 The II/78th and two companies of the III/78th were deployed forward around Kankiryo and Shaggy Ridge, with the I/78th spread out around Saipa and Yokopi and the remaining two companies of the III/78th at Yaula, the 239th Infantry Regiment held the rear around Madang, Erima and Bogadjim, along with 2,000 unassigned reinforcements; this was a force of about 12,000 men.It faced the Australian 7th Division, consisting of approximately 17,000 men, under Vasey, and made up of the 18th, 21st and 25th Brigades, along with the 2/6th Commando Squadron.The campaign began in September 1943 following the 7th Division's drive on Lae, as part of the wider New Guinea campaign, which saw the 9th Division carrying out operations along the Huon Peninsula on the coast to the east, while the 7th moved towards the west.