Shoji’s Escape

The Japanese have suffered a crushing defeat at Henderson Field, and Colonel Shoji was ordered to divert his forces towards Koli Point, about 13 miles east of the Lunga River. The Japanese have sent multiple destroyers loaded with fresh troops, …

1942-11-09

GuadAE3

The Japanese have suffered a crushing defeat at Henderson Field, and Colonel Shoji was ordered to divert his forces towards Koli Point, about 13 miles east of the Lunga River. The Japanese have sent multiple destroyers loaded with fresh troops, machine guns, mountain guns, rations, and ammunition to meet Shoji at Koli Point, where the Japanese intend to build an airfield. The Marines intercepted the Japanese communications regarding this plan, and hope to catch the Japanese shortly after they unload. U.S. Marine commanders posses documents outlining a Japanese plan to attack the Lunga perimeter from the east, and they do not want to give the Japanese a chance to reclaim the airstrip at Henderson Field. Units from the 7th Marine Regiment were to return to Lunga and then to move to Koli Point by boat. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 164th Infantry Regiment will be approaching the Japanese over land from the west. The plan is to encircle the Japanese forces entirely, and to bombard the pocket with artillery, aircraft, and mortar fire before clearing out the area entirely of any remaining Japanese. The Japanese cannot be allowed to escape and reconcentrate their forces at the Matanikau!

Koli Point, Guadalcanal

The Koli Point action, during 3–12 November 1942, was an engagement between U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army forces and Imperial Japanese Army forces around Koli Point on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal Campaign. The U.S. forces were under the overall command of Major General Alexander Vandegrift, while the Japanese forces were under the overall command of Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake. In the engagement, U.S. Marines from the 7th Marine Regiment and U.S. Army soldiers from the 164th Infantry Regiment under the tactical command of William H. Rupertus and Edmund B. Sebree, attacked a concentration of Japanese Army troops, most of whom belonged to the 230th Infantry Regiment, commanded by Toshinari Shōji. Shōji's troops had marched to the Koli Point area after the failed Japanese assaults on U.S. defenses during the Battle for Henderson Field in late October 1942.

Wikipedia: Koli Point Action

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