 Underestimating the strength of Allied forces on Guadalcanal – about 12 @,@ 000 – Kawaguchi 's 6 @,@ 000 soldiers conducted several nighttime frontal assaults on the U.S. defenses . The main Japanese assault occurred around Lunga ridge south of Henderson Field , manned by troops from several U.S. Marine Corps units , primarily troops from the 1st Raider and 1st Parachute Battalions under U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A. Edson . Although the Marine defenses were almost overrun , Kawaguchi 's attack was ultimately defeated , with heavy losses for the Japanese .   Because of the key participation by Edson 's unit in defending the ridge , the ridge was commonly referred to as " Edson 's " ridge in historical accounts of the battle in Western sources . After Edson 's Ridge , the Japanese continued to send troops to Guadalcanal for further attempts to retake Henderson Field , affecting Japanese offensive operations in other areas of the South Pacific .   = = Background = =   = = = Guadalcanal campaign = = =   On 7 August 1942 , Allied forces ( primarily U.S. ) landed on Guadalcanal , Tulagi , 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 . They were also intended to secure the islands as starting points for a campaign to neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul and support the Allied New Guinea campaign . The landings initiated the six @-@ month @-@ long Guadalcanal campaign .   Taking the Japanese by surprise , by nightfall on 8 August the Allied landing forces had secured Tulagi and nearby small islands , as well as an airfield under construction at Lunga Point ( 9 ° 25 ′ 45 ″ S 160 ° 3 ′ 4 ″ E ) on the north shore of the island of Guadalcanal east of the present day capital of Honiara . Vandegrift placed his 11 @,@ 000 troops of the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal in a loose perimeter around the Lunga Point area .   On 12 August , the airfield was named Henderson Field after Major Lofton Henderson , a Marine aviator who had been killed at the Battle of Midway . The Allied aircraft and pilots that subsequently operated out of Henderson Field were called the " Cactus Air Force " after the Allied code name for Guadalcanal .   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 ( 4 ° 11 ′ 56 ″ S 152 ° 9 ′ 57 ″ E ) and under the command of Lieutenant @-@ General Harukichi Hyakutake — with the task of retaking Guadalcanal from Allied forces . The 17th Army — heavily involved with the Japanese campaign in New Guinea — had only a few units available to send to the southern Solomons area . Of these units , the 35th Infantry Brigade — under Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi — was at Palau , the 4th ( Aoba ) Infantry Regiment was in the Philippines and the 28th ( Ichiki ) Infantry Regiment — under the command of Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki — was embarked on transport ships near Guam . The different units began to move toward Guadalcanal immediately ; Ichiki 's regiment — the closest — arrived first . The " First Element " of Ichiki 's unit — consisting of about 917 soldiers — landed from destroyers at Taivu Point ( 9 ° 24 ′ 38 ″ S 160 ° 20 ′ 56 ″ E ) , about 18 mi ( 29 km ) east of the Lunga perimeter , on August 19 .   Underestimating the strength of Allied forces on Guadalcanal , Ichiki 's First Element conducted a nighttime frontal assault on Marine positions at Alligator Creek on the east side of the Lunga perimeter in the early morning hours of August 21 . Ichiki 's assault was repulsed with devastating losses for the attackers in what became known as the Battle of the Tenaru : all but 128 of the 917 men of the First Element ( including Ichiki himself ) were killed in the battle . The survivors returned to Taivu Point , notified 17th Army headquarters of their defeat in the battle and awaited further reinforcements and orders from Rabaul .   