 Following this , the 9th Division was tasked with advancing towards Sio , further around the coast on the northern side of the Huon Peninsula . The Japanese in the area around Finschhafen were growing in strength , however , as a large number of the 4 @,@ 000 to 5 @,@ 000 men that had garrisoned Finschhafen had managed to escape inland , while the rest of the 20th Division , under the command of Lieutenant General Shigeru Katagiri , was being moved from Bogadjim , south of Madang , to provide reinforcements . Wootten considered that the threat posed by this force meant that Sattelberg would have to be captured before the 9th Division could undertake its advance towards Sio . 
