 6th Division , under the command of Lieutenant General Tsutomu Akinaga . Akinaga had been ordered to delay the Australian advance between the Hongorai and the Hari for as long as possible , and with these orders in mind he had installed a number of strong points along the Australian 's expected line of advance . The division 's infantry had suffered heavily in the previous battle around Slater 's Knoll and as a consequence , several units had to be reorganized or amalgamated . The front line positions were assigned to the 6th Field Artillery Regiment , while the 13th Infantry Regiment was to hold five strongpoints to their rear along and astride the Buin Road , designated ' A ' through to ' E ' . The 6th Field and 4th Field Heavy Artillery Regiments both held strongpoints further back , designated ' F ' and ' G ' . The 23rd Infantry Regiment was placed in the rear , where it was being reconstituted following losses suffered during the attack on Slater 's Knoll .   = = Battle = =   = = = Advance to the Hongorai = = =   The 15th Brigade took over the forward positions from the 7th Brigade on 17 April . Initial dispositions had the 24th Infantry Battalion on the Buin Road around Kero Creek , with the 58th / 59th around Barara , north @-@ east of Slater 's Knoll , and the 57th / 60th , when it arrived to relieve the 9th , would be positioned further east astride a secondary , parallel track known to the Australians as the Commando Road . Two days later , Hammer received the order to commence the advance towards the Hongorai from Savige , who offered him the support of the 29th Brigade as a mobile reserve in case of sudden counter @-@ attack . In a change to the tactics that the Australians had previously employed prior to the fighting around Slater 's Knoll , from early May they advanced on a two @-@ battalion front , instead of one . The 24th Infantry Battalion was in the van , moving along the Buin Road with the 58th / 59th protecting its flank and rear ; while 5 @,@ 000 yd ( 4 @,@ 600 m ) further inland the 57th / 60th Infantry Battalion , commencing on 3 May , advanced along the Commando Road from Rumiki , after taking over from the 9th Infantry Battalion .   Moving forward under a creeping barrage as they moved beyond Tokinotu , the 24th Infantry Battalion was the first to contact the Japanese , carrying out an attack against Japanese positions around Dawe 's Creek on 17 April . Supported by a troop of Matilda tanks from the 2 / 4th Armoured Regiment , an artillery barrage which fired over 700 shells , two infantry companies — ' C ' and ' D ' — from the 24th attacked the position while another — ' A ' Company — carried out a flanking manoeuvre to cut another track further north towards Kindara and Hatai . The left forward company — ' D ' Company — reached its objective without trouble ; however , ' C ' Company — on the right along with the troop of tanks — came up against stiff Japanese resistance and became bogged down . ' A ' Company also became embroiled in heavy fighting along the Hatai track . In support of ' A ' Company , Matilidas came forward and raked the jungle , hacking through the undergrowth to reveal several Japanese pillboxes , which were destroyed by the Australian armour . As night fell , ' C ' Company dug in before resuming the attack the next morning . Engineers were brought forward , as was a bulldozer , and the gap was bridged . Amidst heavy fighting , the Australians forced their way across the creek . By the time that the position had been taken in the afternoon and the infantry had advanced to the line of exploitation 400 yd ( 370 m ) beyond the creek , 37 Japanese had been killed for the loss of seven Australians killed and 19 wounded . After this , the Australians continued their advance towards Sindou Creek , which was a further 1 mi ( 1 @.