By 23 August , Kawaguchi 's unit had reached Truk and was loaded onto slow transport ships for the rest of the trip to Guadalcanal . Because of the damage caused by Allied air attack to a separate troop convoy during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons , the Japanese decided not to deliver Kawaguchi 's troops to Guadalcanal by
ĠUnd erest imating Ġthe Ġstrength Ġof ĠAllied Ġforces Ġon ĠGu adal can al ĠâĢĵ Ġabout Ġ12 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠâĢĵ ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ' s Ġ6 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġsoldiers Ġconducted Ġseveral Ġnighttime Ġfrontal Ġassaults Ġon Ġthe ĠU . S . Ġdefenses Ġ. ĠThe Ġmain ĠJapanese Ġassault Ġoccurred Ġaround ĠLung a Ġridge Ġsouth Ġof ĠHenderson ĠField Ġ, Ġmanned Ġby Ġtroops Ġfrom Ġseveral ĠU . S . ĠMarine ĠCorps Ġunits Ġ, Ġprimarily Ġtroops Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ1 st ĠRaider Ġand Ġ1 st ĠPar ach ute ĠBatt alions Ġunder ĠU . S . ĠMarine ĠCorps ĠLieutenant ĠColonel ĠMer r itt ĠA . ĠEd son Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġthe ĠMarine Ġdefenses Ġwere Ġalmost Ġoverrun Ġ, ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ' s Ġattack Ġwas Ġultimately Ġdefeated Ġ, Ġwith Ġheavy Ġlosses Ġfor Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠBecause Ġof Ġthe Ġkey Ġparticipation Ġby ĠEd son Ġ' s Ġunit Ġin Ġdefending Ġthe Ġridge Ġ, Ġthe Ġridge Ġwas Ġcommonly Ġreferred Ġto Ġas Ġ" ĠEd son Ġ' s Ġ" Ġridge Ġin Ġhistorical Ġaccounts Ġof Ġthe Ġbattle Ġin ĠWestern Ġsources Ġ. ĠAfter ĠEd son Ġ' s ĠRidge Ġ, Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġcontinued Ġto Ġsend Ġtroops Ġto ĠGu adal can al Ġfor Ġfurther Ġattempts Ġto Ġretake ĠHenderson ĠField Ġ, Ġaffecting ĠJapanese Ġoffensive Ġoperations Ġin Ġother Ġareas Ġof Ġthe ĠSouth ĠPacific Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠBackground Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠGu adal can al Ġcampaign Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠOn Ġ7 ĠAugust Ġ1942 Ġ, ĠAllied Ġforces Ġ( Ġprimarily ĠU . S . Ġ) Ġlanded Ġon ĠGu adal can al Ġ, ĠTul agi Ġ, Ġand ĠFlorida ĠIslands Ġin Ġthe ĠSolomon ĠIslands Ġ. ĠThe Ġland ings Ġon Ġthe Ġislands Ġwere Ġmeant Ġto Ġdeny Ġtheir Ġuse Ġby Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġas Ġbases Ġfor Ġthreatening Ġthe Ġsupply Ġroutes Ġbetween Ġthe ĠU . S . Ġand ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠThey Ġwere Ġalso Ġintended Ġto Ġsecure Ġthe Ġislands Ġas Ġstarting Ġpoints Ġfor Ġa Ġcampaign Ġto Ġneutral ize Ġthe Ġmajor ĠJapanese Ġbase Ġat ĠRab aul Ġand Ġsupport Ġthe ĠAllied ĠNew ĠGuinea Ġcampaign Ġ. ĠThe Ġland ings Ġinitiated Ġthe Ġsix Ġ@ - @ Ġmonth Ġ@ - @ Ġlong ĠGu adal can al Ġcampaign Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠTaking Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġby Ġsurprise Ġ, Ġby Ġnight fall Ġon Ġ8 ĠAugust Ġthe ĠAllied Ġlanding Ġforces Ġhad Ġsecured ĠTul agi Ġand Ġnearby Ġsmall Ġislands Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġan Ġair field Ġunder Ġconstruction Ġat ĠLung a ĠPoint Ġ( Ġ9 ĠÂ° Ġ25 ĠâĢ ² Ġ45 ĠâĢ ³ ĠS Ġ160 ĠÂ° Ġ3 ĠâĢ ² Ġ4 ĠâĢ ³ ĠE Ġ) Ġon Ġthe Ġnorth Ġshore Ġof Ġthe Ġisland Ġof ĠGu adal can al Ġeast Ġof Ġthe Ġpresent Ġday Ġcapital Ġof ĠHon i ara Ġ. ĠVand eg rift Ġplaced Ġhis Ġ11 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġtroops Ġof Ġthe Ġ1 st ĠMarine ĠDivision Ġon ĠGu adal can al Ġin Ġa Ġloose Ġperimeter Ġaround Ġthe ĠLung a ĠPoint Ġarea Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠOn Ġ12 ĠAugust Ġ, Ġthe Ġair field Ġwas Ġnamed ĠHenderson ĠField Ġafter ĠMajor ĠLoft on ĠHenderson Ġ, Ġa ĠMarine Ġav iator Ġwho Ġhad Ġbeen Ġkilled Ġat Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠMid way Ġ. ĠThe ĠAllied Ġaircraft Ġand Ġpilots Ġthat Ġsubsequently Ġoperated Ġout Ġof ĠHenderson ĠField Ġwere Ġcalled Ġthe Ġ" ĠC actus ĠAir ĠForce Ġ" Ġafter Ġthe ĠAllied Ġcode Ġname Ġfor ĠGu adal can al Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġresponse Ġto Ġthe ĠAllied Ġland ings Ġon ĠGu adal can al Ġ, Ġthe ĠJapanese ĠImperial ĠGeneral ĠHeadquarters Ġassigned Ġthe ĠImperial ĠJapanese ĠArmy Ġ' s Ġ17 th ĠArmy ĠâĢĶ Ġa Ġcorps Ġ@ - @ Ġsized Ġcommand Ġbased Ġat ĠRab aul Ġ( Ġ4 ĠÂ° Ġ11 ĠâĢ ² Ġ56 ĠâĢ ³ ĠS Ġ152 ĠÂ° Ġ9 ĠâĢ ² Ġ57 ĠâĢ ³ ĠE Ġ) Ġand Ġunder Ġthe Ġcommand Ġof ĠLieutenant Ġ@ - @ ĠGeneral ĠHar uk ichi ĠHy ak ut ake ĠâĢĶ Ġwith Ġthe Ġtask Ġof Ġret aking ĠGu adal can al Ġfrom ĠAllied Ġforces Ġ. ĠThe Ġ17 th ĠArmy ĠâĢĶ Ġheavily Ġinvolved Ġwith Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġcampaign Ġin ĠNew ĠGuinea ĠâĢĶ Ġhad Ġonly Ġa Ġfew Ġunits Ġavailable Ġto Ġsend Ġto Ġthe Ġsouthern ĠSol om ons Ġarea Ġ. ĠOf Ġthese Ġunits Ġ, Ġthe Ġ35 th ĠInfantry ĠBrigade ĠâĢĶ Ġunder ĠMajor ĠGeneral ĠK iy ot ake ĠKaw ag uchi ĠâĢĶ Ġwas Ġat ĠPal au Ġ, Ġthe Ġ4 th Ġ( ĠA oba Ġ) ĠInfantry ĠRegiment Ġwas Ġin Ġthe ĠPhilippines Ġand Ġthe Ġ28 th Ġ( ĠIch iki Ġ) ĠInfantry ĠRegiment ĠâĢĶ Ġunder Ġthe Ġcommand Ġof ĠColonel ĠK iy ona o ĠIch iki ĠâĢĶ Ġwas Ġembarked Ġon Ġtransport Ġships Ġnear ĠGuam Ġ. ĠThe Ġdifferent Ġunits Ġbegan Ġto Ġmove Ġtoward ĠGu adal can al Ġimmediately Ġ; ĠIch iki Ġ' s Ġregiment ĠâĢĶ Ġthe Ġclosest ĠâĢĶ Ġarrived Ġfirst Ġ. ĠThe Ġ" ĠFirst ĠElement Ġ" Ġof ĠIch iki Ġ' s Ġunit ĠâĢĶ Ġconsisting Ġof Ġabout Ġ9 17 Ġsoldiers ĠâĢĶ Ġlanded Ġfrom Ġdestroy ers Ġat ĠTa iv u ĠPoint Ġ( Ġ9 ĠÂ° Ġ24 ĠâĢ ² Ġ38 ĠâĢ ³ ĠS Ġ160 ĠÂ° Ġ20 ĠâĢ ² Ġ56 ĠâĢ ³ ĠE Ġ) Ġ, Ġabout Ġ18 Ġmi Ġ( Ġ29 Ġkm Ġ) Ġeast Ġof Ġthe ĠLung a Ġperimeter Ġ, Ġon ĠAugust Ġ19 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠUnd erest imating Ġthe Ġstrength Ġof ĠAllied Ġforces Ġon ĠGu adal can al Ġ, ĠIch iki Ġ' s ĠFirst ĠElement Ġconducted Ġa Ġnighttime Ġfrontal Ġassault Ġon ĠMarine Ġpositions Ġat ĠAll igator ĠCreek Ġon Ġthe Ġeast Ġside Ġof Ġthe ĠLung a Ġperimeter Ġin Ġthe Ġearly Ġmorning Ġhours Ġof ĠAugust Ġ21 Ġ. ĠIch iki Ġ' s Ġassault Ġwas Ġrep uls ed Ġwith Ġdevastating Ġlosses Ġfor Ġthe Ġattackers Ġin Ġwhat Ġbecame Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof Ġthe ĠTen aru Ġ: Ġall Ġbut Ġ128 Ġof Ġthe Ġ9 17 Ġmen Ġof Ġthe ĠFirst ĠElement Ġ( Ġincluding ĠIch iki Ġhimself Ġ) Ġwere Ġkilled Ġin Ġthe Ġbattle Ġ. ĠThe Ġsurvivors Ġreturned Ġto ĠTa iv u ĠPoint Ġ, Ġnotified Ġ17 th ĠArmy Ġheadquarters Ġof Ġtheir Ġdefeat Ġin Ġthe Ġbattle Ġand Ġawaited Ġfurther Ġreinforcements Ġand Ġorders Ġfrom ĠRab aul Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠBy Ġ23 ĠAugust Ġ, ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ' s Ġunit Ġhad Ġreached ĠTru k Ġand Ġwas Ġloaded Ġonto Ġslow Ġtransport Ġships Ġfor Ġthe Ġrest Ġof Ġthe Ġtrip Ġto ĠGu adal can al Ġ. ĠBecause Ġof Ġthe Ġdamage Ġcaused Ġby ĠAllied Ġair Ġattack Ġto Ġa Ġseparate Ġtroop Ġconvoy Ġduring Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof Ġthe ĠEastern ĠSol om ons Ġ, Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġdecided Ġnot Ġto Ġdeliver ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ' s Ġtroops Ġto ĠGu adal can al Ġby