Over the next few weeks, Benner's unit took part in the fierce fighting along the Matanikau River, including the desperate amphibious evacuation west of Point Cruz on 27 September and the far more successful spoiling attack west of the river between 7 and 9 October. The 1st Battalion then returned to their original positions on "Bloody Ridge." On the night of October 24 the Japanese 4th Infantry Regiment closed the perimeter's southern flank. When the Japanese arrived, only Benner's 1st Battalion remained to face them because the 2d Battalion had been pulled out to reinforce the perimeter's western flank the day before.