@ 6 km ) to the southeast . In response , the Japanese launched a number of determined counterattacks over the course of the following week , although these were turned back . During this time , the Australians sent a number of patrols out in front of their forward elements , one of which managed to slip through the Japanese defensive positions either side of the Buin Road and carried out a reconnaissance of the Hongorai River about 1 @,@ 000 yd ( 910 m ) south of the main crossing . Further patrols were carried out , as well as a number of ambushes , before the advance was resumed on 26 April .   Resuming their advance , the Australians were supported by three squadrons of Corsairs from the Royal New Zealand Air Force — Nos. 14 , 22 and 26 Squadrons — which bombed and strafed the ground in front of the advancing infantry , as well
Ġ6 th ĠDivision Ġ, Ġunder Ġthe Ġcommand Ġof ĠLieutenant ĠGeneral ĠTs ut om u ĠAkin aga Ġ. ĠAkin aga Ġhad Ġbeen Ġordered Ġto Ġdelay Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġadvance Ġbetween Ġthe ĠHong or ai Ġand Ġthe ĠHar i Ġfor Ġas Ġlong Ġas Ġpossible Ġ, Ġand Ġwith Ġthese Ġorders Ġin Ġmind Ġhe Ġhad Ġinstalled Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġstrong Ġpoints Ġalong Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġ' s Ġexpected Ġline Ġof Ġadvance Ġ. ĠThe Ġdivision Ġ' s Ġinfantry Ġhad Ġsuffered Ġheavily Ġin Ġthe Ġprevious Ġbattle Ġaround ĠSlater Ġ' s ĠKn oll Ġand Ġas Ġa Ġconsequence Ġ, Ġseveral Ġunits Ġhad Ġto Ġbe Ġre organized Ġor Ġamalg am ated Ġ. ĠThe Ġfront Ġline Ġpositions Ġwere Ġassigned Ġto Ġthe Ġ6 th ĠField ĠArt illery ĠRegiment Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe Ġ13 th ĠInfantry ĠRegiment Ġwas Ġto Ġhold Ġfive Ġstrong points Ġto Ġtheir Ġrear Ġalong Ġand Ġa str ide Ġthe ĠBu in ĠRoad Ġ, Ġdesignated Ġ' ĠA Ġ' Ġthrough Ġto Ġ' ĠE Ġ' Ġ. ĠThe Ġ6 th ĠField Ġand Ġ4 th ĠField ĠHeavy ĠArt illery ĠReg iments Ġboth Ġheld Ġstrong points Ġfurther Ġback Ġ, Ġdesignated Ġ' ĠF Ġ' Ġand Ġ' ĠG Ġ' Ġ. ĠThe Ġ23 rd ĠInfantry ĠRegiment Ġwas Ġplaced Ġin Ġthe Ġrear Ġ, Ġwhere Ġit Ġwas Ġbeing Ġrecon st it uted Ġfollowing Ġlosses Ġsuffered Ġduring Ġthe Ġattack Ġon ĠSlater Ġ' s ĠKn oll Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠBattle Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠAdvance Ġto Ġthe ĠHong or ai Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġ15 th ĠBrigade Ġtook Ġover Ġthe Ġforward Ġpositions Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ7 th ĠBrigade Ġon Ġ17 ĠApril Ġ. ĠInitial Ġdispos itions Ġhad Ġthe Ġ24 th ĠInfantry ĠBattalion Ġon Ġthe ĠBu in ĠRoad Ġaround ĠK ero ĠCreek Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġ58 th Ġ/ Ġ59 th Ġaround ĠBar ara Ġ, Ġnorth Ġ@ - @ Ġeast Ġof ĠSlater Ġ' s ĠKn oll Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġ57 th Ġ/ Ġ60 th Ġ, Ġwhen Ġit Ġarrived Ġto Ġrelieve Ġthe Ġ9 th Ġ, Ġwould Ġbe Ġpositioned Ġfurther Ġeast Ġa str ide Ġa Ġsecondary Ġ, Ġparallel Ġtrack Ġknown Ġto Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġas Ġthe ĠCommando ĠRoad Ġ. ĠTwo Ġdays Ġlater Ġ, ĠHammer Ġreceived Ġthe Ġorder Ġto Ġcommence Ġthe Ġadvance Ġtowards Ġthe ĠHong or ai Ġfrom ĠSav ige Ġ, Ġwho Ġoffered Ġhim Ġthe Ġsupport Ġof Ġthe Ġ29 th ĠBrigade Ġas Ġa Ġmobile Ġreserve Ġin Ġcase Ġof Ġsudden Ġcounter Ġ@ - @ Ġattack Ġ. ĠIn Ġa Ġchange Ġto Ġthe Ġtactics Ġthat Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġhad Ġpreviously Ġemployed Ġprior Ġto Ġthe Ġfighting Ġaround ĠSlater Ġ' s ĠKn oll Ġ, Ġfrom Ġearly ĠMay Ġthey Ġadvanced Ġon Ġa Ġtwo Ġ@ - @ Ġbattalion Ġfront Ġ, Ġinstead Ġof Ġone Ġ. ĠThe Ġ24 th ĠInfantry ĠBattalion Ġwas Ġin Ġthe Ġvan Ġ, Ġmoving Ġalong Ġthe ĠBu in ĠRoad Ġwith Ġthe Ġ58 th Ġ/ Ġ59 th Ġprotecting Ġits Ġflank Ġand Ġrear Ġ; Ġwhile Ġ5 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġy d Ġ( Ġ4 Ġ@ , @ Ġ600 Ġm Ġ) Ġfurther Ġinland Ġthe Ġ57 th Ġ/ Ġ60 th ĠInfantry ĠBattalion Ġ, Ġcomm encing Ġon Ġ3 ĠMay Ġ, Ġadvanced Ġalong Ġthe ĠCommando ĠRoad Ġfrom ĠRum iki