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| Cemetery on Guadalcanal, photographed in 1945, for both Allied and Japanese remains. |
Guadalcanal Order of Battle is a list of the significant land units that fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943.
Japanese
On 10 August 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army’s Seventeenth Army under Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake assumed command of the Japanese efforts to retake Guadalcanal. The General arrived on the island to take direct command on 10 October.
2nd Infantry Division[1]
4th Infantry Regiment
16th Infantry Regiment
29th Infantry Regiment
2nd Artillery Regiment
2nd Engineer Battalion
38th Infantry Division[2]
228th Infantry Regiment
229th Infantry Regiment
230th Infantry Regiment
38th Mountain Gun Regiment
38th Engineer Battalion
35th Brigade[3]
124th Infantry Regiment
Kitao Battalion/Ichiki Detachment
4th Artillery Regiment
10th Mountain Gun Battalion
20th Mountain Gun Battalion
28th Infantry Regiment[4]
11th Construction Unit[5]
13th Construction Unit[6]
United States
The US landing force on Guadalcanal was under the command of Marine Major General Alexander Archer Vandegrift. On 8 December he was replaced by Army Major General Alexander McCarrell Patch, who took command of the U.S. XIV Army Corps on 2 January.
Marines
1st Marine Division[7] MG Alexander A. Vandegrift
1st Marine Regiment: COL Clifton B. Cates
5th Marine Regiment: COL Leroy P. Hunt (to 21 Sept); COL Merritt A. Edson
7th Marine Regiment: COL James W. Webb (to 20 Sept); COL Amor L. Sims
11th Marine Regiment: COL Pedro del Valle
1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion LTCOL Walter W. Barr:
1st Aviation Engineer Battalion MAJ Thomas F. Riley:
1st Pioneer Battalion: MAJ James G. Frazer (to 25 Oct); MAJ Henry H. Crockett
1st Medical Battalion: CMDR Don S. Knowlton, USN
1st Special Weapons Battalion: MAJ Robert B. Luckey (to 6 Oct); MAJ Richard W. Wallace
1st Tank Battalion: MAJ Harvey S. Walseth
Other Marine Units
3rd Defense Battalion (landed 7 August 1942): COL Robert H. Pepper
1st Parachute Battalion:[8] MAJ Charles A. Miller (to 18 Sept); CAPT Harry Torgerson (19-26 Sept); MAJ Robert H. Williams (from 27 Sept)
1st Raider Battalion: COL Merritt A. Edson (to 21 Sept); LTCOL Samuel B. Griffith (22-27 Sept)
2nd Marine Division[9] BG Alphonse DeCarre
2nd Marine Regiment: COL John M. Arthur
6th Marine Regiment: COL Gilder D. Jackson Jr.
8th Marine Regiment: COL Richard H. Jeschke
10th Marine Regiment: COL Thomas E. Bourke
2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion MAJ Henry C. Drewes:
9th Defense Battalion (landed December 1942): COL David R. Nimmer
2nd Raider Battalion: LTCOL Evans F. Carlson
2nd Special Weapons Battalion: LTCOL Paul D. Sherman
2nd Tank Battalion: MAJ Alexander B. Swenceski
Army
25th Infantry Division[10]
27th Infantry Regiment
35th Infantry Regiment
161st Infantry Regiment (Washington National Guard)
8th Field Artillery Battalion
64th Field Artillery Battalion
89th Field Artillery Battalion
90th Field Artillery Battalion
65th Engineer Combat Battalion
Americal Division[11]
132nd Infantry Regiment (Illinois National Guard)
164th Infantry Regiment (North Dakota National Guard)
182nd Infantry Regiment (Massachusetts National Guard)
221st Field Artillery Battalion
245th Field Artillery Battalion
246th Field Artillery Battalion
247th Field Artillery Battalion
57th Engineer Combat Battalion
147th Infantry Regiment (Separate) (Ohio National Guard)[12]
97th Field Artillery Battalion
214th Coast Artillery (United States)
244th Coast Artillery Regiment
[1] The Sendai division arrived between 5 September and 4 October under the command of Lieutenant General Masao Maruyama.
[2] The depleted 38th division arrived 5–15 November under the command of Lieutenant General Tadayoshi Sano.
[3] The 35th Brigade arrived 29 August-5 September, under the command of Major General Kiyotaki Kawaguchi. It included a late-arriving battalion of the 28th Infantry Regiment.
[4] The Ichiki detachment arrived 18–24 August.
[5] This unit arrived on Guadalcanal 6 July to begin construction of an airstrip.
[6] This unit arrived on Guadalcanal 6 July to begin construction of an airstrip.
[7] The 1st Marine Division was commanded by Major General Alexander Archer Vandegrift. The majority of the division arrived on Guadalcanal 7 August. 2nd Battalion 5th Marines and elements of the 1st Pioneer Battalion arrived later in August. 7th Marines and 1st battalion/11th Marines arrived 18 September. The division began withdrawal from the island 12 December.
[8] Arrived 8 September; departed 18 September.
[9] The 2nd Marines were attached to the 1st Marine Division for the initial landing on 7 August, although the 1st and 3rd battalions were initially employed on Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo islands. The entire regiment was on Guadalcanal by November. On 4 November the 8th Marines landed, and the remainder of the division followed in December. The division came under the command of Brigadier General Alphonse De Carre.
[10] The 25th division arrived by 4 January 1943, under the command of Major General Joseph Lawton Collins.
[11] The 164th arrived 13 October; the 182nd on 12 November, and the division HQ and 132nd on 8 December. The division was under the command of Major General Alexander McCarrell Patch.
[12] Arrived 4 November.