 The next day, elements of the 132nd's 2nd Battalion occupied the summit of Hill 27, surprised and killed a Japanese 75 mm artillery crew, and successfully repulsed, with help from heavy artillery fire, six Japanese counterattacks on their positions. By this time, the soldiers atop Hill 27 were running extremely short of ammunition and grenades, with Japanese forces returning 10 shots to each one fired by the Americans, and medical supplies were exhausted. The 2nd's efforts to improve its position were made more difficult by the hard coral underneath the hill's sod, which made the digging of foxholes difficult. The remainder of the 2nd Battalion, carrying ammunition, food, and medical supplies, reached Hill 27 and joined the battle, where they soon gained combat superiority over the attacking Japanese. At the same time, with the infusion of new leadership by Lieutenant Colonel George, the 1st and 3rd Battalions attacked and pushed a short way into the Gifu, killing 25 Japanese in the process, then closed the gaps between their units and consolidated their positions, while killing many of the Japanese defenders. One officer from the 2nd Battalion — who had brought his personal sniper rifle to the battle — witnessed the final disintegration of Japanese units attacking Hill 27 with a final flurry of suicidal frontal charges. The Japanese soldiers in the Gifu, who had apparently not been resupplied or replenished during the battle, consumed their last remaining food rations on 1 January.
