_A M1918 155mm howitzer is fired by artillery crewmen of the 11th
Marines in support of ground forces attacking the enemy. Despite the
lack of sound-flash equipment to locate hostile artillery, Col del
Valle’s guns were able to quiet enemy fire._]
On the 7th, Whaling’s force moved into the jungle about 2,000 yards
upstream on the Matanikau, encountering Japanese troops that harassed
his forward elements, but not in enough strength to stop the advance.
He bypassed the enemy positions and dug in for the night. Behind him
the 7th Marines followed suit, prepared to move through his lines,
cross the river, and attack north toward the Japanese on the 8th. The
5th Marines’ assault battalions moving toward the Matanikau on the
7th ran into Japanese in strength about 400 yards from the river.
Unwittingly, the Marines had run into strong advance elements of the
Japanese _4th Regiment_, which had crossed the Matanikau in order
to establish a base from which artillery could fire into the Marine
perimeter. The fighting was intense and the 3d Battalion, 5th, could
make little progress, although the 2d Battalion encountered slight
opposition and won through to the river bank. It then turned north to
hit the inland flank of the enemy troops. Vandegrift sent forward a
company of raiders to reinforce the 5th, and it took a holding position
on the right, towards the beach.
Rain poured down on the 8th, all day long, virtually stopping all
forward progress, but not halting the close-in fighting around the
Japanese pocket. The enemy troops finally retreated, attempting to
escape the gradually encircling Marines. They smashed into the raider’s
position nearest to their escape route. A wild hand-to-hand battle
ensued and a few Japanese broke through to reach and cross the river.
The rest died fighting.
[Illustration: