I roto i te whakautu ki nga whakaekenga a te Allied i Guadalcanal, i tukuna e te Kaiwhakahaere Matua o te Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) 17th Army (IJA) ki Ichikawa Ichikawa, he ope-nui-a-roopu i te taha o Rabaul, i raro i te whakahau a Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake, te mahi ki te whakahoki mai i Guadalcanal. I tiimata te ope ki te tautoko i nga waahanga moana a Iapani, tae atu ki te Combined Fleet i raro i te whakahau a Isoroku Yamamoto, i te tari matua i Truk. Ko te ope 17th, i taua wa i uru nui ki te pakanga a Iapani i New Guinea, he torutoru noa nga waahanga i waatea. I roto i enei, ko te 35th Infantry Brigade i raro i a Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi i Palau, ko te 4th (Aoba) Infantry Regiment i raro i te Philippines me te 28th (IJA) Infantry Regiment, i raro i te rangatira o te Ichikawa Ichikawa, i whakawhiwhia ki te whakaeke i te
Ko te Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake