The Battle of Edson's Ridge was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Imperial Japanese Army and Allied (mainly United States Marine Corps) ground forces. The battle took place September 12–14, 1942 on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, and was the second of three separate major Japanese ground offensives during the Guadalcanal campaign. In the battle, U.S. Marines, under the overall command of U.S. Major General Alexander Vandegrift, repulsed an attack by the Japanese 35th Infantry Brigade, under the command of Japanese Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi. The Marines were defending the Lunga perimeter that guarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, which was captured from the Japanese by the Allies in landings on Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942. Kawaguchi's unit was sent to Guadalcanal in response to the Allied landings with the mission of recapturing the airfield and driving the Allied forces from the island. The main Japanese assault occurred around Lunga ridge south of Henderson Field that was manned by troops from several U.S. Marine Corps units, primarily troops from the 1st Raider and 1st Parachute Battalions under U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A. Edson. Although the Marine defenses were almost overrun, Kawaguchi's attack was ultimately defeated with heavy losses for the Japanese attackers.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1609:

While sailing aboard the Halve Maen, English explorer Henry Hudson began his exploration of the Hudson River, laying the foundation for Dutch colonization of present-day New York. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Hudson

1683:

Great Turkish War: Polish troops led by John III Sobieski joined forces with a Habsburg army to defeat the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vienna. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vienna

1848:

Switzerland became a federal state with the adoption of a new constitution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland

1940:

Four teenagers discovered the Lascaux caves near Montignac, in the Dordogne département of France, containing cave paintings that are estimated to be 16,000 years old. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux

1974:

Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, considered to be the religious symbol for God incarnate among the Rastafari movement, was deposed in a coup d'état by the Derg, a military junta. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Selassie_I_of_Ethiopia

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

tight as a tick (adj): 1. Drunk, inebriated. 2. Fully inflated; swollen near to bursting. 3. Unwilling to spend money http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tight_as_a_tick

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

If man had more of a sense of humor, things might have turned out differently. --Stanisław Lem http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Lem