The rough, folded ground around the fringes of Mount Tapochau (sometimes rendered “Tapotchau” in American reports) provided endless positions for Japanese fortified lines, with excellent fields of fire. The Marines faced just such a fortified outpost on the eastern edge of the mountain, near the boundary between the two Marine divisions. The Japanese had few troops but many machine guns, and the Marines had to winkle them out if the advance were to continue.

The Japanese once again held on despite repeated Marine attacks, relying on the firepower of their machine guns to drive off the attackers. At dusk the Marines withdrew, leaving the ridgeline in Japanese hands, only to return the next day with assault engineers wielding flamethrowers and explosive charges, supported by rocket launchers. The Japanese would not yield or retreat under this pressure either, all of them dying at their posts.