 22 : 00 , a barrage from twelve 105 mm ( 4 @.@ 1 in ) guns hit Tamura 's position . In response , two companies of Tamura 's troops — numbering about 320 men — charged up Hill 80 with fixed bayonets behind their own barrage of mortar fire and grenades . Tamura 's attack hit Company B of the Marine Parachute battalion and also Raider Company B , pushing the Parachutists off the east side of the ridge into a draw below the ridgeline . To protect the exposed Raider Company B , Edson immediately ordered them to pull back onto Hill 123 .   At the same time , a Japanese company from Watanabe 's battalion infiltrated through a gap between the east side of the ridge and Parachute Company C. Deciding that their positions were now untenable , Parachute Companies B and C climbed onto the ridge and retreated to a position behind Hill 123 . In the darkness and confusion of the battle , the retreat quickly became confused and disorganized . A few Marines began yelling that the Japanese were attacking with poison gas , scaring other Marines who no longer possessed their gas masks . After arriving behind Hill 123 , some of the Marines continued on towards the airfield , repeating the word " withdraw " to anyone within earshot . Other Marines began to follow them . Just at the moment that it appeared that the Marines on the hill were about to break and head for the rear in a rout , Edson , Major Kenneth D. Bailey from Edson 's staff , and other Marine officers appeared and , with " vivid " language , herded the Marines back into defensive positions around Hill 123 .   As the Marines formed into a horseshoe @-@ shaped line around Hill 123 , Tamura 's battalion began a series of frontal assaults on the hill , charging up the saddle from Hill 80 and up from below the east side of the ridge . Under the light of parachute flares dropped by at least one Japanese floatplane , the Marines repulsed the first two attacks by Tamura 's men . Tamura 's troops hoisted a 75 mm ( 2 @.@ 95 in ) " regimental " gun to the top of Hill 80 in an effort to fire it directly at the Marines . This gun , which " could have turned the tide in favor of the Japanese , " however , was disabled by a faulty firing pin . At midnight , during a short lull in the fighting , Edson ordered Parachute Companies B and C to advance from behind Hill 123 to strengthen his left flank . With fixed bayonets , the Paramarines swept forward , killing Japanese soldiers who had overrun the Marine lines and were apparently preparing to roll up the Marine lines from the flank , and took position on the east side of the hill . Marines from other units , as well as members of Edson 's command staff , including Major Bailey , took ammunition and grenades under