By December 1942, the strategic situation had changed again as the Japanese advance had been halted following the battles of the Coral Sea, Guadalcanal and those in New Guinea. It was clear that the large numbers of armoured formations created for the Defence of Australia were no longer needed. Conversely, the demand for reinforcements for the Australian units fighting in New Guinea was increasing. Moreover, the Army was reorganising its units to fight in the jungle. Consequently, the 2nd Armoured Division was ordered to disband in February 1943. The 6th Armoured Brigade headquarters would form the basis of a new tropical warfare establishment armoured formation, the 4th Armoured Brigade. Its units however, would either be disbanded or transferred to other formations.