 Supplies for the operation were landed by American landing craft from the 532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment and brought forward using vehicles or carried by local porters . They were then " dumped " around Jivevaneng and Kumawa , where they could be distributed to individual battalions . However , the heavy rain that had fallen at the end of October hampered the buildup of stores and consequently delayed Australian preparations . As a result , their plans were not finalised until 15 November . At this time , Whitehead began issuing his orders . The concept of operations called for the capture of the 2 @,@ 200 feature — so called by the Australians because that was its height in feet — first , before a subsequent westward advance to the mission . The 2 / 48th Battalion would advance west from Jivevaneng along the Sattelberg road supported by tanks from the 1st Tank Battalion , while the 2 / 24th Battalion would advance north @-@ west across Siki Creek and capture the 2 @,@ 200 feature . The 2 / 23rd Battalion , which would hand over its defensive duties to the 2 / 4th Commando Squadron , would start further south from Kumawa , protecting the left flank , and after paralleling the Sattelberg road , they would marry up with the 2 / 48th at a position called " Steeple Tree Hill " , or the 2 @,@ 600 feature , by the Australians ( " Miyake @-@ dai " to the Japanese ) , where it was planned to halt for resupply and re @-@ appreciation before undertaking the final attack . It was decided that tanks , which would provide direct fire support for use against the Japanese bunker systems that were believed to be around Sattelberg , would only be employed along the Sattelberg road , as considerable engineer support was required to move the Matildas into position in the closed terrain . 
