Tasimboko Raid

With the U.S. Marines now firmly established on Guadalcanal, the Japanese landed more troops at Taivu Point, 18 miles east of the Marine-held Henderson Field. The Japanese commander planned to attack the Marine positions after having his engineers cut a trail through the dense jungle toward Henderson Field. Colonel Edson …

1942-09-08

A097

With the U.S. Marines now firmly established on Guadalcanal, the Japanese landed more troops at Taivu Point, 18 miles east of the Marine-held Henderson Field. The Japanese commander planned to attack the Marine positions after having his engineers cut a trail through the dense jungle toward Henderson Field. Colonel Edson was dispatched with the reorganized forces of the 1st Raider Battalion to eliminate this supposedly small enemy force. In the early morning, the first wave of Raiders came ashore at Taivu Point where they found signs of recent landings. Edson quickly deployed his men to attack with two companies along the coast while a third curved inland to strike the Japanese flank from the south. At mid-morning the Raiders made contact with the defenders near Tasimboko.

Tasimboko, Guadalcanal

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.

American

Japanese

Scenario Type = Standard