on leading his own division. At the same time, a long-anticipated change in naval command took place with Rear Admiral Theodore Stark Wilkinson taking over leadership of the amphibious forces from Admiral Turner on 15 July. General Sasaki initially took advantage of the disorder on the American side. The Japanese learned to apply close assault tactics against American tanks, rendering armor even less effective in the jungle than usual. Meanwhile, the inexperienced, hungry and fatigued US soldiers' nerves began to fray and they began to lose their fire discipline. On the night of 17 July, the Japanese launched a strong counterattack and succeeded in overrunning the command post of the 43rd Division near Zanana. Eventually, however, Sasaki's troops became sick and exhausted; also, he had lost communications with Rabaul. US forces, bolstered by the arrival of the 37th Infantry Division, subsequently launched a corps-level offensive under Griswold aimed at capturing Munda Point. Sasaki ordered a retreat from the Munda area on 3 August. General Griswold had his men sweep around Munda to the northwest and on 5 August plastered the remaining Japanese with artillery fire. That day, the Americans moved unopposed into Munda, finally achieving the campaign's most important goal. Capture of Bairoko On the northern front, Colonel Liversedge's Marines consolidated their position around Enogai after 12 July and began patrolling the local area while US Army troops occupied the blocking position. This was subsequently abandoned on 17 July and the soldiers returned to Triri. He had been reinforced by 700 Marines from the 4th Raider Battalion and made plans to capture Bairoko village, on the eastern side of Bairoko Harbor, on 20 July. His Army detachment was to attack the village from the southeast while his Marines converged from the northeast, a classic pincer movement. But the Japanese defensive positions were well designed, and had been reinforced since the initial US landing at the Rice Anchorage; as a result, neither force made any progress, and US casualties began to mount. Just before dawn on 22 July, Liversedge called for air strikes to cover his withdrawal. With a view to compensating for failures in land-based air cover following previous such requests, what followed was the heaviest aerial bombardment of the campaign so far. Beginning 3 August, Liversedge tried again, first establishing a battalion of the 148th Infantry Regiment at a blocking position on the Munda trail. Two days later he