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We Know Where They Are

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Title
We Know Where They Are
Description
On the night of September 13th, elements of Major Mizumo's Kuma Battalion attacked the positions held by Marines of the 3rd Battalion on the eastern flank of the American perimeter. At dawn, the Marines sent a platoon of light tanks on patrol to see if the Marines had withdrawn. …
Publisher
Date
1942-09-14
Scenario#
HS07
Scenario Description
On the night of September 13th, elements of Major Mizumo's Kuma Battalion attacked the positions held by Marines of the 3rd Battalion on the eastern flank of the American perimeter. At dawn, the Marines sent a platoon of light tanks on patrol to see if the Marines had withdrawn. The tanks returned without incident and reported no contact. Survivors from the overrun listening posts straggled back and reports of Japanese positions began to come in. The tanks were dispatched again. They used the same path they had taken on their previous patrol -- a decision that would prove costly.
Location
Lunga Point, Guadalcanal
Battle Narrative
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 (mainly United States Marine Corps) ground forces. It took place from 12–14 September 1942, on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, and was the second of three separate major Japanese ground offensives during the Guadalcanal campaign. In the battle, U.S. Marines, under the overall command of U.S. Major General Alexander Vandegrift, repulsed an attack by the Japanese 35th Infantry Brigade, under the command of Japanese Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi. The Marines were defending the Lunga perimeter that guarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, which was captured from the Japanese by the Allies in landings on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942. Kawaguchi's unit was sent to Guadalcanal in response to the Allied landings with the mission of recapturing the airfield and driving the Allied forces from the island. 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.
Narrative Source
Combatants
American
Japanese
Additional Information
Scenario Type = Standard

Geolocation