As the sun set on 13 September , Kawaguchi faced Edson 's 830 Marines with 3 @,@ 000 troops of his brigade , plus an assortment of light artillery . The night was pitch black , with no moon . At 21 : 00 , seven Japanese destroyers briefly bombarded the ridge . Kawaguchi 's attack began just after nightfall , with Kokusho 's battalion assaulting Raider Company B on the Marine right flank , just to the west of the ridge . The force of the assault caused Company B to fall back to Hill 123 . Under Marine artillery fire , Kokusho reassembled his men and continued his attack . Without pausing to try to " roll @-@ up " the other nearby Marine units , whose flanks were now unprotected , Kokusho 's unit surged forward through the swampy lowlands between the ridge and the Lunga River , heading for the airfield . Kokusho 's men came upon a pile of Marine supplies and rations . Not having eaten adequately for a couple of days , they paused to " gorge themselves " on the " C " and " K " rations . Kokusho ordered his men to continue the attack . At about 03 : 00 , he led them against the Marine units around the northern portion of the ridge , just short of the airfield , as well as Hill 123 . In the heavy fighting that followed , Kokusho and around 100 of his men were killed , ending that attack .