The Battle of the Tenaru, also called the Battle of the Ilu River or the Battle of Alligator Creek, was fought between the Imperial Japanese Army and Allied ground forces on 21 August 1942 during the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II.
History[]
On 7 August 1942, American forces landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida Islands in the Solomon Islands. The US Marine Corps captured the airfield at Lunga Point and set to work consolidating their beachhead and building "Henderson Field" (named for Lofton Henderson, a hero of the Battle of Midway), even after the US Navy was defeated and forced to retreat at the Battle of Savo Island, leaving the Marines without heavy equipment, provisions, or /reinforcements. The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters then ordered Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake to retake Guadalcanal from Allied forces, and the IJA 28th Infantry Regiment under Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki was dispatched from Guam to assist in this effort. Ichiki and 916 elite soldiers from his 2,300-strong regiment planned to scout the American positions at Lunga Point ahead of a possible attack. However, Ichiki was confident in the superiority of his men and brazenly decided on a frontal assault against the American positions.
Sergeant Major Jacob C. Vouza of the Solomon Islands constabulary spotted the Japanese troops east of Lunga Point and warned the Americans. On 19 August, the Americans ambushed and mauled a Japanese patrol, which then retreated back to Taivu Point. The Marines proceeded to prepare defenses along the Ilu River (nicknamed "Alligator Creek," although it was home to crocodiles and was a lagoon and not a creek); the Tenaru River was located further to the east.
Just after midnight on 21 August, the Japanese arrived at the east bank of the Alligator Creek, where they were surprised to find that the Americans were so far from the airfield. At 1:30, the Japanese opened fire with machine-guns and mortars, but Marine machine-gun fire and canister rounds killed most of the Japanese as they crossed a sandbar. A few Japanese soldiers reached the MArine positions, engaged in hand-to-hand combat, and captured a few frontline emplacements. However, a company of Marines killed almost every Japanese soldier who breached the frontline defenses. At 2:30, a second wave of up to 200 Japanese troops attacked across the sandbar and was almost completely wiped out. Against the advice of a survivor, Ichiki pressed the attackw ith mortar support. AT 5 AM, Japanese troops attempted to wade through the ocean surf and attack up the beach, but they were also decimated by machine-gun and artillery fire. By daybreak, the Marines began to envelop the Japanese from the south and east and cut off their avenue for retreat. Aircraft from Henderson Field strafed fleeing Japanese soldiers and M3 Stuart tanks attacked across the sandbar and crushed Japanese soldiers as they swept through a coconut grove. By 5 PM on 21 August, Japanese resistance had ended. Ichiki either died in battle or committed seppuku, and wounded Japanese soldiers continued to ambush Marine soldiers before being bayonetted or shot. Only 15 injured Japanese soldiers were taken prisoner, while 30 escaped to Taivu Point. OVer 800 Japanese soldiers were killed during the fighting.
The Battle of the Tenaru bolstered Allied morale, breaking the myth of the Imperial Japanese Army's invincibility.