page_title: Battle of Isurava
section_title: Japanese assault
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Isurava / Battle / Japanese assault
caption_attribution_description: English: Map illustrating the Battle of Isurava, which took place 26–31 August 1942.
context_page_description: The Battle of Isurava took place over the period 26 to 31 August 1942. Forming part of the Kokoda Track campaign of the Second World War, the battle involved military forces from Australia, supported by the United States, fighting against Japanese troops from Major General Tomitaro Horii's South Seas Detachment who had landed around Buna and Gona in Papua mid-July 1942, with the intent of capturing Port Moresby to the south via the overland route.
  Several small engagements were fought north of Kokoda, before the village itself became the scene of heavy fighting as the Australian Maroubra Force fought to delay the Japanese advance throughout late July and into early August. After further fighting around Deniki, the Australians withdrew to Isurava, where the Militia soldiers of Maroubra Force were reinforced by two Second Australian Imperial Force battalions of the veteran 21st Infantry Brigade under Brigadier Arnold Potts.
  In what became the first major battle of the campaign, the two sides fought a heavy engagement around Isurava in late August, as four Australian infantry battalions attempted to fend off attacks by a similarly sized Japanese force.
context_section_description: The initial Australian dispositions around Isurava saw the depleted 39th spread out in five entrenched company areas astride the track in between the northern and southern creeks that flowed into Eora Creek. Having left most of their entrenching equipment behind during the withdrawal from Deniki, the troops from the 39th had to dig-in with whatever they had at hand including steel helmets and bayonets. Their positions were constructed amidst an area of long grass, behind an abandoned garden, which offered good observation of the track heading towards Deniki. The 53rd Infantry Battalion was positioned further back at Alola, co-located with Potts' headquarters. A forward observation post had also been established on the Isurava ridgeline. The Australians maintained a patrol presence forward of their occupied areas. Throughout 24 and 25 August, as the Japanese force began pressing forward, patrols from the 53rd Infantry Battalion clashed with groups of Japanese in front of Isurava, and on the other side of Eora Creek around Missima. Potts, realising that Horii had launched a major attack, decided to deploy the 2/14th under Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Key to Isurava, using the 39th to screen their movement. The 2/16th, under Lieutenant Colonel Albert Caro, was brought forward to Alola, where it would be held in reserve. By the time the 2/14th Battalion had deployed, the Japanese were able to field a force of between 3,000 and 5,000.
  On 26 August, Horii moved the first of his disembarking troops forward, a body of some 3,500 soldiers, against the 39th Infantry Battalion, some 400-strong. Around midday, the attack began in earnest, with Australian positions around Isurava being subjected to a heavy artillery bombardment.  The Japanese tactics were to pin the Australians in place with frontal attacks while feeling for the flanks, with a view to cutting them off with forces from the rear. Lieutenant Colonel Hatsuo Tsukamoto's 1/144th was given the task of leading the assault, even though they had been in combat almost continuously since the initial Japanese landing in mid-July. Meanwhile, Major Tadashi Horie's 2/144th was allocated to the eastern side of Eora Creek where Japanese reconnaissance had revealed the  parallel track bypassing Isurava. The battalion was tasked with seizing Missima and Abuari and threatening the Australian rear around Alola. The 3/144th, under Lieutenant Colonel Genichiro Kuwada, was to conduct a flanking move to the west against the Australian left.
  The Japanese force made contact with the outer positions of Maroubra Force, focusing upon the observation posts that had been laid down either side of the Eora Creek gorge. Along the Isurava ridgeline, these attacks were held off by the 39th. However, around Missima along the alternate route, which had been held by the 53rd, the Australian position was destroyed and the village taken, opening the route to the Australian rear. In response, the 53rd's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Ward, dispatched a company from Alola forward to Abuari, to shore up the position there. Potts also requested reinforcements in the form of the 2/27th Infantry Battalion, which was being held in reserve around Port Moresby. The request was denied, though, due to concerns about the position around Milne Bay. Although some measure of defence was mounted by the 53rd, which dispatched another company after the first failed to report in, the situation grew worse for the Australians. Conflicting information was sent back from the 53rd's forward positions, confusing Potts' headquarters and rendering co-ordinated action impossible. To make matters worse for them, the Japanese ambushed and killed several of the 53rd's senior officers, including Ward. As the 53rd's position disintegrated the Japanese also faltered, failing to exploit the opportunity to roll up the Australian position all the way to Alola. Horie's 2/144th was stalled into inaction by fatigue, and hesitation, caused by the defence previously mounted by the 53rd. The Japanese battalion commander was convinced that
caption: The Battle of Isurava, 26–31 August 1942
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