Sea Horse and nearby valleys were the Japanese 124th Regiment's 1st and 3rd Battalions, with Oka's command post located nearby. The Sea Horse consisted of two hills, Hill 43 on the south with Hill 44 adjoining to the north. After taking a circuitous route through the jungle around Mount Austen, at 06:35 on 10 January, McClure's 3rd Battalion launched its attack on Hill 43. As the Americans closed on Hill 43 from the south, a group of Japanese soldiers near Oka's command post spotted the U.S. soldiers as they crossed a stream and attacked immediately, threatening the flank of the American column. Two American soldiers—William G. Fournier and Lewis Hall—successfully repelled the Japanese attack with a machine-gun but were killed in the process. Making progress against light resistance, the 3rd Battalion dug in for the night about short of Hill 43's summit. The next day, the 1st Battalion of the 35th was added to the attack and the two units—with artillery support—drove through several Japanese machine-gun positions and took Hill 43 by early afternoon. Continuing on towards Hill 44 against light opposition, the Americans captured the rest of the Sea Horse by nightfall, cutting off Japanese forces in the Gifu. The native Solomon Islanders who had been man-packing supplies to the two American battalions during the attack were having difficulty delivering sufficient food and ammunition over the long trail between the Sea Horse and the Lunga perimeter. Thus, B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers were now used to air drop supplies to the American troops around the Sea Horse. On 12 January, the two American battalions of the 35th continued their attack to the west toward the Galloping Horse, but were stopped by a Japanese strongpoint on a narrow ridge about west of their point of departure. After trying to flank the position for two days, the Americans were able to smash the strongpoint with mortar and artillery fire, killing 13 Japanese defenders, and advanced to a ridge overlooking the southwest fork of the Matanikau by 15:00 on 15 January. That same day, Japanese survivors from the Sea Horse battle—including Oka and most of the 124th's headquarters staff section and the 1st Battalion—were able to slip past the American forces and reach friendly lines further west. The Americans counted 558 Japanese dead around the Sea Horse, mostly from the 124th's 3rd Battalion, and captured 17. Second Mount Austen On 9 January,