Authors and military analysts have speculated that had Kingsbury not attacked, the Japanese might have destroyed the battalion. The Japanese had been attacking in waves, and had started to climb a steep hill to outflank the Australians, in an effort to win the battle. The Australians were low on supplies and the Japanese were on the verge of breaking through the Australian line. Had they broken through, they would have been able to isolate the battalion's headquarters from the soldiers on the flanks. This would have prevented the Australians from retreating to Alola, allowing the Japanese to overrun them.