Kawaguchi 's Center Body of troops was planning to attack the Lunga perimeter at the ridge , which they called " the centipede " ( mukade gata ) because of its shape . On 9 September , Kawaguchi 's troops left the coast at Koli Point . Split into four columns , they marched into the jungle towards their predesignated attack points south and southeast of the airfield . Lack of good maps , at least one faulty compass , and thick , almost impenetrable jungle caused the Japanese columns to proceed slowly and zigzag , costing a lot of time . At the same time , Oka 's troops approached the Lunga perimeter from the west . Oka had some intelligence on the Marine defenses , extracted from a U.S. Army pilot captured on 30 August .