port. Bitung was captured two days later. At the same time, RPKAD troops attacked Mapanget airfield to neutralize its air defenses. Permesta troops managed to hold back the RPKAD, but casualties fell on both sides. There were members of the RPKAD who defected to Permesta before the fighting started, hence many in both sides knew each other. Kawilarang himself personally knew one of the RPKAD soldiers, a sergeant major, who died during the attack. They had been on the same patrols in Java while searching for Muslim extremists. Fierce fighting in Minahasa Although the defense of Permesta was overcome by TNI troops at the time of landing, the resistance on the road to Manado was fiercer. Permesta troops fought with heavy machine guns and field guns firing 60 mm mortars. This resistance slowed down the movement of the TNI to reach Manado. The same thing happened with the RPKAD troops and infantry moving to Manado from the north. Additional troops landed at Wori north of Manado on 21 and 24 June 1958 to support the existing TNI troops. This situation also forced the TNI leadership to focus all troops on capturing Manado instead of the original plan in which some troops would immediately move to Tondano and Tomohon. After eight days of fierce resistance, on 24 June 1958, Warouw ordered the evacuation of the city of Manado and the Permesta headquarters was moved to Tomohon. Two days later, TNI troops were able to enter Manado without resistance, because Permesta troops had evacuated the city. With the fall of Manado, the Permesta leadership changed their strategy to guerrilla resistance. It was almost a month before TNI troops were able to seize Tondano, which was the second largest city in Minahasa, on 21 July 1958. Then it took another month before Tomohon could be captured on 16 August 1958. The struggle for Tomohon was assisted by a local Permesta commander, Maj. Eddy Mongdong. He contacted the TNI troops in Tondano who were preparing to attack Tomohon and stated that he and the 1,500 soldiers in his sector were willing to surrender. A few days later Langowan and Kalawiran were occupied on 20 August 1958. The marines who participated in the capture Langowan were part of Operation Mega that began on 19 August 1958. Then a month later, Operation Nuri was carried out between 19 and 25 September 1958 with the aim of