15. Withstanding Japanese Pressure
Correctly judging that a Japanese night attack was in the works, Mitchell Paige did what he could to ready his men for the coming storm. It broke in the early morning hours. At 2 AM, October 26th, 1942, the jungle night’s quiet was shattered by the din of battle. Thousands of Japanese from the 16th and 29th Infantry Divisions made a desperate bid to overrun the 7th Marines, in order to capture Henderson Field. Their main route went straight through the position occupied by Sergeant Paige’s platoon.
The ensuing desperate fight was the culmination of the Battle For Henderson Field, October 23rd to 26th, 1942. It was the third major offensive that sought to recapture Guadalcanal, as the Japanese 17th Army made a desperate bid to burst through Marine and Army forces guarding the Lunga Perimeter, which protected Henderson Field. Over three days and nights, the Japanese launched a series of assaults around the American perimeter, all of them beaten back with heavy losses.