
under the command of Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi
being defeated in the Battle of Edson's Ridge
. After their defeat at Edson's Ridge, Kawaguchi and the surviving Japanese troops regrouped west of the Matanikau River
on Guadalcanal.
As the Japanese regrouped, the U.S. forces concentrated on shoring up and strengthening their Lunga defenses. On September 18, an Allied naval convoy delivered 4,157 men from the U.S. 7th Marine Regiment
to Guadalcanal. These reinforcements allowed Vandegrift, beginning on September 19, to establish an unbroken line of defense completely around the Lunga perimeter.
General Vandegrift and his staff were aware that Kawaguchi's troops had retreated to the area west of the Matanikau and that numerous groups of Japanese stragglers were scattered throughout the area between the Lunga Perimeter and the Matanikau River. Vandegrift, therefore, decided to conduct a series of small unit operations
around the Matanikau Valley.
The first U.S. Marine operation against Japanese forces west of the Matanikau, conducted between September 23 and September 27, 1942 by elements of three U.S. Marine battalion
s, was repulsed by Kawaguchi's troops under Colonel Akinosuke Oka
's local command. In the second action, between October 6 and October 9, a larger force of U.S. Marines successfully crossed the Matanikau River, attacked newly landed Japanese forces from the 2nd (Sendai) Infantry Division
under the command of generals Masao Maruyama and Yumio Nasu
and inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese 4th Infantry Regiment
. The second action forced the Japanese to retreat from their positions east of the Matanikau.
In the meantime, Major General Millard F. Harmon
, commander of United States Army forces in the South Pacific, convinced Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley
, commander of Allied forces in the South Pacific Area, that U.S. Marine forces on Guadalcanal needed to be reinforced immediately if the Allies were to successfully defend the island from the anticipated Japanese offensive. Thus on October 13, a naval convoy delivered the 2,837-strong 164th U.S. Infantry Regiment
, a North Dakota
Army National Guard
formation from the U.S. Army's Americal Division
, to Guadalcanal.
), under Lieutenant General Masao Maruyama and comprising 7,000 soldiers in three infantry regiments of three battalions each was ordered to march through the jungle and attack the American defences from the south near the east bank of the Lunga River. To distract the Americans from the planned attack from the south, Hyakutake's heavy artillery plus five battalions of infantry (about 2,900 men) from the 4th and 124th Infantry Regiments under the overall command of Major General Tadashi Sumiyoshi
were to attack the American defenses from the west along the coastal corridor.
Sumiyoshi's forces, including two battalions of the 4th Infantry Regiment under Colonel Nomasu Nakaguma
, launched attacks on the U.S. Marine defenses at the mouth of the Matanikau on the evening of October 23. U.S. Marine artillery, cannon, and small arms fire repulsed the assaults and killed many of the attacking Japanese soldiers while suffering only light casualties to themselves.
Beginning on October 24 and continuing over two consecutive nights, Maruyama's forces conducted numerous, unsuccessful frontal assaults on the southern portion of the U.S. Lunga perimeter. More than 1,500 of Maruyama's troops were killed in the attacks while the Americans lost about 60 killed.
Further Japanese attacks near the Matanikau on October 26 by Oka's 124th Infantry Regiment were also repulsed with heavy losses for the Japanese. Thus, at 08:00 on October 26, Hyakutake called off any further attacks and ordered his forces to retreat. About half of Maruyama's survivors were ordered to retreat back to the area west of the Matanikau River while the rest, the 230th Infantry Regiment under Colonel Toshinari Shoji, was told to head for Koli Point, east of the Lunga perimeter. The 4th Infantry Regiment retreated back to positions west of the Matanikau and around the Point Cruz area while the 124th Infantry Regiment took up positions on the slopes of Mount Austen in the upper Matanikau Valley.
