supplies was attacked by Japanese fighter-bombers. Harding saved himself by diving overboard and swimming to shore. The attack destroyed all five vessels and the supplies Harding was relying on for the upcoming attack. More were sunk over the following days or ran aground. General George Kenney wielded a great deal of influence over MacArthur, and although he had no knowledge of jungle warfare, insisted that tanks had no role in ground action in the jungle, but that the "artillery in this theater flies." Harding reluctantly accepted MacArthur's decision to go ahead with the attack and to rely on direct air support in place of tanks or heavy artillery. Japanese defenses The Japanese were now commanded by Maj. Gen. Kensaku Oda, who succeeded General Horii, who had drowned in the Kumusi River while retreating from their initial attack across the Kokoda Track on Port Moresby. The Japanese at Buna-Gona were unable to dig deep trenches or shelters due to the water table. Instead, they built hundreds of coconut log bunkers. These had mutually supporting lines of fire and were organized in depth. The bunkers were often linked by trenches allowing the Japanese to move at will among them, reinforcing one another. Buna was General Douglas MacArthur's first ground offensive campaign against Japanese troops in World War II. He received intelligence from Brigadier General Charles Willoughby, who told MacArthur before the operation that there was "little indication of an attempt to make a strong stand against the Allied advance." Other intelligence he received led him to believe that Buna was held by about 1,000 sick and malnourished soldiers. Unfamiliar with the state of Japanese defenses, Lieutenant General Richard K. Sutherland, MacArthur's chief of staff, glibly referred to these fortifications as "hasty field entrenchments." The division's performance in battle under the circumstances was not surprising. It was unprepared for offensive operations against what turned out to be some of the strongest Japanese fortified positions in the South Pacific, and was severely hampered by completely inadequate fire support. Harding relieved After taking a large number of casualties and making virtually no progress, MacArthur became frustrated with the 32nd Division's performance and gave Major General Robert Eichelberger authority to remove Harding, which Eichelberger promptly did. Eichelberger then ordered a two-day pause in operations, had hot food brought to the front, got additional supplies moved forward, and was able to get the detached 128th restored to