Meanwhile, throughout August, the Allies pushed the remaining Japanese ground forces on Vella Lavella into a pocket in the northwest corner of the island. The 3rd New Zealand Division, under the command of Major General Harold E. Barrowclough, was tasked with destroying this pocket. The New Zealanders began their pincer movement on 21 September, but the Japanese resisted so fiercely that it took until 5–6 October to bottle them up. On the night of 6–7 October, Rear Admiral Matsuji Ijuin led a naval force to take the 600 remaining ground troops off Vella Lavella. In response, a force of US destroyers was dispatched to intercept them. Each side lost a ship in the ensuing naval battle, but the Japanese were able to successfully complete their evacuation. As a result, General Barrowclough's men entered the evacuated area unopposed, concluding the New Georgia campaign.