fire to the Marines around Hill 123 , who were running critically low . Said Marine participant Captain William J. McKennan , " The Japanese attack was almost constant , like a rain that subsides for a moment and then pours the harder ... When one wave was mowed down - and I mean mowed down - another followed it into death . "   The Japanese hit Edson 's left flank just after the Parachutists took position but were again stopped by Marine rifle , machine @-@ gun , mortar , and grenade fire . Marine 105 mm and 75 mm artillery was also taking a heavy toll on the attacking Japanese . A captured Japanese soldier later said that his unit was " annihilated " by the Marine artillery fire , which only 10 % of his company survived .   By 04 : 00 , after withstanding several more assaults , some of which resulted in hand @-@ to @-@ hand fighting , and severe sniper fire from all sides , Edson 's men were joined by troops from the 2nd Battalion , 5th Marine Regiment , who helped repulse two more Japanese attacks before dawn . Throughout the night , as Kawaguchi 's men came close to overrunning the Marine defenses , Edson remained standing about 20 yd ( 18 m ) behind the Marine firing line on Hill 123 , exhorting his troops and directing their defensive efforts . Said Marine Captain Tex Smith , who was in position to observe Edson for most of the night , " I can say that if there is such a thing as one man holding a battalion together , Edson did it that night . He stood just behind the front lines – stood , when most of us hugged the ground . "   During the heavy fighting , portions of three Japanese companies , including two from Tamura 's and one from Watanabe 's battalions , skirted the Marine defenses on the ridge , while suffering heavy losses from Marine gunfire , and reached the edge of " Fighter One " , a secondary runway of Henderson Field . A counterattack by the Marine engineers stopped one Japanese company 's advances and forced it to retreat . The other
Ġ22 Ġ: Ġ00 Ġ, Ġa Ġbarrage Ġfrom Ġtwelve Ġ105 Ġmm Ġ( Ġ4 Ġ@ . @ Ġ1 Ġin Ġ) Ġguns Ġhit ĠTam ura Ġ' s Ġposition Ġ. ĠIn Ġresponse Ġ, Ġtwo Ġcompanies Ġof ĠTam ura Ġ' s Ġtroops ĠâĢĶ Ġnumbering Ġabout Ġ320 Ġmen ĠâĢĶ Ġcharged Ġup ĠHill Ġ80 Ġwith Ġfixed Ġbay on ets Ġbehind Ġtheir Ġown Ġbarrage Ġof Ġmortar Ġfire Ġand Ġgrenades Ġ. ĠTam ura Ġ' s Ġattack Ġhit ĠCompany ĠB Ġof Ġthe ĠMarine ĠPar ach ute Ġbattalion Ġand Ġalso ĠRaider ĠCompany ĠB Ġ, Ġpushing Ġthe ĠPar ach ut ists Ġoff Ġthe Ġeast Ġside Ġof Ġthe Ġridge Ġinto Ġa Ġdraw Ġbelow Ġthe Ġrid g eline Ġ. ĠTo Ġprotect Ġthe Ġexposed ĠRaider ĠCompany ĠB Ġ, ĠEd son Ġimmediately Ġordered Ġthem Ġto Ġpull Ġback Ġonto ĠHill Ġ123 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAt Ġthe Ġsame Ġtime Ġ, Ġa ĠJapanese