Battle for Henderson Field

Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II

Dead soldiers from the Japanese 16th and 29th Infantry Regiments litter the battlefield after the failed assaults on 25–26 October.

Date	23—26 October 1942
Location	9°26′51″S 160°2′56″E / 9.44750°S 160.04889°E / -9.44750; 160.04889 (Henderson's Airfield)Coordinates: 9°26′51″S 160°2′56″E / 9.44750°S 160.04889°E / -9.44750; 160.04889 (Henderson's Airfield) Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands
Result	Allied victory

Belligerents

United States

Japan

Commanders and leaders

Alexander Vandegrift

Harukichi Hyakutake

Units involved

1st Marine Division

164th Infantry Regiment

17th Army

Strength

23,088

20,000

Casualties and losses

61–86 killed,
1 tugboat,
1 patrol boat sunk,
3 aircraft destroyed

2,200–3,000 killed,
1 cruiser sunk,
14 aircraft destroyed

1st Marine Division

The Battle for Henderson Field, also known as the Battle of Henderson Field or Battle of Lunga Point by the Japanese, took place from 23–26 October 1942 on and around Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. The battle was a land, sea, and air battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and was fought between the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy and Allied (mainly United States (U.S.) Marine and U.S. Army) forces. The battle was the third of the three major land offensives conducted by the Japanese during the Guadalcanal campaign.

In the battle, U.S. Marine and Army forces, under the overall command of Major General Alexander Vandegrift, repulsed an attack by the Japanese 17th Army, under the command of Japanese Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake. The U.S. forces were defending the Lunga perimeter, which guarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, that had been captured from the Japanese by the Allies in landings on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942. Hyakutake's force was sent to Guadalcanal in response to the Allied landings with the mission of recapturing the airfield and driving the Allied forces off the island.

Hyakutake's soldiers conducted numerous assaults over three days at various locations around the Lunga perimeter, all repulsed with heavy Japanese losses. At the same time, Allied aircraft operating from Henderson Field successfully defended U.S. positions on Guadalcanal from attacks by Japanese naval air and sea forces.

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