 slow transport ship ; instead , the ships carrying Kawaguchi 's soldiers were sent to Rabaul . From there , the Japanese planned to deliver Kawaguchi 's men to Guadalcanal by destroyers , staging through a Japanese naval base in the Shortland Islands . The Japanese destroyers were usually able to make the round trip down " The Slot " to Guadalcanal and back in a single night , minimizing their exposure to Allied air attack . However , most of the soldiers ' heavy equipment and supplies , such as heavy artillery , vehicles , and much food and ammunition , could not be taken to Guadalcanal with them . These high @-@ speed destroyer runs to Guadalcanal , which occurred throughout the campaign , were later called the " Tokyo Express " by Allied forces and " Rat Transportation " by the Japanese . The Japanese controlled the seas around the Solomon Islands during the nighttime and were not challenged by the Allies . However , any Japanese ship remaining within the 200 mi ( 320 km ) range of the aircraft at Henderson Field in daylight was in great danger from air attacks . This " curious tactical situation " held for several months .   = = = Troop movement = = =   On 28 August , 600 of Kawaguchi 's troops were loaded onto the destroyers Asagiri , Amagiri , Yugiri , and Shirakumo , designated Destroyer Division 20 ( DD20 ) . Because of a shortage of fuel , DD20 could not make the entire round trip to Guadalcanal at high speed in one night , but had to start the trip earlier in the day so that they could complete the trip by the next morning at a slower speed which conserved fuel . At 18 : 05 that day , 11 U.S. dive bombers from VMSB @-@ 232 under the command of Lt. Col. Richard Mangrum , flew from Henderson Field and located and attacked DD20 about 70 mi ( 110 km ) north of Guadalcanal , sinking Asagiri and heavily damaging Yugiri and Shirakumo . Amagiri took Shirakumo in tow and the three destroyers returned to the Shortlands without completing their mission . The attack on DD20 killed 62 of Kawaguchi 's soldiers and 94 crew members .   Subsequent " Express " runs were more successful . Between 29 August and 4 September , various Japanese light cruisers , destroyers , and patrol boats were able to land almost 5 @,@ 000 troops at Taivu Point , including all of the 35th Infantry Brigade , one battalion of the Aoba Regiment , and the rest of Ichiki 's regiment . General Kawaguchi , who landed at Taivu Point on the 31 August Express run , was placed in command of all the Japanese troops on Guadalcanal . On the night of 4 / 5 September , as three of the Express destroyers — Yūdachi , Hatsuyuki , and Murakumo — prepared to shell Henderson Field after landing their troops , they detected and sank two U.S. ships in the vicinity , the small , old destroyer transports ( called " APDs " by the U.S. Marines ) USS Little and Gregory that were used to shuttle Allied troops around the Guadalcanal / Tulagi area .   