Battle of Henderson Field

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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