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Captain Lewis H. Pickup of Company A watched from his command post as the first force of landing craft in echelon headed for his company's positions. Searchlights picked up the landing craft and the 1st Battalion commenced firing. The 37mm guns had no trouble tracking the landing craft, as Sergeant Louis E. Duncan had altered the traversing mechanism so it could move more freely Gunnery Sergeant William A. Dudley held up the trails to his 37mm gun to fire down on the incoming boats.

Private First Class Silas K. Barnes heard the boat motors from his machine gun position on Infantry Point and for a few moments was able to hit the approaching landing craft that were illuminated by the search lights. He effectively enfiladed Cavalry Beach and cut down many of the Japanese soldiers as they came ashore. The Japanese struggled in the layers of oil that covered the beaches from ships sunk earlier in the siege and experienced great difficulty in landing personnel and equipment. Unfortunately Barnes' and one other machine gun position were all that remained of 13 machine guns from Infantry Point to North Point. The rest had been destroyed by the Japanese bombardment.

The 1st Platoon, Company A, commanded by First Lieutenant William F. Harris, defended the beach from Infantry to Cavalry Points, while the 2d Platoon under Master Gunnery Sergeant John Mercurio held the line from Cavalry to North Points. "I've got word that landing boats will attempt a landing," Harris told his men, "They'll be coming in here someplace. Fix Bayonets." He ordered Private First Class James D. Nixon to go to the cliff overlooking the beach, and report on the location of the Japanese. Nixon looked at the beach and saw Japanese troops coming ashore only 30 feet away. The Marines placed a heavy fire on the Japanese as they climbed the steep cliffs and tossed "Molotov Cocktails" down on the landing craft. In the darkness, however, the Japanese succeeded in bypassing many of the Marine positions.