Ġcompany Ġfrom ĠWat an abe Ġ' s Ġbattalion Ġinfiltrated Ġthrough Ġa Ġgap Ġbetween Ġthe Ġeast Ġside Ġof Ġthe Ġridge Ġand ĠPar ach ute ĠCompany ĠC . ĠDec iding Ġthat Ġtheir Ġpositions Ġwere Ġnow Ġunt enable Ġ, ĠPar ach ute ĠCompanies ĠB Ġand ĠC Ġclimbed Ġonto Ġthe Ġridge Ġand Ġretreated Ġto Ġa Ġposition Ġbehind ĠHill Ġ123 Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġdarkness Ġand Ġconfusion Ġof Ġthe Ġbattle Ġ, Ġthe Ġretreat Ġquickly Ġbecame Ġconfused Ġand Ġdis organized Ġ. ĠA Ġfew ĠMarines Ġbegan Ġyelling Ġthat Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġwere Ġattacking Ġwith Ġpoison Ġgas Ġ, Ġsc aring Ġother ĠMarines Ġwho Ġno Ġlonger Ġpossessed Ġtheir Ġgas Ġmasks Ġ. ĠAfter Ġarriving Ġbehind ĠHill Ġ123 Ġ, Ġsome Ġof Ġthe ĠMarines Ġcontinued Ġon Ġtowards Ġthe Ġair field Ġ, Ġrepeating Ġthe Ġword Ġ" Ġwithdraw Ġ" Ġto Ġanyone Ġwithin Ġe arsh ot Ġ. ĠOther ĠMarines Ġbegan Ġto Ġfollow Ġthem Ġ. ĠJust Ġat Ġthe Ġmoment Ġthat Ġit Ġappeared Ġthat Ġthe ĠMarines Ġon Ġthe Ġhill Ġwere Ġabout Ġto Ġbreak Ġand Ġhead Ġfor Ġthe Ġrear Ġin Ġa Ġrout Ġ, ĠEd son Ġ, ĠMajor ĠKenneth ĠD . ĠBailey Ġfrom ĠEd son Ġ' s Ġstaff Ġ, Ġand Ġother ĠMarine Ġofficers Ġappeared Ġand Ġ, Ġwith Ġ" Ġvivid Ġ" Ġlanguage Ġ, Ġher ded Ġthe ĠMarines Ġback Ġinto Ġdefensive Ġpositions Ġaround ĠHill Ġ123 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAs Ġthe ĠMarines Ġformed Ġinto Ġa Ġhors esh oe Ġ@ - @ Ġshaped Ġline Ġaround ĠHill Ġ123 Ġ, ĠTam ura Ġ' s Ġbattalion Ġbegan Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġfrontal Ġassaults Ġon Ġthe Ġhill Ġ, Ġcharging Ġup Ġthe Ġsaddle Ġfrom ĠHill Ġ80 Ġand Ġup Ġfrom Ġbelow Ġthe Ġeast Ġside Ġof Ġthe Ġridge Ġ. ĠUnder Ġthe Ġlight Ġof Ġparachute Ġflares Ġdropped Ġby Ġat Ġleast Ġone ĠJapanese Ġfloat plane Ġ, Ġthe ĠMarines Ġrep uls ed Ġthe Ġfirst Ġtwo Ġattacks Ġby ĠTam ura Ġ' s Ġmen Ġ. ĠTam ura Ġ' s Ġtroops Ġho isted Ġa Ġ75 Ġmm Ġ( Ġ2 Ġ@ . @ Ġ95 Ġin Ġ) Ġ" Ġreg imental Ġ" Ġgun Ġto Ġthe Ġtop Ġof ĠHill Ġ80 Ġin Ġan Ġeffort Ġto Ġfire Ġit Ġdirectly Ġat Ġthe ĠMarines Ġ. ĠThis Ġgun Ġ, Ġwhich Ġ" Ġcould Ġhave Ġturned Ġthe Ġtide Ġin Ġfavor Ġof Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġ, Ġ" Ġhowever Ġ, Ġwas Ġdisabled Ġby Ġa Ġfaulty Ġfiring Ġpin Ġ. ĠAt Ġmidnight Ġ, Ġduring Ġa Ġshort Ġlull Ġin Ġthe Ġfighting Ġ, ĠEd son Ġordered ĠPar ach ute ĠCompanies ĠB Ġand ĠC Ġto Ġadvance Ġfrom Ġbehind ĠHill Ġ123 Ġto Ġstrengthen Ġhis Ġleft Ġflank Ġ. ĠWith Ġfixed Ġbay on ets Ġ, Ġthe ĠParam ar ines Ġswept Ġforward Ġ, Ġkilling ĠJapanese Ġsoldiers Ġwho Ġhad Ġoverrun Ġthe ĠMarine Ġlines Ġand Ġwere Ġapparently Ġpreparing Ġto Ġroll Ġup Ġthe ĠMarine Ġlines Ġfrom Ġthe Ġflank Ġ, Ġand Ġtook Ġposition Ġon Ġthe Ġeast Ġside Ġof Ġthe Ġhill Ġ. ĠMarines Ġfrom Ġother Ġunits Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġmembers Ġof ĠEd son Ġ' s Ġcommand Ġstaff Ġ, Ġincluding ĠMajor ĠBailey Ġ, Ġtook Ġammunition Ġand Ġgrenades Ġunder Ġfire Ġto Ġthe ĠMarines Ġaround ĠHill Ġ123 Ġ, Ġwho Ġwere Ġrunning Ġcritically Ġlow Ġ. ĠSaid ĠMarine Ġparticipant ĠCaptain ĠWilliam ĠJ . ĠMcK enn an Ġ, Ġ" ĠThe ĠJapanese Ġattack Ġwas Ġalmost Ġconstant Ġ, Ġlike Ġa Ġrain Ġthat Ġsubs ides Ġfor Ġa Ġmoment Ġand Ġthen Ġp ours Ġthe Ġharder Ġ... ĠWhen Ġone Ġwave Ġwas Ġm owed Ġdown Ġ- Ġand ĠI Ġmean Ġm owed Ġdown Ġ- Ġanother Ġfollowed Ġit Ġinto Ġdeath Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠJapanese Ġhit ĠEd son Ġ' s Ġleft Ġflank Ġjust Ġafter Ġthe ĠPar ach ut ists Ġtook Ġposition Ġbut Ġwere Ġagain Ġstopped Ġby ĠMarine Ġrifle Ġ, Ġmachine Ġ@ - @ Ġgun Ġ, Ġmortar Ġ, Ġand Ġgrenade Ġfire Ġ. ĠMarine Ġ105 Ġmm Ġand Ġ75 Ġmm Ġartillery Ġwas Ġalso Ġtaking Ġa Ġheavy Ġtoll Ġon Ġthe Ġattacking ĠJapanese Ġ. ĠA Ġcaptured ĠJapanese Ġsoldier Ġlater Ġsaid Ġthat Ġhis Ġunit Ġwas Ġ" Ġannihil ated Ġ" Ġby Ġthe ĠMarine Ġartillery Ġfire Ġ, Ġwhich Ġonly Ġ10 Ġ% Ġof Ġhis Ġcompany Ġsurvived Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠBy Ġ04 Ġ: Ġ00 Ġ, Ġafter Ġwith standing Ġseveral Ġmore Ġassaults Ġ, Ġsome Ġof Ġwhich Ġresulted Ġin Ġhand Ġ@ - @ Ġto Ġ@ - @ Ġhand Ġfighting Ġ, Ġand Ġsevere Ġsniper Ġfire Ġfrom Ġall Ġsides Ġ, ĠEd son Ġ' s Ġmen Ġwere Ġjoined Ġby Ġtroops Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ2 nd ĠBattalion Ġ, Ġ5 th ĠMarine ĠRegiment Ġ, Ġwho Ġhelped Ġrep ulse Ġtwo Ġmore ĠJapanese Ġattacks Ġbefore Ġdawn Ġ. ĠThroughout Ġthe Ġnight Ġ, Ġas ĠKaw ag uchi Ġ' s Ġmen Ġcame Ġclose Ġto Ġover running Ġthe ĠMarine Ġdefenses Ġ, ĠEd son Ġremained Ġstanding Ġabout Ġ20 Ġy d Ġ( Ġ18 Ġm Ġ) Ġbehind Ġthe ĠMarine Ġfiring Ġline Ġon ĠHill Ġ123 Ġ, Ġexh orting Ġhis Ġtroops Ġand Ġdirecting Ġtheir Ġdefensive Ġefforts Ġ. ĠSaid ĠMarine ĠCaptain ĠTex ĠSmith Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġin Ġposition Ġto Ġobserve ĠEd son Ġfor Ġmost Ġof Ġthe Ġnight Ġ, Ġ" ĠI Ġcan Ġsay Ġthat Ġif Ġthere Ġis Ġsuch Ġa Ġthing Ġas Ġone Ġman Ġholding Ġa Ġbattalion Ġtogether Ġ, ĠEd son Ġdid Ġit Ġthat Ġnight Ġ. ĠHe Ġstood Ġjust Ġbehind Ġthe Ġfront Ġlines ĠâĢĵ Ġstood Ġ, Ġwhen Ġmost Ġof Ġus Ġhugged Ġthe Ġground Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠDuring Ġthe Ġheavy Ġfighting Ġ, Ġportions Ġof Ġthree ĠJapanese Ġcompanies Ġ, Ġincluding Ġtwo Ġfrom ĠTam ura Ġ' s Ġand Ġone Ġfrom ĠWat an abe Ġ' s Ġbatt alions Ġ, Ġsk irted Ġthe ĠMarine Ġdefenses Ġon Ġthe Ġridge Ġ, Ġwhile Ġsuffering Ġheavy Ġlosses Ġfrom ĠMarine Ġgunfire Ġ, Ġand Ġreached Ġthe Ġedge Ġof Ġ" ĠFighter ĠOne Ġ" Ġ, Ġa Ġsecondary Ġrunway Ġof ĠHenderson ĠField Ġ. ĠA Ġcounter attack Ġby Ġthe ĠMarine Ġengineers Ġstopped Ġone ĠJapanese Ġcompany Ġ' s Ġadvances Ġand Ġforced Ġit Ġto Ġretreat Ġ. ĠThe Ġother