Following the first battle at Kokoda, there was a brief pause in fighting during which both the Japanese and the Australians concentrated their forces for the next phase. For the Japanese, this was the 1st Battalion of the 144th Infantry Regiment, of which the 1st Company had faced B Company at Kokoda. The battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Tsukamoto Hatsuo. C Company and A Company of the 39th Battalion arrived at Deniki on 30 and 31 July respectively. Major Allan Cameron, Brigade Major of the 30th Brigade, had been sent forward to take command of Maroubra Force, arriving on 4 August. Cameron formed a low opinion of B Company after encountering troops moving southward along the track as he moved forward. Cameron's arrival coincided with a telephone line being established from the head of the track to Deniki. This greatly improved communications with Port Moresby. D Company arrived on 6 August. With this force, Cameron resolved to counterattack and recapture Kokoda. His plan was to advance along three routes assigned to each of his fresh companies with B Company securing Deniki. C Company was to advance along the main track to Kokoda. A Company, under Captain Noel Symington, was to advance along a parallel track to the east that was unknown to the Japanese. D Company was to advance on a track from Deniki to Pirivi. Pirivi was just south of the Oivi–Kokoda track and about east of Kokoda. There, it was to take up a blocking position.