Moving forward under a creeping barrage as they moved beyond Tokinotu , the 24th Infantry Battalion was the first to contact the Japanese , carrying out an attack against Japanese positions around Dawe 's Creek on 17 April . Supported by a troop of Matilda tanks from the 2 / 4th Armoured Regiment , an artillery barrage which fired over 700 shells , two infantry companies — ' C ' and ' D ' — from the 24th attacked the position while another — ' A ' Company — carried out a flanking manoeuvre to cut another track further north towards Kindara and Hatai . The left forward company — ' D ' Company — reached its objective without trouble ; however , ' C ' Company — on the right along with the troop of tanks — came up against stiff Japanese resistance and became bogged down . ' A ' Company also became embroiled in heavy fighting along the Hatai track . In support of ' A ' Company , Matilidas came forward and raked the jungle , hacking through the undergrowth to reveal several Japanese pillboxes , which were destroyed by the Australian armour . As night fell , ' C ' Company dug in before resuming the attack the next morning . Engineers were brought forward , as was a bulldozer , and the gap was bridged . Amidst heavy fighting , the Australians forced their way across the creek . By the time that the position had been taken in the afternoon and the infantry had advanced to the line of exploitation 400 yd ( 370 m ) beyond the creek , 37 Japanese had been killed for the loss of seven Australians killed and 19 wounded . After this , the Australians continued their advance towards Sindou Creek , which was a further 1 mi ( 1 @.@ 6 km ) to the southeast . In response , the Japanese launched a number of determined counterattacks over the course of the following week , although these were turned back . During this time , the Australians sent a number of patrols out in front of their forward elements , one of which managed to slip through the Japanese defensive positions either side of the Buin Road and carried out a reconnaissance of the Hongorai River about 1 @,@ 000 yd ( 910 m ) south of the main crossing . Further patrols were carried out , as well as a number of ambushes , before the advance was resumed on 26 April .