aguchi 's 3rd Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Kusukichi Watanabe , who were still struggling to reach their attack positions , and the resulting confusion effectively stopped the Japanese attack on the ridge that night . Kawaguchi , who was having trouble locating where he was in relation to the U.S. Marine lines as well as coordinating his troops ' attacks , later complained , " Due to the devilish jungle , the brigade was scattered all over and was completely beyond my control . In my whole life I have never felt so disappointed and helpless . " Twelve U.S. Marines were killed ; Japanese casualties are unknown but perhaps somewhat greater . Although both Oka in the west and the Kuma unit in the east tried to attack the Marine lines that night , they failed to make contact and halted near the Marine lines at dawn .   At first light on 13 September , Cactus Air Force aircraft and Marine artillery fired into the area just south of the ridge , forcing any Japanese out in the open to seek cover in the nearby jungle . The Japanese suffered several casualties , including two officers from Watanabe 's battalion . At 05 : 50 , Kawaguchi decided to regroup his forces for another attack that night .   = = = Second night 's action on the ridge = = =   Expecting the Japanese to attack again that night , Edson directed his troops to improve their defenses on and around the ridge . After a failed attempt by two companies to retake the ground on the Marine right flank lost to Kokusho the night before , Edson repositioned his forces . He pulled his front back about 400 yd ( 370 m ) to a line that stretched 1 @,@ 800 yd ( 1 @,@ 600 m ) , starting at the Lunga River and crossing the ridge about 150 yd ( 140 m ) south of Hill 123 . Around and behind Hill 123 he placed five companies . Any Japanese attackers surmounting Hill 80 would have to advance over 400 yd ( 370 m ) of open terrain to close with the Marine positions at Hill 123 . With only a few hours to prepare , the Marines were only able to construct rudimentary and shallow fortifications . They were low on ammunition , with one or two grenades for each Marine . Vandegrift ordered a reserve force consisting of the 2nd Battalion , 5th Marine Regiment ( 2 / 5 ) to move into a position just to the rear of Edson 's troops . In addition , a battery of four 105mm howitzers from the 11th Marine Regiment moved to a location from where it could provide direct fire onto the ridge , and a forward artillery observer was placed with Edson 's front line units .   Late in the afternoon , Edson stepped onto a grenade box and addressed his exhausted troops , saying ,   You men have done a great job , and I have just one more thing to ask of you . Hold out just one more night . I know we 've been without sleep a long time . But we expect another attack from them tonight and they may come through here . I have every reason to believe that we will have reliefs here for all of us in the morning .   Edson 's speech " raised the spirits " of the Raiders and helped them prepare mentally for the night ahead .   As the sun set on 13 September , Kawaguchi faced Edson 's 830 Marines with 3 @,@ 000 troops of his brigade , plus an assortment of light artillery . The night was pitch black , with no moon . At 21 : 00 , seven Japanese destroyers briefly bombarded the ridge . Kawaguchi 's attack began just after nightfall , with Kokusho 's battalion assaulting Raider Company B on the Marine right flank , just to the west of the ridge . The force of the assault caused Company B to fall back to Hill 123 . Under Marine artillery fire , Kokusho reassembled his men and continued his attack . Without pausing to try to " roll @-@ up " the other nearby Marine units , whose flanks were now unprotected , Kokusho 's unit surged forward through the swampy lowlands between the ridge and the Lunga River , heading for the airfield . Kokusho 's men came upon a pile of Marine supplies and rations . Not having eaten adequately for a couple of days , they paused to " gorge themselves " on the " C " and " K " rations . Kokusho ordered his men to continue the attack . At about 03 : 00 , he led them against the Marine units around the northern portion of the ridge , just short of the airfield , as well as Hill 123 . In the heavy fighting that followed , Kokusho and around 100 of his men were killed , ending that attack .   Meanwhile , Kawaguchi 's 2nd Battalion , under Major Masao Tamura , assembled for their planned assault against Hill 80 from the jungle south of the ridge . Marine observers spotted Tamura 's preparations and called in artillery fire . At about
ag uchi Ġ' s Ġ3 rd ĠBattalion Ġunder ĠLieutenant ĠColonel ĠKus uk ichi ĠWat an abe Ġ, Ġwho Ġwere Ġstill Ġstruggling Ġto Ġreach Ġtheir Ġattack Ġpositions Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġresulting Ġconfusion Ġeffectively Ġstopped Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġattack Ġon Ġthe Ġridge Ġthat Ġnight Ġ. ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġhaving Ġtrouble Ġlocating Ġwhere Ġhe Ġwas Ġin Ġrelation Ġto Ġthe ĠU . S . ĠMarine Ġlines Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġcoordinating Ġhis Ġtroops Ġ' Ġattacks Ġ, Ġlater Ġcomplained Ġ, Ġ" ĠDue Ġto Ġthe Ġdevil ish Ġjungle Ġ, Ġthe Ġbrigade Ġwas Ġscattered Ġall Ġover Ġand Ġwas Ġcompletely Ġbeyond Ġmy Ġcontrol Ġ. ĠIn Ġmy Ġwhole Ġlife ĠI Ġhave Ġnever Ġfelt Ġso Ġdisappointed Ġand Ġhelpless Ġ. Ġ" ĠTwelve ĠU . S . ĠMarines Ġwere Ġkilled Ġ; ĠJapanese Ġcasualties Ġare Ġunknown Ġbut Ġperhaps Ġsomewhat Ġgreater Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġboth ĠO ka Ġin Ġthe Ġwest Ġand Ġthe ĠK uma Ġunit Ġin Ġthe Ġeast Ġtried Ġto Ġattack Ġthe ĠMarine Ġlines Ġthat Ġnight Ġ, Ġthey Ġfailed Ġto Ġmake Ġcontact Ġand Ġhalted Ġnear Ġthe ĠMarine Ġlines Ġat Ġdawn Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAt Ġfirst Ġlight Ġon Ġ13 ĠSeptember Ġ, ĠC actus ĠAir ĠForce Ġaircraft Ġand ĠMarine Ġartillery Ġfired Ġinto Ġthe Ġarea Ġjust Ġsouth Ġof Ġthe Ġridge Ġ, Ġforcing Ġany ĠJapanese Ġout Ġin Ġthe Ġopen Ġto Ġseek Ġcover Ġin Ġthe Ġnearby Ġjungle Ġ. ĠThe ĠJapanese Ġsuffered Ġseveral Ġcasualties Ġ, Ġincluding Ġtwo Ġofficers Ġfrom ĠWat an abe Ġ' s Ġbattalion Ġ. ĠAt Ġ05 Ġ: Ġ50 Ġ, ĠKaw ag uchi Ġdecided Ġto Ġreg roup Ġhis Ġforces Ġfor Ġanother Ġattack Ġthat Ġnight Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠSecond Ġnight Ġ' s Ġaction Ġon Ġthe Ġridge Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠExpect ing Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġto Ġattack Ġagain Ġthat Ġnight Ġ, ĠEd son Ġdirected Ġhis Ġtroops Ġto Ġimprove Ġtheir Ġdefenses Ġon Ġand Ġaround Ġthe Ġridge Ġ. ĠAfter Ġa Ġfailed Ġattempt Ġby Ġtwo Ġcompanies Ġto Ġretake Ġthe Ġground Ġon Ġthe ĠMarine Ġright Ġflank Ġlost Ġto ĠKok ush o Ġthe Ġnight Ġbefore Ġ, ĠEd son Ġrep osition ed Ġhis Ġforces Ġ. ĠHe Ġpulled Ġhis Ġfront Ġback Ġabout Ġ400 Ġy d Ġ( Ġ370 Ġm Ġ) Ġto Ġa Ġline Ġthat Ġstretched Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ800 Ġy d Ġ( Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ600 Ġm Ġ) Ġ, Ġstarting Ġat Ġthe ĠLung a ĠRiver Ġand Ġcrossing Ġthe Ġridge Ġabout Ġ150 Ġy d Ġ( Ġ140 Ġm Ġ) Ġsouth Ġof ĠHill Ġ123 Ġ. ĠAround Ġand Ġbehind ĠHill Ġ123 Ġhe Ġplaced Ġfive Ġcompanies Ġ. ĠAny ĠJapanese Ġattackers Ġsur mount ing ĠHill Ġ80 Ġwould Ġhave Ġto Ġadvance Ġover Ġ400 Ġy d Ġ( Ġ370 Ġm Ġ) Ġof Ġopen Ġterrain Ġto Ġclose Ġwith Ġthe ĠMarine Ġpositions Ġat ĠHill Ġ123 Ġ. ĠWith Ġonly Ġa Ġfew Ġhours Ġto Ġprepare Ġ, Ġthe ĠMarines Ġwere Ġonly Ġable Ġto Ġconstruct Ġrudimentary Ġand Ġshallow Ġfort ifications Ġ. ĠThey Ġwere Ġlow Ġon Ġammunition Ġ, Ġwith Ġone Ġor Ġtwo Ġgrenades Ġfor Ġeach ĠMarine Ġ. ĠVand eg rift Ġordered Ġa Ġreserve Ġforce Ġconsisting Ġof Ġthe Ġ2 nd ĠBattalion Ġ, Ġ5 th ĠMarine ĠRegiment Ġ( Ġ2 Ġ/ Ġ5 Ġ) Ġto Ġmove Ġinto Ġa Ġposition Ġjust Ġto Ġthe Ġrear Ġof ĠEd son Ġ' s Ġtroops Ġ. ĠIn Ġaddition Ġ, Ġa Ġbattery Ġof Ġfour Ġ105 mm Ġhow itz ers Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ11 th ĠMarine ĠRegiment Ġmoved Ġto Ġa Ġlocation Ġfrom Ġwhere Ġit Ġcould Ġprovide Ġdirect Ġfire Ġonto Ġthe Ġridge Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġforward Ġartillery Ġobserver Ġwas Ġplaced Ġwith ĠEd son Ġ' s Ġfront Ġline Ġunits Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠLate Ġin Ġthe Ġafternoon Ġ, ĠEd son Ġstepped Ġonto Ġa Ġgrenade Ġbox Ġand Ġaddressed Ġhis Ġexhausted Ġtroops Ġ, Ġsaying Ġ, Ġ Ġ ĠYou Ġmen Ġhave Ġdone Ġa Ġgreat Ġjob Ġ, Ġand ĠI Ġhave Ġjust Ġone Ġmore Ġthing Ġto Ġask Ġof Ġyou Ġ. ĠHold Ġout Ġjust Ġone Ġmore Ġnight Ġ. ĠI Ġknow Ġwe Ġ' ve Ġbeen Ġwithout Ġsleep Ġa Ġlong Ġtime Ġ. ĠBut Ġwe Ġexpect Ġanother Ġattack Ġfrom Ġthem Ġtonight Ġand Ġthey Ġmay Ġcome Ġthrough Ġhere Ġ. ĠI Ġhave Ġevery Ġreason Ġto Ġbelieve Ġthat Ġwe Ġwill Ġhave Ġrelief s Ġhere Ġfor Ġall Ġof Ġus Ġin Ġthe Ġmorning Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠEd son Ġ' s Ġspeech Ġ" Ġraised Ġthe Ġspirits Ġ" Ġof Ġthe ĠRaiders Ġand Ġhelped Ġthem Ġprepare Ġmentally Ġfor Ġthe Ġnight Ġahead Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAs Ġthe Ġsun Ġset Ġon Ġ13 ĠSeptember Ġ, ĠKaw ag uchi Ġfaced ĠEd son Ġ' s Ġ8 30 ĠMarines Ġwith Ġ3 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġtroops Ġof Ġhis Ġbrigade Ġ, Ġplus Ġan Ġassortment Ġof Ġlight Ġartillery Ġ. ĠThe Ġnight Ġwas Ġpitch Ġblack Ġ, Ġwith Ġno Ġmoon Ġ. ĠAt Ġ21 Ġ: Ġ00 Ġ, Ġseven ĠJapanese Ġdestroy ers Ġbriefly Ġbomb arded Ġthe Ġridge Ġ. ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ' s Ġattack Ġbegan Ġjust Ġafter Ġnight fall Ġ, Ġwith ĠKok ush o Ġ' s Ġbattalion Ġassaulting ĠRaider ĠCompany ĠB Ġon Ġthe ĠMarine Ġright Ġflank Ġ, Ġjust Ġto Ġthe Ġwest Ġof Ġthe Ġridge Ġ. ĠThe Ġforce Ġof Ġthe Ġassault Ġcaused ĠCompany ĠB Ġto Ġfall Ġback Ġto ĠHill Ġ123 Ġ. ĠUnder ĠMarine Ġartillery Ġfire Ġ, ĠKok ush o Ġre assembled Ġhis Ġmen Ġand Ġcontinued Ġhis Ġattack Ġ. ĠWithout Ġpa using Ġto Ġtry Ġto Ġ" Ġroll Ġ@ - @ Ġup Ġ" Ġthe Ġother Ġnearby ĠMarine Ġunits Ġ, Ġwhose Ġfl anks Ġwere Ġnow Ġunprotected Ġ, ĠKok ush o Ġ' s Ġunit Ġsurged Ġforward Ġthrough Ġthe Ġswamp y Ġlow lands Ġbetween Ġthe Ġridge Ġand Ġthe ĠLung a ĠRiver Ġ, Ġheading Ġfor Ġthe Ġair field Ġ. ĠKok ush o Ġ' s Ġmen Ġcame Ġupon Ġa Ġpile Ġof ĠMarine Ġsupplies Ġand Ġr ations Ġ. ĠNot Ġhaving Ġeaten Ġadequately Ġfor Ġa Ġcouple Ġof Ġdays Ġ, Ġthey Ġpaused Ġto Ġ" Ġgorge Ġthemselves Ġ" Ġon Ġthe Ġ" ĠC Ġ" Ġand Ġ" ĠK Ġ" Ġr ations Ġ. ĠKok ush o Ġordered Ġhis Ġmen Ġto Ġcontinue Ġthe Ġattack Ġ. ĠAt Ġabout Ġ03 Ġ: Ġ00 Ġ, Ġhe Ġled Ġthem Ġagainst Ġthe ĠMarine Ġunits Ġaround Ġthe Ġnorthern Ġportion Ġof Ġthe Ġridge Ġ, Ġjust Ġshort Ġof Ġthe Ġair field Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas ĠHill Ġ123 Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġheavy Ġfighting Ġthat Ġfollowed Ġ, ĠKok ush o Ġand Ġaround Ġ100 Ġof Ġhis Ġmen Ġwere Ġkilled Ġ, Ġending Ġthat Ġattack Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMeanwhile Ġ, ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ' s Ġ2 nd ĠBattalion Ġ, Ġunder ĠMajor ĠMas ao ĠTam ura Ġ, Ġassembled Ġfor Ġtheir Ġplanned Ġassault Ġagainst ĠHill Ġ80 Ġfrom Ġthe Ġjungle Ġsouth Ġof Ġthe Ġridge Ġ. ĠMarine Ġobservers Ġspotted ĠTam ura Ġ' s Ġpreparations Ġand Ġcalled Ġin Ġartillery Ġfire Ġ. ĠAt Ġabout