In order to exploit the recent victory Vandegrift planned another offensive west of the Matanikau which would have two objectives: to drive the Japanese beyond artillery range of Henderson Field and to cut off the retreat of Maruyama's men towards the village of Kokumbona, location of the 17th Army's headquarters. For the offensive, Vandegrift committed the three battalions of the 5th Marine Regiment, commanded by Colonel Merritt Edson, plus the augmented 3d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment
(called the Whaling Group) commanded by Colonel William Whaling. Two battalions of the 2nd Marine Regiment would be in reserve. The offensive was supported by artillery from the 11th Marine Regiment and the 164th Infantry Regiment, CAF aircraft, and gunfire from U.S. Navy
warships. Edson was placed in tactical command of the operation.
Defending the Matanikau area for the Japanese were the 4th and 124th Infantry Regiments. Nakaguma's 4th Infantry defended the Matanikau from the shore to about 1000 yards (914 m) inland while Oka's 124th Infantry extended the line further inland along the river. Both regiments, which on paper consisted of six battalions, were severely understrength because of battle damage, tropical disease, and malnutrition. In fact, Oka described his command as at only "half strength."
artillery batteries (about 36 guns) and U.S. warships San Francisco
, Helena
, and Sterrett
opened fire on the west bank of the Matanikau, and U.S. aircraft, including 19 B-17 bombers, dropped bombs in the same area. At the same time, the 1st Battalion
(1/5) of the 5th Marine Regiment crossed the Matanikau at its mouth while the 2nd Battalion
, 5th Marines (2/5) and the Whaling Group crossed the river further inland. Facing the Marines was the Japanese 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry under Major Masao Tamura.
The 2/5 and the Whaling Group encountered very little resistance and reached and occupied several ridges south of Point Cruz by early afternoon. Along the coast near Point Cruz, however, the 7th Company from Tamura's battalion fiercely resisted the U.S. advance. In several hours of fighting, Company C, 1/5 suffered heavy casualties, including the loss of three officers, and was driven back towards the Matanikau by Tamura's troops. Assisted by another company from 1/5 and later by two companies from the 3rd Battalion
, 5th Marines (3/5), plus determined resistance by Marine Corporal Anthony Casamento
, among others, the Americans were successful in stopping the retreat.
Reviewing the situation at the end of the day, Edson, along with Colonel Gerald Thomas
and Lieutenant Colonel
Merrill Twining
from Vandegrift's staff, decided to try to encircle the Japanese defenders around Point Cruz. They ordered 1/5 and 3/5 to continue to press the Japanese along the coast the next day while 2/5 wheeled north to envelop their adversaries west and south of Point Cruz. Tamura's battalion had taken heavy losses in the day's fighting, with Tamura's 7th and 5th Companies being left with only 10 and 15 uninjured soldiers respectively.
Fearing that the U.S. troops were on the verge of breaking through their defenses, Hyakutake's 17th Army headquarters hurriedly sent whatever troops could be found on-hand to bolster the 4th Infantry's defensive efforts. The troops included the 2d Anti-Tank Gun Battalion with 12 guns and the 39th Field Road Construction Unit. These two units took position in pre-prepared fighting emplacements around the south and west of Point Cruz.
On the morning of November 2, with the Whaling Group covering their flank, the men of 2/5 marched north and reached the coast west of Point Cruz, completing the encirclement of the Japanese defenders. The Japanese defenses were centered in a draw between a coastal trail and a beach just west of Point Cruz and included coral, earth, and log bunkers as well as caves and foxholes. U.S. artillery bombarded the Japanese positions throughout the day on November 2, causing an unknown number of casualties to the Japanese defenders.
Later in the day, Company I of 2/5 conducted a frontal assault with fixed bayonets on the northern portion of the Japanese defenses, overrunning and killing the Japanese defenders. At the same time, two battalions from 2nd Marine Regiment, now committed to the offensive, advanced past the Point Cruz area.
At 06:30 on November 3, some Japanese troops attempted to break out of the pocket but were beaten back by the Marines. Between 08:00 and noon, five Marine companies from 2/5 and 3/5, using small arms, mortars, demolition charges, and direct and indirect artillery fire, completed the destruction of the Japanese pocket near Point Cruz. Marine participant Richard A. Nash described the battle: The Marines captured 12 37mm anti-tank guns, one 70 mm field artillery piece, and 34 machineguns and counted the dead bodies of 239 Japanese soldiers, including 28 officers.
At the same time, the 2nd Marines with the Whaling Group continued to push along the coast, reaching a point 3500 yards (3,200 m) west of Point Cruz by nightfall. The only Japanese troops left in the area to oppose the Marines' advance were the remaining 500 soldiers of the 4th Infantry augmented by a few frail survivors from units involved in the earlier Tenaru and Edson's Ridge battles plus malnourished naval troops from the original Guadalcanal garrison. The Japanese feared that they would be unable to prevent the Americans from taking the village of Kokumbona, which would cut-off the retreat of the 2nd Infantry Division and seriously threaten the rear-area support and headquarters units of Japanese forces on Guadalcanal. Nakaguma, in despair, discussed taking the regimental colors and seeking death in a final charge at the U.S. forces, but was dissuaded from doing so by other officers on the 17th Army's staff.
A significant event now occurred which granted the Japanese forces a reprieve. Early on November 3, Marine units near Koli Point, east of the Lunga Perimeter, engaged 300 fresh Japanese troops that had just been landed by a Tokyo Express mission of five destroyers. This, plus the knowledge that a large body of Japanese troops was in the process of relocating to Koli Point after the defeat in the Henderson Field battle, led the Americans to believe that the Japanese were about to conduct a major attack on the Lunga Perimeter from the Koli Point area.
To discuss these developments, the Marine leaders on Guadalcanal met on the morning of November 4. Twining recommended that the Matanikau offensive continue. Edson, Thomas, and Vandegrift, however, urged the abandonment of the offensive and a shift of forces to counter the Koli Point threat. Thus, that same day the 5th Marines and the Whaling group were recalled to Lunga Point. The 2nd Marine's 1st
and 2nd
Battalions, plus the 1st Battalion, 164th Infantry took up positions about 2000 yards (1,829 m) west of Point Cruz with plans to hold in that location. With their route of retreat still open, the Sendai (2nd) Division survivors began to reach Kokumbona this same day. Around this time, Nakaguma was killed by an artillery shell.
After chasing away
the Japanese forces at Koli Point, the U.S. renewed the western offensive towards Kokumbona on November 10 with three battalions under the overall command of U.S. Marine Colonel John Arthur. In the meantime, fresh Japanese troops from the 228th Infantry Regiment of the 38th Infantry Division landed by Tokyo Express over several nights beginning on November 5 and effectively resisted the American attack. After making small advances, at 13:45 on November 11 Vandegrift suddenly ordered all the American forces to return to the east bank of the Matanikau.
Vandegrift ordered the withdrawal because of the receipt of intelligence from coastwatchers
, aerial reconnaissance, and radio intercepts that a major Japanese reinforcement effort was imminent. Indeed, the Japanese were in the process of attempting to deliver the 10,000 remaining troops from the 38th Division to Guadalcanal in order to reattempt to capture Henderson Field. The resulting efforts by the Americans to stop this reinforcement attempt resulted in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
, the decisive naval battle of the Guadalcanal campaign, in which the Japanese reinforcement effort was turned back.
The Americans recrossed the Matanikau and attacked westward again beginning on November 18, but made slow progress against determined resistance from Japanese forces. The U.S. attack was halted on November 23 at a line just west of Point Cruz. The Americans and Japanese would remain facing each other in these positions for the next six weeks, until the ending stages of the campaign when U.S. forces began their final, successful push to drive Japanese forces from the island. Although the Americans had come close to overrunning the Japanese rear areas in the early November offensive, it would not be until the final stages of the campaign that the U.S. finally captured Kokumbona.
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and Imperial Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
forces around the Matanikau River
Matanikau River
The Matanikau River of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, is located in the northwest part of the island. During the World War II Guadalcanal campaign, several significant engagements occurred between United States and Japanese forces near the river.-References:...
and Point Cruz area on Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
during the Guadalcanal campaign
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The action was one of the last of a series of engagements between U.S. and Japanese forces near the Matanikau River during the campaign.
