The Allied campaign in New Georgia had begun on 30 June as part of their advance through the central Solomon Islands towards Rabaul under the guise of Operation Cartwheel. In the initial phase of the operation, Rendova had been captured to provide a staging point for U.S. forces assigned to capture the Japanese airfield at Munda Point, which was one of the campaign's key objectives. On 2 July, troops of the U.S. 43rd Infantry Division landed on New Georgia to attack Munda, while three days later a battalion Marine Raiders and two U.S. Army battalions were landed at Rice Anchorage on New Georgia's northern shore to seize Bairoko.