Cape Torokina
In addition to the advantages to be gained from distance from the Japanese bases, the American planners judged that a beachhead in the Cape Torokina area would be defensible. The U.S. Marine Corps official history of the fighting on the island states that "the Cape Torokina plain, bordered by the natural obstacles of the Laruma River to the northwest, the mountains inland, and the Torokina River to the south-east, fell into an ideal defensive area about deep and long which could be defended by the Allied forces then available". The planners judged that it would take at least three months for any force which was large enough to pose a threat to the beachhead to reach the area by travelling overland from the Japanese bases. While a Japanese counter-landing could potentially deposit a large force in the Cape Torokina area, the United States Navy was confident that it could stop any such operation.