Guadalcanal
Col McCulloch, commanding the 27th Infantry, orders the exhausted 3rd Battalion to go back to Hills 55 and 54 into regimental reserve and Col Herbert V. Mitchell's 2nd Battalion takes over the assault against the ridges and Hill 53. The 2nd Battalion has held rear areas taken by the 3rd Battalion and has helped carry supplies forward. The 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry, takes over the Hill 50-51 area.
Col Mitchell plans to attack and capture Hill 53 and that part of Hill 57 which lies in his zone. The attack is to be delivered from Hill 52 with 2 companies abreast. F will be on the left, G on the right, and E in reserve. F Company is to capture Hill 53, while G Company moves to the right to join with the 1st Battalion on Hill 57. H Company is to emplace its heavy machine guns and 81-mm mortars on Hill 52. Artillery and aerial bombardments are to support the attacks.
After the preliminary bombardment, both assault companies move out at 0630. On the right G Company advances to the north and west. They encounter some enemy rifle fire which the patrols subdue. As the company moves west, the Japanese in the jungle north of Sims Ridge open up but do not halt G Company which makes contact with the 1st Battalion on Hill 57 about noon. At the beginning of day the Japanese are occupying Exton Ridge, Sims Ridge 200 yards to the west, Hill 53 southwest of Hill 52, the jungle north of Sims and the shallow dip between Exton and Sims. Enemy machine guns cover all approaches. The steep precipice above the southwest Matanikau fork prevents F and E Companies from enveloping the enemy from the south.
F Company attacks Exton Ridge but moves too far to the right and exposes the battalion's left flank. The Japanese pull off Exton, and F Company takes it but can advance no farther toward Hill 53. E Company is then committed by Col Mitchell, to F's left to cover the battalion's south (left) flank and E also fails to advance beyond Exton Ridge. Fire from Sims Ridge pins down both companies. F Company is withdrawn from Exton and ordered to move to the right to attack Sims Ridge from the north. E Company continues its attack but makes no progress. F Company is able to capture the north slopes of Sims but is halted halfway to the crest by an enemy strong point dug in on reverse (west) slope. E Company, trying to advance over Exton, moves right to avoid enemy fire and intermingles with F. H Company moves its heavy machine guns to Exton for closer support. The enemy strong point is located, and 81-mm mortar fire is called in but does not destroy the enemy position. The attacks by E and F Companies have been halted halfway to the objective and the day is nearly gone. The drinking water is gone and the men are on the verge of collapsing. An all-round defense in organized on north slopes of Sims Ridge in anticipation of a Japanese night counterattack. No attack by the enemy came that night.
The 3rd Battalion, 35th Infantry, makes contact with the forces which had just taken the eastern half of the Galloping Horse. Col James B. Leer's 1st Battalion assumes the brunt of the attack west to the objective. B Company defends the hill south of Hill 43, A Company the water hole, while C Company attacks along a narrow ridge southwest of Hill 43. Enemy fire from a ridge about 150 yards to the southwest halts the advance. While C Company patrols seek the enemy flanks, an enemy force from east of Hill 43 strikes just south of Hill 43 against the supply trail and isolates the 3rd Battalion on the Sea Horse. At 1730 a platoon from B Company counterattacks and by nightfall has recaptured the trail.
The 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry, tries to advance again to straighten the line. 60-mm and 81-mm mortars fire for 45 minutes before F and G Companies attack. They are again slowed by enemy fire. By 1300 G Company has gained about 100 yards, but F Company, by 1815 only 50 yards.
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