In the engagement, seven battalions of U.S. Marine and Army troops under the overall command of Alexander Vandegrift
Alexander Vandegrift
Alexander Archer Vandegrift, KBE, CB was a General in the United States Marine Corps. He commanded the 1st Marine Division to victory in its first ground offensive of World War II — Battle of Guadalcanal. For his actions during the Solomon Islands campaign, he received the Medal of Honor...
and tactical command of Merritt A. Edson
Merritt A. Edson
Major General Merritt Austin Edson , known as "Red Mike", was a general in the United States Marine Corps. Among the decorations he received was the Medal of Honor, two Navy Crosses, the Silver Star, and two Legions of Merit...
, following up on the U.S. victory in the Battle for Henderson Field
Battle for Henderson Field
The Battle for Henderson Field, also known as the Battle of Henderson Field or Battle of Lunga Point by the Japanese, took place from 23-26 October 1942 on and around Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands...
, crossed the Matanikau River and attacked Japanese Army units between the river and Point Cruz, on the northern Guadalcanal coast. The area was defended by the Japanese Army's 4th Infantry Regiment under Nomasu Nakaguma
Nomasu Nakaguma
-Notes:...
along with various other support troops, under the overall command of Harukichi Hyakutake. After inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese defenders, U.S. forces halted the offensive and temporarily withdrew because of a perceived threat from Japanese forces elsewhere in the Guadalcanal area.
Guadalcanal Campaign
On August 7, 1942, Allied forces (primarily U.S.) landed on Guadalcanal, TulagiTulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
, and Florida Islands
Florida Islands
The Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of the Solomon Islands, a state in the southwest Pacific Ocean....
in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. The landings on the islands were meant to deny their use by the Japanese as bases
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
for threatening the supply
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
routes between the U.S. and Australia, and to secure the islands as starting points for a campaign
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
with the eventual goal of isolating the major Japanese base at Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
while also supporting the Allied New Guinea campaign
New Guinea campaign
The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II.Before the war, the island of New Guinea was split between:...
. The landings initiated the six-month-long Guadalcanal campaign
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
.
Taking the Japanese by surprise, by nightfall on August 8, the 11,000 Allied troops, under the command of Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Alexander Vandegrift and mainly consisting of United States Marine Corps units, had secured Tulagi
Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo
The Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, between the forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied ground forces. It took place from 7–9 August 1942 on the Solomon Islands, during the initial Allied landings in the Guadalcanal...
and nearby small islands, as well as an airfield under construction at Lunga Point
Lunga Point
Lunga Point is a promontory on the northern coast of Guadalcanal, the site of a naval battle during World War II. It was also the name of a nearby airfield, later named Henderson Field....
on Guadalcanal. The airfield was later named Henderson Field by Allied forces. The Allied aircraft that subsequently operated out of the airfield became known as the "Cactus Air Force
Cactus Air Force
Cactus Air Force refers to the ensemble of Allied air power assigned to the island of Guadalcanal from August 1942 until December 1942 during the early stages of the Guadalcanal Campaign, particularly those operating from Henderson Field...
" (CAF) after the Allied codename for Guadalcanal. To protect the airfield, the U.S. Marines established a perimeter defense around Lunga Point.
In response to the Allied landings on Guadalcanal, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters
Imperial General Headquarters
The as part of the Supreme War Council was established in 1893 to coordinate efforts between the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during wartime...
assigned the Imperial Japanese Army's 17th Army, a corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
-sized command based at Rabaul and under the command of Lieutenant-General Harukichi Hyakutake, with the task of retaking Guadalcanal from Allied forces. Beginning August 19, various units of the 17th Army began to arrive on Guadalcanal with the goal of driving Allied forces from the island.
Shortland Islands
The Shortland Islands are group of islands belonging to the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, at . Named by John Shortland, they lie in the extreme northwest of the country's territory, close to the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. The largest island is Shortland Island...
to carry their forces to Guadalcanal. The Japanese warships, mainly light cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s or destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s from the Eighth Fleet
IJN 8th Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II.-History:Established on 14 July 1942, the IJN 8th Fleet was a headquarters unit established to direct Japanese naval operations in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea...
under the command of Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Gunichi Mikawa
Gunichi Mikawa
was a Vice-Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.Mikawa was the commander of a heavy cruiser force that carried out spectacular I.J.N. victory over the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy at the Battle of Savo Island in Ironbottom Sound on the night of August 1942. In...
