 Following the fall of Steeple Tree Hill , the Japanese were less inclined to engage the Australian forces , nevertheless the advance continued to be frustratingly slow for the Australian commanders . The terrain over which the final part of the advance was undertaken was particularly taxing on the troops involved . Many of the slopes up which they were required to advance had gradients of at least 45 degrees , which meant that even reasonably short distances took considerable time To make matters worse , near the junction of the Siki Creek , a landslide caused by the Allied bombing , coupled with a number of land mines that the Japanese had planted , blocked the main road to Sattelberg , meaning that the soldiers from the 2 / 48th would have to make the final attack on Sattelberg without armoured support . In an effort to counter this problem , Whitehead determined that the tanks would be re @-@ allocated to the 2 / 23rd , in the hope that a new route would be opened up by the engineers . 
