The two companies of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines—under the command of Major John P. Brody—found the going tough as the Japanese positions were well-hidden, and they found themselves under heavy machine gun and automatic weapons fire. Tanks moved up to help with the assault, and the Marines advanced slowly as the tank fire eliminated the enemy emplacements. Late that afternoon, the advance was halted and a heavy artillery concentration, in preparation for a full-scale attack by the 1st Battalion, 21st Marine Regiment against the enemy defenses in front of the Marines. The artillery fire raged through the enemy positions, and Companies B and C placed mortar fire almost on top of their own positions.Shaw & Kane 1963, pp. 233–234