, were usually able to make the round trip down "The Slot" to Guadalcanal and back in a single night, thereby minimizing their exposure to CAF air attack. Delivering the troops in this manner, however, prevented most of the soldiers' heavy equipment and supplies, such as heavy artillery, vehicles, and much food and ammunition, from being carried to Guadalcanal with them. These high speed warship runs to Guadalcanal occurred throughout the campaign and were later called the "Tokyo Express
Tokyo Express
The Tokyo Express was the name given by Allied forces to the use of Imperial Japanese Navy ships at night to deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment to Japanese forces operating in and around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during the Pacific campaign of World War II...
" by Allied forces and "Rat Transportation" by the Japanese.
The first Japanese attempt to recapture Henderson Field failed when a 917-man force was defeated on August 21 in the Battle of the Tenaru
Battle of the Tenaru
The Battle of the Tenaru, sometimes called the Battle of the Ilu River or the Battle of Alligator Creek, took place August 21, 1942, on the island of Guadalcanal, and was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, between Imperial Japanese Army and Allied ground forces...
. The next attempt took place from September 12 through September 14, with the 6,000 soldiers
Kawaguchi Detachment
IJA 35th Infantry Brigade with 124th Infantry Regiment, led by Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi operated independently of its parent IJA 18th Division as the Kawaguchi Detachment, and was still at Camranh Bay, at the start of the Burma Campaign of World War II....
under the command of Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi
Kiyotake Kawaguchi
-Web:...
being defeated in the Battle of Edson's Ridge
Battle of Edson's Ridge
The Battle of Edson's Ridge, also known as the Battle of the Bloody Ridge, Battle of Raiders Ridge, and Battle of the Ridge, was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Imperial Japanese Army and Allied ground forces...
. After their defeat at Edson's Ridge, Kawaguchi and the surviving Japanese troops regrouped west of the Matanikau River
Matanikau River
The Matanikau River of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, is located in the northwest part of the island. During the World War II Guadalcanal campaign, several significant engagements occurred between United States and Japanese forces near the river.-References:...
on Guadalcanal.
As the Japanese regrouped, the U.S. forces concentrated on shoring up and strengthening their Lunga defenses. On September 18, an Allied naval convoy delivered 4,157 men from the U.S. 7th Marine Regiment
U.S. 7th Marine Regiment
The 7th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California...
to Guadalcanal. These reinforcements allowed Vandegrift, beginning on September 19, to establish an unbroken line of defense completely around the Lunga perimeter.
General Vandegrift and his staff were aware that Kawaguchi's troops had retreated to the area west of the Matanikau and that numerous groups of Japanese stragglers were scattered throughout the area between the Lunga Perimeter and the Matanikau River. Vandegrift, therefore, decided to conduct a series of small unit operations
Actions along the Matanikau
The Actions along the Matanikau in September and October 1942—sometimes referred to as the Second and Third Battles of the Matanikau—were two separate but related engagements among a series of engagements between the United States and Imperial Japanese naval and ground forces around the Matanikau...
around the Matanikau Valley.
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s, was repulsed by Kawaguchi's troops under Colonel Akinosuke Oka
Akinosuke Oka
-Notes:...
's local command. In the second action, between October 6 and October 9, a larger force of U.S. Marines successfully crossed the Matanikau River, attacked newly landed Japanese forces from the 2nd (Sendai) Infantry Division
2nd Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call-sign was .-History:The 2nd Infantry Division was formed in Sendai, Miyagi in January 1871 as the , one of six regional commands created in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. The Sendai Garrison had responsibility for northern...
under the command of generals Masao Maruyama and Yumio Nasu
Yumio Nasu
was a major general and a division commander in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.-Biography:A native of Tochigi Prefecture, Nasu graduated from the 25th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1913 and from the 35th class of the Army Staff College in 1923...
and inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese 4th Infantry Regiment
Aoba Detachment
Aoba Detachment was the reinforced 4th Infantry Regiment/IJA 2nd Division, a part of the Seventeenth Army. The commander of the Aoba Detachment was Major General Nasu, the commander of the 2nd Division's Infantry Group. Unlike other detachments which were usually named after their commander, the...