Ġ, Ġafter Ġtaking Ġover Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ9 th ĠInfantry ĠBattalion Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMoving Ġforward Ġunder Ġa Ġcreeping Ġbarrage Ġas Ġthey Ġmoved Ġbeyond ĠTok in ot u Ġ, Ġthe Ġ24 th ĠInfantry ĠBattalion Ġwas Ġthe Ġfirst Ġto Ġcontact Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġ, Ġcarrying Ġout Ġan Ġattack Ġagainst ĠJapanese Ġpositions Ġaround ĠDaw e Ġ' s ĠCreek Ġon Ġ17 ĠApril Ġ. ĠSupported Ġby Ġa Ġtroop Ġof ĠMat ilda Ġtanks Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ2 Ġ/ Ġ4 th ĠArm oured ĠRegiment Ġ, Ġan Ġartillery Ġbarrage Ġwhich Ġfired Ġover Ġ700 Ġshells Ġ, Ġtwo Ġinfantry Ġcompanies ĠâĢĶ Ġ' ĠC Ġ' Ġand Ġ' ĠD Ġ' ĠâĢĶ Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ24 th Ġattacked Ġthe Ġposition Ġwhile Ġanother ĠâĢĶ Ġ' ĠA Ġ' ĠCompany ĠâĢĶ Ġcarried Ġout Ġa Ġfl anking Ġmanoeuv re Ġto Ġcut Ġanother Ġtrack Ġfurther Ġnorth Ġtowards ĠKind ara Ġand ĠH ata i Ġ. ĠThe Ġleft Ġforward Ġcompany ĠâĢĶ Ġ' ĠD Ġ' ĠCompany ĠâĢĶ Ġreached Ġits Ġobjective Ġwithout Ġtrouble Ġ; Ġhowever Ġ, Ġ' ĠC Ġ' ĠCompany ĠâĢĶ Ġon Ġthe Ġright Ġalong Ġwith Ġthe Ġtroop Ġof Ġtanks ĠâĢĶ Ġcame Ġup Ġagainst Ġstiff ĠJapanese Ġresistance Ġand Ġbecame Ġbog ged Ġdown Ġ. Ġ' ĠA Ġ' ĠCompany Ġalso Ġbecame Ġembroiled Ġin Ġheavy Ġfighting Ġalong Ġthe ĠH ata i Ġtrack Ġ. ĠIn Ġsupport Ġof Ġ' ĠA Ġ' ĠCompany Ġ, ĠMat il idas Ġcame Ġforward Ġand Ġr aked Ġthe Ġjungle Ġ, Ġhacking Ġthrough Ġthe Ġunder growth Ġto Ġreveal Ġseveral ĠJapanese Ġpill boxes Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwere Ġdestroyed Ġby Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġarmour Ġ. ĠAs Ġnight Ġfell Ġ, Ġ' ĠC Ġ' ĠCompany Ġdug Ġin Ġbefore Ġres uming Ġthe Ġattack Ġthe Ġnext Ġmorning Ġ. ĠEngineers Ġwere Ġbrought Ġforward Ġ, Ġas Ġwas Ġa Ġbulldo zer Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġgap Ġwas Ġbrid ged Ġ. ĠAmid st Ġheavy Ġfighting Ġ, Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġforced Ġtheir Ġway Ġacross Ġthe Ġcreek Ġ. ĠBy Ġthe Ġtime Ġthat Ġthe Ġposition Ġhad Ġbeen Ġtaken Ġin Ġthe Ġafternoon Ġand Ġthe Ġinfantry Ġhad Ġadvanced Ġto Ġthe Ġline Ġof Ġexploitation Ġ400 Ġy d Ġ( Ġ370 Ġm Ġ) Ġbeyond Ġthe Ġcreek Ġ, Ġ37 ĠJapanese Ġhad Ġbeen Ġkilled Ġfor Ġthe Ġloss Ġof Ġseven ĠAustralians Ġkilled Ġand Ġ19 Ġwounded Ġ. ĠAfter Ġthis Ġ, Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġcontinued Ġtheir Ġadvance Ġtowards ĠSind ou ĠCreek Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġa Ġfurther Ġ1 Ġmi Ġ( Ġ1 Ġ@ . @ Ġ6 Ġkm Ġ) Ġto Ġthe Ġsoutheast Ġ. ĠIn Ġresponse Ġ, Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġlaunched Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġdetermined Ġcounter attacks Ġover Ġthe Ġcourse Ġof Ġthe Ġfollowing Ġweek Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthese Ġwere Ġturned Ġback Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthis Ġtime Ġ, Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġsent Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġpatrols Ġout Ġin Ġfront Ġof Ġtheir Ġforward Ġelements Ġ, Ġone Ġof Ġwhich Ġmanaged Ġto Ġslip Ġthrough Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġdefensive Ġpositions Ġeither Ġside Ġof Ġthe ĠBu in ĠRoad Ġand Ġcarried Ġout Ġa Ġreconnaissance Ġof Ġthe ĠHong or ai ĠRiver Ġabout Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġy d Ġ( Ġ9 10 Ġm Ġ) Ġsouth Ġof Ġthe Ġmain Ġcrossing Ġ. ĠFurther Ġpatrols Ġwere Ġcarried Ġout Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġamb ushes Ġ, Ġbefore Ġthe Ġadvance Ġwas Ġresumed Ġon Ġ26 ĠApril Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠRes uming Ġtheir Ġadvance Ġ, Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġsupported Ġby Ġthree Ġsquad rons Ġof ĠCors airs Ġfrom Ġthe ĠRoyal ĠNew ĠZealand ĠAir ĠForce ĠâĢĶ ĠNos . Ġ14 Ġ, Ġ22 Ġand Ġ26 ĠSquad rons ĠâĢĶ Ġwhich Ġbombed Ġand Ġstra fed Ġthe Ġground Ġin Ġfront Ġof Ġthe Ġadvancing Ġinfantry Ġ, Ġas Ġwell