well, relieving the 11th Brigade on 20 June. The brigade's commander—Brigadier Arnold Potts—was charged with keeping the Japanese force bottled up on the Bonis Peninsula and to send out patrols towards the Buka Passage. Initially, Potts was only allowed to allocate one of his three battalions—the 27th, under Lieutenant Colonel Alex Pope—for the task, as the other two—Lieutenant Colonel Harry Dunkley's 7th Infantry Battalion and Lieutenant Colonel Lew Loughran's 8th Infantry Battalion—were to remain in the central sector; however, after intelligence reports indicated that the Japanese forces in the northern sector were stronger than the Australians initially thought, he requested permission to transfer the 8th Infantry Battalion, along with a battery of artillery from the 4th Field Regiment that was to be based on the Soraken Peninsula. Due to the requirements of the advance to the south, however, no engineer or armoured support was initially available. This request was approved, and by 28 June the two battalions and their supporting artillery—approximately 1,600 troops—were assembled, with the 8th on the left, or western side of the peninsula, the 27th on the right, and the artillery based on the Soraken Peninsula. The two battalions sent fighting patrols forward, but because of the dense terrain, the Australian line of communication was quite long and the infantry spread out over a very wide area. With each battalion occupying a front, which was twice the normal standard, security of their rear areas became difficult as the Japanese took the opportunity to disrupt the Australian logistic efforts, conducting ambushes, cutting communications and planting mines along the tracks. As the ambushes increased and casualties mounted, forward movement came to a halt, and by 21 July, the 27th Infantry Battalion reported having lost 10 men killed and 36 wounded without having gained any ground. In light of this failure, the Australian brigade commander requested further resources to undertake a full-scale offensive aimed at clearing the Japanese from the peninsula. This request was passed up to corps-level, but it was denied as Savige could not afford to release assets that were being used in the drive south. Under pressure to keep casualties to a minimum following criticism in the Australian media and in Parliament regarding the necessity of the campaign, Potts formulated a plan to withdraw the 27th Infantry Battalion from the right flank around Ruri Bay, and concentrate his forces on the left flank along a front around