. The second action forced the Japanese to retreat from their positions east of the Matanikau.
In the meantime, Major General Millard F. Harmon
Millard Harmon
Millard Fillmore Harmon Jr. was a Lieutenant General in the United States Army Air Forces during the Pacific campaign in World War II....
, commander of United States Army forces in the South Pacific, convinced Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley
Robert L. Ghormley
Vice Admiral Robert Lee Ghormley was an admiral in the United States Navy, serving as Commander, South Pacific Area, during the Second World War.-Biography:...
, commander of Allied forces in the South Pacific Area, that U.S. Marine forces on Guadalcanal needed to be reinforced immediately if the Allies were to successfully defend the island from the anticipated Japanese offensive. Thus on October 13, a naval convoy delivered the 2,837-strong 164th U.S. Infantry Regiment
164th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 164th Infantry Regiment, an activated regiment of the North Dakota National Guard, was the first United States Army unit on Guadalcanal.-World War I and interwar years:...
, a North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
Army National Guard
Army National Guard
Established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U.S. Code, the Army National Guard is part of the National Guard and is divided up into subordinate units stationed in each of the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia operating under their respective governors...
formation from the U.S. Army's Americal Division
Americal Division
The 23rd Infantry Division, more commonly known as the Americal Division of the United States Army was formed in May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor, the United States had hurriedly sent three individual regiments to defend New Caledonia...
, to Guadalcanal.
Battle for Henderson Field
Between October 1 and October 17, the Japanese delivered 15,000 troops to Guadalcanal, giving Hyakutake 20,000 total troops to employ for his planned offensive. Because of the loss of their positions on the east side of the Matanikau, the Japanese decided that an attack on the U.S. defenses along the coast would be prohibitively difficult. Therefore, Hyakutake decided that the main thrust of his planned attack would be from south of Henderson Field. His 2nd Division (augmented by troops from the 38th Infantry Division38th Infantry Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
The was a line infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army. The division saw heavy action during the Pacific campaign of World War II, including the conquest of Hong Kong in 1941, the Dutch East Indies in early 1942, and the Guadalcanal Campaign from October 1942 to February 1943...
), under Lieutenant General Masao Maruyama and comprising 7,000 soldiers in three infantry regiments of three battalions each was ordered to march through the jungle and attack the American defences from the south near the east bank of the Lunga River. To distract the Americans from the planned attack from the south, Hyakutake's heavy artillery plus five battalions of infantry (about 2,900 men) from the 4th and 124th Infantry Regiments under the overall command of Major General Tadashi Sumiyoshi
Tadashi Sumiyoshi
-Notes:...
were to attack the American defenses from the west along the coastal corridor.
Nomasu Nakaguma
-Notes:...
, launched attacks on the U.S. Marine defenses at the mouth of the Matanikau on the evening of October 23. U.S. Marine artillery, cannon, and small arms fire repulsed the assaults and killed many of the attacking Japanese soldiers while suffering only light casualties to themselves.
Beginning on October 24 and continuing over two consecutive nights, Maruyama's forces conducted numerous, unsuccessful frontal assaults on the southern portion of the U.S. Lunga perimeter. More than 1,500 of Maruyama's troops were killed in the attacks while the Americans lost about 60 killed.
Further Japanese attacks near the Matanikau on October 26 by Oka's 124th Infantry Regiment were also repulsed with heavy losses for the Japanese. Thus, at 08:00 on October 26, Hyakutake called off any further attacks and ordered his forces to retreat. About half of Maruyama's survivors were ordered to retreat back to the area west of the Matanikau River while the rest, the 230th Infantry Regiment under Colonel Toshinari Shoji, was told to head for Koli Point, east of the Lunga perimeter. The 4th Infantry Regiment retreated back to positions west of the Matanikau and around the Point Cruz area while the 124th Infantry Regiment took up positions on the slopes of Mount Austen in the upper Matanikau Valley.
3rd Battalion 7th Marines
The 3rd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and consist of approximately 800 Marines. The battalion falls under the command of the 7th Marine Regiment and the 1st...
