Shōji's troops had marched to the Koli Point area after the failed Japanese assaults on U.S. defenses during the Battle for Henderson Field in late October 1942.

As Shōji's troops endeavored to reach Japanese positions in another part of the island, they were pursued and attacked by a battalion-sized patrol of U.S. Marine Raiders.

[5] Taking the Japanese by surprise, by nightfall on 8 August the 11,000 Allied troops—under the command of Major General Alexander Vandegrift and mainly consisting of U.S. Marines—had secured Tulagi and nearby small islands as well as an airfield under construction at Lunga Point on Guadalcanal.

[7] Because of the threat by CAF aircraft based at Henderson Field, the Japanese were unable to use large, slow transport ships to deliver troops and supplies to the island.

The Japanese warships, mainly light cruisers or destroyers from the Eighth Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa, were usually able to make the round trip down "The Slot" to Guadalcanal and back in a single night, thereby minimizing their exposure to CAF air attack.

These high-speed warship runs to Guadalcanal occurred throughout the campaign and were later called the "Tokyo Express" by Allied forces and "Rat Transportation" by the Japanese.

The next attempt took place from 12 to 14 September, with the 6,000 soldiers under the command of Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi being defeated in the Battle of Edson's Ridge.

Thus, after observation of the American defenses around Lunga Point by his staff officers, Hyakutake decided that the main thrust of his planned attack would be from south of Henderson Field.

That evening, after learning that the left and right wing forces were still struggling to reach the American lines, Hyakutake postponed the attack to 19:00 on 24 October.

[19] To provide support for the right wing units (now called the Shōji Detachment) marching towards Koli, the Japanese dispatched a Tokyo Express run for the night of 2 November to land 300 fresh troops from a previously uncommitted company of the 230th Infantry Regiment, two 75 mm (2.95 in) mountain guns, provisions, and ammunition at Koli Point.

After crossing the Metapona River at its mouth, Hanneken deployed his troops along 2,000 yd (1,800 m) in the woods facing the beach to await the arrival of the Japanese ships.

[20] Early on the morning of 3 November, the five Japanese destroyers arrived at Koli Point and began to unload their cargoes and troops about 1,000 yd (910 m) east of Hanneken's battalion.

At dawn, after a Japanese patrol discovered the Marines, combat with mortar, machine gun, and small arms fire began.

Hanneken was still unable to contact his headquarters to request support; having suffered significant casualties and running low on ammunition, he decided to retreat.

[22] At the same time that the U.S. forces were mobilizing, Shōji and his troops were beginning to reach Koli Point east of the Metapona River at Gavaga Creek.

In the meantime, the U.S. Navy cruisers Helena, San Francisco, and destroyer Sterett bombarded Shōji's positions with artillery fire, killing many officers and soldiers from the 9th and 10th Companies, 230th Infantry.

[24] On the morning of 5 November, Rupertus ordered the 164th troops to cross to the east bank of the Nalimbiu and envelop the inland flank of any Japanese forces that might be facing Puller's battalion.

On 7 November, the Marines and army units joined forces at the coast and pushed east to a point about 1 mi (1.6 km) west of the Metapona, where they dug in near the beach because of sightings of a Japanese Express run heading for Guadalcanal that might land reinforcements at Koli that night.

To cover the withdrawal, a sizable portion of Shōji's forces dug-in and prepared to defend positions along Gavaga Creek near the village of Tetere, about 1 mi (1.6 km) east of the Metapona.

On 8 November, Puller's and Hanneken's battalions and the 164th soldiers attempted to surround Shōji's forces by approaching Gavaga overland from the west and landing by boat near Tetere in the east.

[29] As Shōji's forces began their march to rejoin the main body of Japanese forces west of the Matanikau River, the U.S. 2nd Marine Raider Battalion—under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson, which had been guarding an airfield construction effort underway at Aola Bay, 30 mi (48 km) further east from Koli Point—set off in pursuit.

Over the next month, with the aid of native scouts, Carlson's Raiders repeatedly attacked trailing elements and stragglers from Shōji's forces, killing almost 500 of them.

[32] The next major Japanese reinforcement effort failed during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, undertaken as Shōji and his troops struggled to reach friendly lines near the Matanikau.