 By the first week of January , disease , starvation , and battle had reduced Hyakutake 's command to about 14 @,@ 000 troops , with many of them too sick and malnourished to fight . The 17th Army possessed three operable field cannon and a severe shortage of artillery shells . In contrast , the Allied commander on the island , US Army Major General Alexander Patch , fielded a combined force of US Army and US Marines , designated the XIV Corps , totaling 50 @,@ 666 men . At Patch 's disposal were 167 artillery weapons , including 75 mm ( 2 @.@ 95 in ) , 105 mm ( 4 @.@ 13 in ) , and 155 mm ( 6 @.@ 1 in ) howitzers , and plentiful stocks of shells . 
