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.
