command of Brigadier Ivan Dougherty who had replaced Potts in controversial circumstances following the withdrawal from Kokoda, was committed to the fighting around Gona. The 2/14th Battalion, consisting of only 350 men, arrived at Popondetta in the evening of 25 November and began the advance towards Gona at dawn the following day. They were followed shortly afterwards by the 2/27th, while the 2/16th arrived a little while later, after the two battalions had launched an attack around Basabua on 29 November. Further engagements followed on 30 November when clearing operations were undertaken between Basabua and Gona and on 1 December the brigade, operating as a composite battalion due to heavy casualties, attacked Gona itself. They were able to enter the village and remained for a short period of time before being forced out by a Japanese counterattack. Another unsuccessful attack was launched on 6 December. On 8 December, however, supported by a heavy artillery barrage, the 21st Brigade attacked the village from the west while the 39th Battalion attacked from the south-east. This time the attack was successful and Gona was captured with the last Japanese resistance being overcome the following afternoon amidst fierce hand-to-hand fighting. The brigade had suffered heavily over the previous 11 days, with 750 Australians being killed or wounded. Following this, the 21st Brigade headquarters moved to the Huggins Road Block area while its three infantry battalions, which had all been reduced to below company-strength due to losses, began the process of "mopping up" around the coast to the west of Gona. In mid-January 1944, the brigade was withdrawn back to Australia, where they were subsequently re-organised under the "jungle" divisional establishment, which saw a reduction in the brigade's personnel. By that time the brigade was down to about 44 per cent of its authorised "jungle" establishment of 119 officers and 2,415 other ranks, and subsequently it underwent a period of rebuilding around Ravenshoe, in Queensland in preparation for further operations. In August the 21st Brigade embarked for Port Moresby, and on 15–16 September the brigade headquarters, along with the 2/14th and 2/16th Battalions, was flown into Nadzab, west of Lae to relieve the US Army's 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. After the fall of Lae, the brigade advanced up the Markham and Ramu Valleys, before moving against the Japanese strongholds in the Finisterre Range. The 21st Brigade remained in the Ramu Valley for about three and