In spite of the successes of the destroyer runs , Kawaguchi insisted that as many soldiers of his brigade as possible be delivered to Guadalcanal by slow barges . Therefore , a convoy carrying 1 @,@ 100 of Kawaguchi 's troops and heavy equipment in 61 barges , mainly from the 2nd Battalion , 124th Infantry Regiment under the command of Colonel Akinosuka Oka , departed the northern coast of Santa Isabel Island on 2 September . On 4 – 5 September , aircraft from Henderson Field attacked the barge convoy , killing about 90 of the soldiers in the barges and destroying much of the unit 's heavy equipment . Most of the remaining 1 @,@ 000 troops were able to land near Kamimbo ( 9 ° 15 ′ 32 ″ S 159 ° 40 ′ 18 ″ E ) , west of the Lunga perimeter over the next few days . By 7 September , Kawaguchi had 5 @,@ 200 troops at Taivu Point and 1 @,@ 000 west of the Lunga perimeter . Kawaguchi was confident enough that he could defeat the Allied forces facing him that he declined an offer from the 17th Army for delivery of one more infantry battalion to augment his forces . Kawaguchi believed that there were only about 2 @,@ 000 U.S. Marines on Guadalcanal .   During this time , Vandegrift continued to direct efforts to strengthen and improve the defenses of the Lunga perimeter . Between 21 August and 3 September , he relocated three Marine battalions — including the 1st Raider Battalion , under U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A. Edson ( Edson 's Raiders ) , and the 1st Parachute Battalion — from Tul
Ġslow Ġtransport Ġship Ġ; Ġinstead Ġ, Ġthe Ġships Ġcarrying ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ' s Ġsoldiers Ġwere Ġsent Ġto ĠRab aul Ġ. ĠFrom Ġthere Ġ, Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġplanned Ġto Ġdeliver ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ' s Ġmen Ġto ĠGu adal can al Ġby Ġdestroy ers Ġ, Ġstaging Ġthrough Ġa ĠJapanese Ġnaval Ġbase Ġin Ġthe ĠShort land ĠIslands Ġ. ĠThe ĠJapanese Ġdestroy ers Ġwere Ġusually Ġable Ġto Ġmake Ġthe Ġround Ġtrip Ġdown Ġ" ĠThe ĠSlot Ġ" Ġto ĠGu adal can al Ġand Ġback Ġin Ġa Ġsingle Ġnight Ġ, Ġminimizing Ġtheir Ġexposure Ġto ĠAllied Ġair Ġattack Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġmost Ġof Ġthe Ġsoldiers Ġ' Ġheavy Ġequipment Ġand Ġsupplies Ġ, Ġsuch Ġas Ġheavy Ġartillery Ġ, Ġvehicles Ġ, Ġand Ġmuch Ġfood Ġand Ġammunition Ġ, Ġcould Ġnot Ġbe Ġtaken Ġto ĠGu adal can al Ġwith Ġthem Ġ. ĠThese Ġhigh Ġ@ - @ Ġspeed Ġdestroyer Ġruns Ġto ĠGu adal can al Ġ, Ġwhich Ġoccurred Ġthroughout Ġthe Ġcampaign