After Japanese air strikes began in January 1942, the invasion came the following month on 20 February 1942, with Japanese soldiers carrying out airborne and amphibious landings around the island. Outnumbered and with limited supplies, after the initial contact the battalion destroyed the airfield and moved inland, reducing a number of Japanese positions as they went, including an attack upon ridge where the Japanese 228th Infantry Regiment suffered at least 123 casualties on 22 February. By the morning of 23 February the situation was desperate and the battalion all but surrounded around Champlong. Lacking air cover and faced with an ultimatum to capitulate or be subjected to an intense aerial bombardment that would likely have wiped out the battalion, Leggatt was forced to surrender his command and as a result most of the 2/40th was captured. Some managed to escape, however, while others who had been detached elsewhere evaded capture and took part in the guerrilla campaign that followed before being evacuated back to Australia in December 1942. These personnel were dispersed to other units, with some being transferred eventually to the &lt;a href="2/12th%20Battalion%20%28Australia%29"&gt;2/12th Battalion&lt;/a&gt;, and the 2/40th Battalion was never reformed.