Dead Japanese soldiers lie on Edson's Ridge near Hill 123 after the Battle of Edson's Ridge, Guadalcanal, 1942

Dead Japanese soldiers lie on Edson's Ridge near Hill 123 after the Battle of Edson's Ridge, Guadalcanal, 1942.

- The Battle of Edson's Ridge was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Imperial Japanese Army and Allied ground forces. It took place from 12–14 September 1942, on Guadalcanal and was the second of three separate major Japanese ground offensives during the Guadalcanal campaign. In the battle, U.S. Marines under the overall command of U.S. Major General A. Vandegrift repulsed an attack by the Japanese 35th Infantry Brigade under the command of Japanese Major General Kawaguchi. The Marines were defending the Lunga perimeter that guarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. Kawaguchi's unit was sent to Guadalcanal in response to the Allied landings with the mission of recapturing the airfield and driving the Allied forces from the island. Underestimating the strength of Allied forces on Guadalcanal (about 12,000 men) Kawaguchi's 6,000 soldiers conducted several nighttime frontal assaults on the U.S. defenses. The main Japanese assault occurred around Lunga ridge south of Henderson Field, manned by troops from several U.S. Marine Corps units, primarily troops from the 1st Raider and 1st Parachute Battalions under U.S.M.C Lt. Colonel Merritt A. Edson. Although the Marine defenses were almost overrun, Kawaguchi's attack was ultimately defeated, with heavy losses for the Japanese. Because of the key participation by Edson's unit in defending the ridge, the ridge was commonly referred to as "Edson's" ridge in historical accounts of the battle in Western sources. After Edson's Ridge, the Japanese continued to send troops to Guadalcanal for further attempts to retake Henderson Field, affecting Japanese offensive operations in other areas of the South Pacific.

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