(called the Whaling Group) commanded by Colonel William Whaling. Two battalions of the 2nd Marine Regiment would be in reserve. The offensive was supported by artillery from the 11th Marine Regiment and the 164th Infantry Regiment, CAF aircraft, and gunfire from U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
warships. Edson was placed in tactical command of the operation.
Defending the Matanikau area for the Japanese were the 4th and 124th Infantry Regiments. Nakaguma's 4th Infantry defended the Matanikau from the shore to about 1000 yards (914 m) inland while Oka's 124th Infantry extended the line further inland along the river. Both regiments, which on paper consisted of six battalions, were severely understrength because of battle damage, tropical disease, and malnutrition. In fact, Oka described his command as at only "half strength."
Action
Between 01:00 and 06:00 on November 1, U.S. Marine engineers constructed three footbridges across the Matanikau. At 06:30, nine Marine and U.S. ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
artillery batteries (about 36 guns) and U.S. warships San Francisco
USS San Francisco (CA-38)
USS San Francisco , a New Orleans-class heavy cruiser, was the second ship of the United States Navy named after the city of San Francisco, California. She saw extensive action during World War II....
, Helena
USS Helena (CL-50)
USS Helena was a St. Louis-class light cruiser of the United States Navy, damaged in the attack on Pearl Harbor, and subsequently active in the Pacific War until she was sunk at the battle of Kula Gulf in 1943...
, and Sterrett
USS Sterett (DD-407)
USS Sterett was a in the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship named for Andrew Sterett.The Sterett was laid down on 2 December 1936 at the Charleston Navy Yard; launched on 27 October 1938; sponsored by Mrs...
opened fire on the west bank of the Matanikau, and U.S. aircraft, including 19 B-17 bombers, dropped bombs in the same area. At the same time, the 1st Battalion
1st Battalion 5th Marines
1st Battalion, 5th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California consisting of approximately 800 Marines and sailors. Nicknamed Geronimo, it falls under the command of the 5th Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division...
(1/5) of the 5th Marine Regiment crossed the Matanikau at its mouth while the 2nd Battalion
2nd Battalion 5th Marines
2nd Battalion 5th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps consisting of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. They are based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and fall under the command of the 5th Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division...
, 5th Marines (2/5) and the Whaling Group crossed the river further inland. Facing the Marines was the Japanese 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry under Major Masao Tamura.
3rd Battalion 5th Marines
3rd Battalion 5th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion, nicknamed "Dark Horse", is based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and consists of approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors...
, 5th Marines (3/5), plus determined resistance by Marine Corporal Anthony Casamento
Anthony Casamento
Corporal Anthony Casamento, was presented the Medal of Honor by President Jimmy Carter on September 12, 1980 in a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, 38 years after Cpl Casamento's heroism on Guadalcanal in 1942....
, among others, the Americans were successful in stopping the retreat.
Reviewing the situation at the end of the day, Edson, along with Colonel Gerald Thomas
Gerald C. Thomas
Gerald Carthrae Thomas was a United States Marine Corps general who served as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1956 with more 38 years of distinguished service which included duty on four continents, spanning two World Wars, Haiti and the Korean War...
and Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Merrill Twining
Merrill B. Twining
-References:**...
from Vandegrift's staff, decided to try to encircle the Japanese defenders around Point Cruz. They ordered 1/5 and 3/5 to continue to press the Japanese along the coast the next day while 2/5 wheeled north to envelop their adversaries west and south of Point Cruz. Tamura's battalion had taken heavy losses in the day's fighting, with Tamura's 7th and 5th Companies being left with only 10 and 15 uninjured soldiers respectively.
On the morning of November 2, with the Whaling Group covering their flank, the men of 2/5 marched north and reached the coast west of Point Cruz, completing the encirclement of the Japanese defenders. The Japanese defenses were centered in a draw between a coastal trail and a beach just west of Point Cruz and included coral, earth, and log bunkers as well as caves and foxholes. U.S. artillery bombarded the Japanese positions throughout the day on November 2, causing an unknown number of casualties to the Japanese defenders.
