Matanikau Offensive - Aftermath

Aftermath

After chasing away the Japanese forces at Koli Point, the U.S. renewed the western offensive towards Kokumbona on November 10 with three battalions under the overall command of U.S. Marine Colonel John Arthur. In the meantime, fresh Japanese troops from the 228th Infantry Regiment of the 38th Infantry Division landed by Tokyo Express over several nights beginning on November 5 and effectively resisted the American attack. After making small advances, at 13:45 on November 11 Vandegrift suddenly ordered all the American forces to return to the east bank of the Matanikau.

Vandegrift ordered the withdrawal because of the receipt of intelligence from coastwatchers, aerial reconnaissance, and radio intercepts that a major Japanese reinforcement effort was imminent. Indeed, the Japanese were in the process of attempting to deliver the 10,000 remaining troops from the 38th Division to Guadalcanal in order to reattempt to capture Henderson Field. The resulting efforts by the Americans to stop this reinforcement attempt resulted in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the decisive naval battle of the Guadalcanal campaign, in which the Japanese reinforcement effort was turned back.

The Americans recrossed the Matanikau and attacked westward again beginning on November 18, but made slow progress against determined resistance from Japanese forces. The U.S. attack was halted on November 23 at a line just west of Point Cruz. The Americans and Japanese would remain facing each other in these positions for the next six weeks, until the ending stages of the campaign when U.S. forces began their final, successful push to drive Japanese forces from the island. Although the Americans had come close to overrunning the Japanese rear areas in the early November offensive, it would not be until the final stages of the campaign that the U.S. finally captured Kokumbona.