Ġ, Ġwere Ġlater Ġcalled Ġthe Ġ" ĠTokyo ĠExpress Ġ" Ġby ĠAllied Ġforces Ġand Ġ" ĠRat ĠTransportation Ġ" Ġby Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġ. ĠThe ĠJapanese Ġcontrolled Ġthe Ġseas Ġaround Ġthe ĠSolomon ĠIslands Ġduring Ġthe Ġnighttime Ġand Ġwere Ġnot Ġchallenged Ġby Ġthe ĠAllies Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġany ĠJapanese Ġship Ġremaining Ġwithin Ġthe Ġ200 Ġmi Ġ( Ġ320 Ġkm Ġ) Ġrange Ġof Ġthe Ġaircraft Ġat ĠHenderson ĠField Ġin Ġdaylight Ġwas Ġin Ġgreat Ġdanger Ġfrom Ġair Ġattacks Ġ. ĠThis Ġ" Ġcurious Ġtactical Ġsituation Ġ" Ġheld Ġfor Ġseveral Ġmonths Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠTro op Ġmovement Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠOn Ġ28 ĠAugust Ġ, Ġ600 Ġof ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ' s Ġtroops Ġwere Ġloaded Ġonto Ġthe Ġdestroy ers ĠAs ag iri Ġ, ĠAm ag iri Ġ, ĠYug iri Ġ, Ġand ĠShir ak umo Ġ, Ġdesignated ĠDestroyer ĠDivision Ġ20 Ġ( ĠDD 20 Ġ) Ġ. ĠBecause Ġof Ġa Ġshortage Ġof Ġfuel Ġ, ĠDD 20 Ġcould Ġnot Ġmake Ġthe Ġentire Ġround Ġtrip Ġto ĠGu adal can al Ġat Ġhigh Ġspeed Ġin Ġone Ġnight Ġ, Ġbut Ġhad Ġto Ġstart Ġthe Ġtrip Ġearlier Ġin Ġthe Ġday Ġso Ġthat Ġthey Ġcould Ġcomplete Ġthe Ġtrip Ġby Ġthe Ġnext Ġmorning Ġat Ġa Ġslower Ġspeed Ġwhich Ġconserv ed Ġfuel Ġ. ĠAt Ġ18 Ġ: Ġ05 Ġthat Ġday Ġ, Ġ11 ĠU . S . Ġdive Ġbombers Ġfrom ĠV MS B Ġ@ - @ Ġ232 Ġunder Ġthe Ġcommand Ġof ĠLt . ĠCol . ĠRichard ĠMang rum Ġ, Ġflew Ġfrom ĠHenderson ĠField Ġand Ġlocated Ġand Ġattacked ĠDD 20 Ġabout Ġ70 Ġmi Ġ( Ġ110 Ġkm Ġ) Ġnorth Ġof ĠGu adal can al Ġ, Ġsinking ĠAs ag iri Ġand Ġheavily Ġdamaging ĠYug iri Ġand ĠShir ak umo Ġ. ĠAm ag iri Ġtook ĠShir ak umo Ġin Ġtow Ġand Ġthe Ġthree Ġdestroy ers Ġreturned Ġto Ġthe ĠShort lands Ġwithout Ġcompleting Ġtheir Ġmission Ġ. ĠThe Ġattack Ġon ĠDD 20 Ġkilled Ġ62 Ġof ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ' s Ġsoldiers Ġand Ġ94 Ġcrew Ġmembers Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSub sequent Ġ" ĠExpress Ġ" Ġruns Ġwere Ġmore Ġsuccessful Ġ. ĠBetween Ġ29 ĠAugust Ġand Ġ4 ĠSeptember Ġ, Ġvarious ĠJapanese Ġlight Ġcru isers Ġ, Ġdestroy ers Ġ, Ġand Ġpatrol Ġboats Ġwere Ġable Ġto Ġland Ġalmost Ġ5 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġtroops Ġat ĠTa iv u ĠPoint Ġ, Ġincluding Ġall Ġof Ġthe Ġ35 th ĠInfantry ĠBrigade Ġ, Ġone Ġbattalion Ġof Ġthe ĠA oba ĠRegiment Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġrest Ġof ĠIch iki Ġ' s Ġregiment Ġ. ĠGeneral ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ, Ġwho Ġlanded Ġat ĠTa iv u ĠPoint Ġon Ġthe Ġ31 ĠAugust ĠExpress Ġrun Ġ, Ġwas Ġplaced Ġin Ġcommand Ġof Ġall Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġtroops Ġon ĠGu adal can al Ġ. ĠOn Ġthe Ġnight Ġof Ġ4 Ġ/ Ġ5 ĠSeptember Ġ, Ġas