 British intelligence were aware of the intended break-out but had no detailed information, so Stopford ordered General Frank Messervy the IV Corps commander to spread the corps over more than a hundred miles of front to block their way.On 2 July 1945 a Gurkha patrol ambushed and wiped out a small Japanese force and captured a dispatch bag containing the complete operational plan for the Japanese break-out.The intelligence was quickly distributed among the British forces, which had two weeks to prepare.