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| Henderson field, July 1942 |
By June 1942, the Imperial Japanese Empire stretched eastwards and included the Solomon Islands. The Japanese bases there had to be eliminated as they threatened supply exchanges between Australia and the United States.
Thus on 7 August 1942, the American made three landings in the Solomon Islands. The marines that landed in Guadalcanal managed to capture the Japanese air base, RXI (later renamed Henderson Field).
This capture shocked the Japanese, as they did not expect landings from the Americans. Bolstered by a naval victory (Battle of Savo Island) from 8-9 August (which denied the first Marine resupply), the Japanese started planning a counter attack.
The 1st Marine Regiment initially had 5 days' of food, but they managed to extend to 14 days via rationing and capturing Japanese supplies. They then spread to form a defensive perimeter, extending as far as Tenaru.
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| Modern map of Tenaru. Note that Henderson Field has been renamed Honiara International Airport |
On 12 August, Japanese aerial reconnaissance noted that few Marines and no big ships in the area, and falsely concluded that the Marines had been withdrawn. Thus 900 men of the 28th Infantry Regiment (under the command of Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki) was instructed to attempt a landing on Tenaru.
Despite being warned against frontal assaults, Colonel Ichiki was confident he could take on the undersupplied Marines. He landed on 18 August 1942. Instead of waiting for reinforcements, Colonel Ichiki decided to confront the Marines.
On 19 August, a Marine patrol encountered a Japanese scouting team and exchanged fire. The Americans suffered 3 dead and 3 wounded, and the Japanese lost 33 men. This convinced the Marines the Japanese were planning a major assaults soon.
The battle
After midnight on 21 August, the Japanese approached Alligator Creek and were surprised to note that the Americans were already there. The Japanese opened the attack with mortar and machine gun fire at 0130, and moved about 100 men across Alligator Creek.
Within an hour, most of the 100 men had been cut down by the Marines (and a few captured). Only a small number of Japanese managed to even cross the creek, and were mostly killed. The Marines were already supported by light artillery and machine guns, making any crossing difficult.
Undeterred, the Japanese assaulted again with less than 200 men at 0230. The attackers were nearly wiped out and Colonel Ichiki was advised to withdraw. He refused and launched a flanking attack at 0500. The attack also failed.
Upon daybreak, the Marines moved armour and lauched airstrikes at the remaining Japanese positions. Some injured Japanese feigned surrender, only to attack approaching Marines. The order came down to shoot any downed Japanese body.
By 1700, the battle was over. About 30 Japanese managed to withdraw from the battle. The Americans captured 15 Japanese. Colonel Ichiki was among the dead. It is not known if he went down fighting or committed ritual suicide in the final hours.
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| The Battle of Alligator Creek as depicted in The Pacific (2010) |
Aftermath
This victory convinced the Allies that the Japanese were beatable in the land battle but they would fight tooth and nail over most fights. This was shown when even wounded Japanese soldiers would choose fighting to death over medical treatment from the Allies.
For the Japanese, this battle reiterated the American will for the war and the warning against overconfidence, or "victor's disease".
Regardless, this battle showed that the war in Asia and the Pacific would be a long one.
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