Bloody Ridge*
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Date: September 13, 1942*
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Battle Type: Japanese Assault vs USMC Defend*
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Design: Bill Wilson*
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In August 1942, the U.S. followed up on the success of Midway by landing on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands and seizing the partially completed Japanese airstrip.  The airfield was finished and christened Henderson Field.  Very quickly, the Japanese made determined efforts to recapture the airfield and force the withdrawal of the U.S. 1st Marine Division.*
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Following a failed attack near the Tenaru River, the Japanese landed stronger forces under the command of Colonel Kawaguchi.  This force was composed of the I/124th Infantry, III/124th Infantry and the II/4th Infantry.*
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Allied coastwatchers and their native scouts warned the Marines of Kawaguchi's force and its advance.  Lt Col 'Red Mike' Edson and his 1st Raider Battalion were selected to block the Japanese advance.  Edson determined the likely Japanese advance would come over a grassy ridge south of Henderson Field.  The 1st Raiders, although weary from days of combat, occupied the ridge and waited for the Japanese.*
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The first Japanese assault was on the night of 12 September, but did not carry through because all units had not reached their assembly areas.  Following this assault, Edson pulled his Raiders and paratroopers back to new positions near the middle of the ridge.*
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The main Japanese blow fell on the night of 13 September, when Edson's men were assaulted by two full battalions of Kawaguchi's force.  Although the men were exhausted, Marine machine gun fire, hand grenades, and artillery kept the repeated Japanese assaults at bay.  By the morning of 14 September, 600 Japanese lay dead on and around the ridge.  Edson's men suffered 40 dead and 103 wounded, but held the ridge.  Thereafter, the grassy knoll was known variously as "Edson's Ridge" or "Bloody Ridge".*
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Although the Guadalcanal Campaign as a whole assumed the dimensions of a legend within the U.S. military, the Battle of Bloody Ridge stood out as one of the finest combat performances rendered by U.S. forces during the entire war.*
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It is estimated there are between three to four thousand Japanese infantry advancing on your position.  You are ordered to hold until relieved.  Semper Fidelis.*
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Unit Abbreviations:*
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Inf - Infantry Battalion*
Para - Remnants 1st Marine Parachute Battalion*
Wpns - Weapons*
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Source:  "Guadalcanal", pp. 235-241, by Richard B. Frank*
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