Koli Point action

Kali Point action
Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II
75 mm pack howitzers of the 11th U.S. Marine Regiment fire in support of the operation against Japanese forces around Koli Point.
Date 3–12 November 1942 Location Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands 9°27′S 160°10′E / 9.45°S 160.17°E / -9.45; 160.17 Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United States  United Kingdom British Solomon Islands  Australia	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Alexander Vandegrift William H. Rupertus Edmund B. Sebree	Harukichi Hyakutake Toshinari Shōji
Strength
3,500[1] 7th Marine Regiment 164th Infantry Regiment	2,500–3,500[2]
Casualties and losses
40 killed[3]	450+ killed[4]
class=notpageimage| Location within Pacific Ocean Show map of Pacific Ocean Koli Point action (Solomon Islands) Show map of Solomon Islands

The Kali Point action, during 3–12 November 1942, was an engagement between U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army forces and Imperial Japanese Army forces around Koli Point on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign. The U.S. forces were under the overall command of Major General Alexander Vandegrift, while the Japanese forces were under the overall command of Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake.

U.S. Marines from the 7th Marine Regiment and U.S. Army soldiers from the 164th Infantry Regiment under the tactical command of William H. Rupertus and Edmund B. Sebree, attacked a concentration of Japanese Army troops, most of whom belonged to the 230th Infantry Regiment, commanded by Toshinari Shōji. Shōji's troops had marched to the Koli Point area after the failed Japanese assaults on U.S. defenses during the Battle for Henderson Field in late October 1942.

In the engagement, the U.S. forces attempted to encircle and destroy Shōji's forces. Although Shōji's unit took heavy casualties, he and most of his men were able to evade the encirclement attempt and escape into the interior of Guadalcanal. As Shōji's troops endeavored to reach Japanese positions in another part of the island, they were pursued and attacked by a battalion-sized patrol of U.S. Marine Raiders.