{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"140 - Battle of Edson's Ridge: How the Marines saved the Cactus Air Force","description":"This is the sixth episode of our Guadalcanal series with historian and author Dave Holland. This episodes discusses: How close did Japanese forces come to capturing Henderson Field in September 1942? Why was Edson\u2019s Ridge the key terrain for defending Guadalcanal\u2019s airfield? How did pre-registered artillery fire shape the outcome on Edson\u2019s Ridge? What command decisions did Edson make when his defensive plan began to unravel? How did the Marines adapt to Japanese infiltration tactics during the night attacks? In what ways did Edson\u2019s Ridge save the Cactus Air Force? Why did Kawaguchi underestimate the Marines defending Henderson Field? What leadership failures forced the September purge of underperforming Marine officers? How did logistics and fatigue shape the Marines\u2019 combat effectiveness on the ridge? What lessons from Edson\u2019s Ridge matter for modern all-arms defensive planning?   Dave is an ex-Marine and was posted to Guadalcananal with the Australian Federal Police.  He regularly leads battlefield study tours through the area. He is a world-leading expert on the battles of Guadalcanal and author of Guadalcanal's Longest Fight - The Pivotal Battles of the Matanikau Front. Check out the show notes for this episode. https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/cw\/principlesofwar - if you've learnt something from this episode and you can afford it, please support the podcast at Patreon. ","author_name":"The Principles of War - Lessons from Military History on Strategy, Tactics, Doctrine and Leadership.","author_url":"https:\/\/theprinciplesofwar.com\/","html":"