| Dead Imperial Army soldiers carpet the beach between the surf line and the coconut grove in an Ilu River sandbar. Colonel [Kiyonao] Ichiki’s (October 16, 1892 – August 21, 1942) Detachment of the 28th Regiment, about 900 men, tried to overrun the United States 1st Marines’ position on Guadalcanal’s coast. When Ichiki’s brave but suicidal soldiers attacked directly across the sandspit at the mouth of Alligator Creek (Ilu River), they ran into the massed fire of a dug-in company of Marines reinforced by several 30 caliber Browning M1919 machine guns and a pair of canister-firing 37 millimeter (1.45 inch) antitank guns. The Japanese were desperately determined to pierce the Marine defensive line. The attack spread southward along Alligator Creek as the Japanese sought a way around the defenses. The attackers fought their way across the creek at several points, and hand-to-hand fighting erupted in Marine fighting holes all along the line. At 1 point, the Japanese rushed the sandspit and drove back the defenders, but Marine reinforcements counterattacked in the nick of time and drove the Japanese from the overrun antitank bunkers. Finally, the battle raged to a standstill. The Marines of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines would not move, and the Japanese would not withdraw. At dawn, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines executed a brilliant flank attack around the southern end of the Marine line along Alligator Creek, while 6 Marine light tanks spearheaded a counterattack by 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines across the sandspit. Many of the Japanese were pocketed by the Marine infantry in a beachside coconut grove, and the tanks – supported by Marine Air’s 1st ground-support sorties of the Pacific War – annihilated them with canister. In all, 871 Japanese were killed, including Colonel Ichiki, who burned his unit’s colors and committed suicide. 15 Japanese were taken alive. The cost to the Marines was 34 killed and 75 wounded. Many Japanese hurled themselves into the water and swam for their lives until Marine sharpshooters lining the shore casually shot them dead. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1693.jpg |
| Image Size | 274.07 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1000 x 800 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Marine Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 22, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Guadalcanal |
| Country | Solomons |
| Archive | Marine Corps History Division |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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