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Title
Ambitious Plans
Description
After a series of Bloody Ridge engagements earlier in the month, General Vandegrift knew that a sizable Japanese force was operating from Matanikau village east of Point Cruz. A series of ambitious offensives in regimental strength were planned to clear out the enemy. Forced under the command of Colonel Edson …
Source
Publisher
Date
1942-09-27
Scenario#
BB16
Scenario Description
After a series of Bloody Ridge engagements earlier in the month, General Vandegrift knew that a sizable Japanese force was operating from Matanikau village east of Point Cruz. A series of ambitious offensives in regimental strength were planned to clear out the enemy. Forced under the command of Colonel Edson and Lt. Col. Lewis “Chesty” Puller attacked the Japanese forces from the east, but met with very heavy Japanese resistance. A message sent to Edson led him to mistakenly believe that the Marines were making good progress. In order to exploit this misinterpreted success, Edson sent Chesty Puller’s 1st Battalion, 7th Marines to land west of Point Cruz and attack Matanikau from the rear, supported by fire from the destroyer Monssen. No sooner had the first ridge been gained when two Japanese columns attacked the flanks of the battalion and cut it off from the shore.
Location
Point Cruz, Guadalcanal
Battle Narrative
The Actions along the Matanikau—sometimes referred to as the Second and Third Battles of the Matanikau—were two separate but related engagements, which took place in the months of September and October 1942, among a series of engagements between the United States and Imperial Japanese naval and ground forces around the Matanikau River on Guadalcanal Island in the southwestern Pacific northeast of Australia, during the Guadalcanal campaign. These particular engagements—the first taking place between 23 and 27 September, and the second between 6 and 9 October—were two of the largest and most significant of the Matanikau actions.
Narrative Source
Combatants
Japanese
American
Additional Information
Scenario Type = Standard