In mid-1942, Major General Basil Morris, commander of New Guinea Force, ordered the 39th Infantry Battalion, which had previously been deployed as a garrison force around Port Moresby, was sent overland via the Kokoda Track to secure the Kokoda area and prepare to defend against a Japanese advance. The Papuan Infantry Battalion of about 300 native troops with white officers, was already north of the Owen Stanley Range at the entrance of the Kokoda Track. These units were subsequently grouped together as "Maroubra Force" – named for Operation Maroubra, which was the Allied name for the troops in the "forward area" on the Kokoda Track – formed around the units of Brigadier Selwyn Porter's 30th Brigade, which was made up of part-time Militia soldiers. On 21 July 1942, the Japanese landed on the northeast coast of Papua and the Papuan Infantry Battalion was overwhelmed by the Japanese troops, and the entrance was captured on 29 July 1942.