ons and credit for the victory goes to Admiral Scott. American losses include damage to the aircraft carrier Enterprise forcing its return to Pearl Harbor for repairs. This victory keeps the Japanese from landing the troops necessary to start a major drive to retake Henderson Field.On August 28th the Japanese bounce back and again attempt to land troops this time by the use of destroyers. The destroyers however must accomplish their mission during the hours of darkness to avoid the planes of Henderson Field. This attempt, costs them one destroyer sunk and two damaged. Undaunted, further attempts are made using this method and by the end of the month the Japanese succeed in bringing enough soldiers to the island to enable a major assault at the time of their choosing.Dor Brown 11Having learned the hard way that the Marines are not going to be a pushover, the Japanese take their time and plan carefully. Their buildup continues through the early days of September and the date of the next attack is set for September 12th. On this date, another crucial attempt to take the airfield will be made under the command of Major General Kawaguchi. Kawaguchi was originally scheduled to land and take Fiji Islands in July but the defeat at Midway placed him there on the last day in August. With the general came 1,200 fresh soldiers delivered by destroyer convoy. Counting the troops shuttled in earlier by destroyers, his force reached 6,200 strong. Kawaguchi felt confident that this would be more than enough men to retake the airfield, at what was to be called The Battle of Edson’s Ridge. The Japanese troops soon hurled themselves at the Marines with devastating losses to both sides. Heroic efforts by Marine, Navy, and Army Air Forces along with superb Marine ground fighting stopped Kawaguchi at the perimeter of the airfield. He then pointed his command group at the ridge, but he too found the terrain so difficult that he sidestepped ...