Ġthree Ġof Ġthe ĠExpress Ġdestroy ers ĠâĢĶ ĠY Å« d achi Ġ, ĠHats uy uki Ġ, Ġand ĠMur ak umo ĠâĢĶ Ġprepared Ġto Ġshell ĠHenderson ĠField Ġafter Ġlanding Ġtheir Ġtroops Ġ, Ġthey Ġdetected Ġand Ġsank Ġtwo ĠU . S . Ġships Ġin Ġthe Ġvicinity Ġ, Ġthe Ġsmall Ġ, Ġold Ġdestroyer Ġtransports Ġ( Ġcalled Ġ" ĠAP Ds Ġ" Ġby Ġthe ĠU . S . ĠMarines Ġ) ĠUSS ĠLittle Ġand ĠGregory Ġthat Ġwere Ġused Ġto Ġshuttle ĠAllied Ġtroops Ġaround Ġthe ĠGu adal can al Ġ/ ĠTul agi Ġarea Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġspite Ġof Ġthe Ġsuccesses Ġof Ġthe Ġdestroyer Ġruns Ġ, ĠKaw ag uchi Ġinsisted Ġthat Ġas Ġmany Ġsoldiers Ġof Ġhis Ġbrigade Ġas Ġpossible Ġbe Ġdelivered Ġto ĠGu adal can al Ġby Ġslow Ġbarg es Ġ. ĠTherefore Ġ, Ġa Ġconvoy Ġcarrying Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ100 Ġof ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ' s Ġtroops Ġand Ġheavy Ġequipment Ġin Ġ61 Ġbarg es Ġ, Ġmainly Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ2 nd ĠBattalion Ġ, Ġ124 th ĠInfantry ĠRegiment Ġunder Ġthe Ġcommand Ġof ĠColonel ĠAkin os uka ĠO ka Ġ, Ġdeparted Ġthe Ġnorthern Ġcoast Ġof ĠSanta ĠIsabel ĠIsland Ġon Ġ2 ĠSeptember Ġ. ĠOn Ġ4 ĠâĢĵ Ġ5 ĠSeptember Ġ, Ġaircraft Ġfrom ĠHenderson ĠField Ġattacked Ġthe Ġb arge Ġconvoy Ġ, Ġkilling Ġabout Ġ90 Ġof Ġthe Ġsoldiers Ġin Ġthe Ġbarg es Ġand Ġdestroying Ġmuch Ġof Ġthe Ġunit Ġ' s Ġheavy Ġequipment Ġ. ĠMost Ġof Ġthe Ġremaining Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġtroops Ġwere Ġable Ġto Ġland Ġnear ĠKam im bo Ġ( Ġ9 ĠÂ° Ġ15 ĠâĢ ² Ġ32 ĠâĢ ³ ĠS Ġ159 ĠÂ° Ġ40 ĠâĢ ² Ġ18 ĠâĢ ³ ĠE Ġ) Ġ, Ġwest Ġof Ġthe ĠLung a Ġperimeter Ġover Ġthe Ġnext Ġfew Ġdays Ġ. ĠBy Ġ7 ĠSeptember Ġ, ĠKaw ag uchi Ġhad Ġ5 Ġ@ , @ Ġ200 Ġtroops Ġat ĠTa iv u ĠPoint Ġand Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġwest Ġof Ġthe ĠLung a Ġperimeter Ġ. ĠKaw ag uchi Ġwas Ġconfident Ġenough Ġthat Ġhe Ġcould Ġdefeat Ġthe ĠAllied Ġforces Ġfacing Ġhim Ġthat Ġhe Ġdeclined Ġan Ġoffer Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ17 th ĠArmy Ġfor Ġdelivery Ġof Ġone Ġmore Ġinfantry Ġbattalion Ġto Ġaugment Ġhis Ġforces Ġ. ĠKaw ag uchi Ġbelieved Ġthat Ġthere Ġwere Ġonly Ġabout Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠU . S . ĠMarines Ġon ĠGu adal can al Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDuring Ġthis Ġtime Ġ, ĠVand eg rift Ġcontinued Ġto Ġdirect Ġefforts Ġto Ġstrengthen Ġand Ġimprove Ġthe Ġdefenses Ġof Ġthe ĠLung a Ġperimeter Ġ. ĠBetween Ġ21 ĠAugust Ġand Ġ3 ĠSeptember Ġ, Ġhe Ġrelocated Ġthree ĠMarine Ġbatt alions ĠâĢĶ Ġincluding Ġthe Ġ1 st ĠRaider ĠBattalion Ġ, Ġunder ĠU . S . ĠLieutenant ĠColonel ĠMer r itt ĠA . ĠEd son Ġ( ĠEd son Ġ' s ĠRaiders Ġ) Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġ1 st ĠPar ach ute ĠBattalion ĠâĢĶ Ġfrom ĠTul