Later in the day, Company I of 2/5 conducted a frontal assault with fixed bayonets on the northern portion of the Japanese defenses, overrunning and killing the Japanese defenders. At the same time, two battalions from 2nd Marine Regiment, now committed to the offensive, advanced past the Point Cruz area.
At 06:30 on November 3, some Japanese troops attempted to break out of the pocket but were beaten back by the Marines. Between 08:00 and noon, five Marine companies from 2/5 and 3/5, using small arms, mortars, demolition charges, and direct and indirect artillery fire, completed the destruction of the Japanese pocket near Point Cruz. Marine participant Richard A. Nash described the battle: The Marines captured 12 37mm anti-tank guns, one 70 mm field artillery piece, and 34 machineguns and counted the dead bodies of 239 Japanese soldiers, including 28 officers.
A significant event now occurred which granted the Japanese forces a reprieve. Early on November 3, Marine units near Koli Point, east of the Lunga Perimeter, engaged 300 fresh Japanese troops that had just been landed by a Tokyo Express mission of five destroyers. This, plus the knowledge that a large body of Japanese troops was in the process of relocating to Koli Point after the defeat in the Henderson Field battle, led the Americans to believe that the Japanese were about to conduct a major attack on the Lunga Perimeter from the Koli Point area.
To discuss these developments, the Marine leaders on Guadalcanal met on the morning of November 4. Twining recommended that the Matanikau offensive continue. Edson, Thomas, and Vandegrift, however, urged the abandonment of the offensive and a shift of forces to counter the Koli Point threat. Thus, that same day the 5th Marines and the Whaling group were recalled to Lunga Point. The 2nd Marine's 1st
1st Battalion 2nd Marines
1st Battalion, 2nd Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina consisting of approximately 900 Marines and Sailors...
and 2nd
2nd Battalion 2nd Marines
2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines is a light infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Also known as "Warlord", it consists of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors and normally falls under the command of the 2nd Marine Regiment and...
Battalions, plus the 1st Battalion, 164th Infantry took up positions about 2000 yards (1,829 m) west of Point Cruz with plans to hold in that location. With their route of retreat still open, the Sendai (2nd) Division survivors began to reach Kokumbona this same day. Around this time, Nakaguma was killed by an artillery shell.
Aftermath
Koli Point action
The Koli Point action, from 3-12 November 1942, was an engagement between United States Marine Corps and United States Army forces and Imperial Japanese Army forces around Koli Point on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign. The U.S...
the Japanese forces at Koli Point, the U.S. renewed the western offensive towards Kokumbona on November 10 with three battalions under the overall command of U.S. Marine Colonel John Arthur. In the meantime, fresh Japanese troops from the 228th Infantry Regiment of the 38th Infantry Division landed by Tokyo Express over several nights beginning on November 5 and effectively resisted the American attack. After making small advances, at 13:45 on November 11 Vandegrift suddenly ordered all the American forces to return to the east bank of the Matanikau.
Vandegrift ordered the withdrawal because of the receipt of intelligence from coastwatchers
Coastwatchers
The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II to observe enemy movements and rescue stranded Allied...
, aerial reconnaissance, and radio intercepts that a major Japanese reinforcement effort was imminent. Indeed, the Japanese were in the process of attempting to deliver the 10,000 remaining troops from the 38th Division to Guadalcanal in order to reattempt to capture Henderson Field. The resulting efforts by the Americans to stop this reinforcement attempt resulted in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, as the , took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles...
, the decisive naval battle of the Guadalcanal campaign, in which the Japanese reinforcement effort was turned back.
The Americans recrossed the Matanikau and attacked westward again beginning on November 18, but made slow progress against determined resistance from Japanese forces. The U.S. attack was halted on November 23 at a line just west of Point Cruz. The Americans and Japanese would remain facing each other in these positions for the next six weeks, until the ending stages of the campaign when U.S. forces began their final, successful push to drive Japanese forces from the island. Although the Americans had come close to overrunning the Japanese rear areas in the early November offensive, it would not be until the final stages of the campaign that the U.S. finally captured Kokumbona.