In late June and early July, Allied forces were advancing towards Salamaua, having secured the airfield at Wau earlier in the year. As Australian forces were fighting around Mubo and Bobdubi, Allied planners determined the need to relieve some of the logistics burden on their aircraft by seizing Nassau Bay, which was about south of the Allies' ultimate objective. Over the course of several days in early July, one reinforced battalion of the 162nd Infantry Regiment, under the command of Colonel Archibald MacKechnie, made an unopposed amphibious landing at Nassau Bay. They were supported by the Australian &lt;a href="2/6th%20Battalion%20%28Australia%29"&gt;2/6th Infantry Battalion&lt;/a&gt;, which created a diversion to draw Japanese troops away from the landing beach. Elements of the Papuan Infantry Battalion (PIB) provided flank security and after the landing, the US troops established a beachhead at Nassau Bay. Following the initial landing, two more battalions of the 162nd Infantry Regiment were landed at Nassau Bay along with Australian and US artillery support.