Hard times for the 2/24th and 2/48th Battalions on 31 October 1942

We would say that the tasks given to the 2/24th and 2/48th Battalion in the fight to the north were beyond what was reasonable. We can only say that when you recognize that both battalions had taken heavy losses that had reduced them to token strength. The men still showed great spirit. The remnants of the right company in the advance, now commanded by Lieutenant Allen, charged an enemy post that had held up a company, and using grenades and bayonets, "overcame" the post. Robbins had led his company wide to the left to escape a minefield. His battalion commander never heard from Robbins, because he had been killed, and "all his  platoon commanders and headquarters men had been either killed or wounded". They had been "caught in the open" and lost 16 men attacking their objective. Sergeant Kibby took command and led and attack on the "objective". Kibby was killed and the surviving soldiers were "forced to ground twenty yards from the objective.
Colonel Hammer, the 2/48th Battalion commander, held a meeting of the commanders of what remained of his battalion. There were only 41 men surviving from the 2/48th Battalion. Colonel Hammer decided to make contact with the 2/24th Battalion to see if it was even feasible for the 2/48th Battalion to hold their ground "north of the road". Colonel Hammer ventured off on his own, with only a pistol, to find the 2/24th Battalion. Colonel Hammer had found the 2/24th Headquarters, but not the battalion commander. When he returned to his battalion, he had been shot "through the face". He ordered a retreat "to the blockhouse". He assumed that the 2/24th would also withdraw. That was actually not the case, but they both withdrew anyway. Both the 2/24th and 2/48th remnants had reached the "saucer" before dawn. The 2/24th had the misfortune to go through "a minefield of aerial bombs, of which two exploded. Two carriers arrived and took the wounded out. The two battalions were near the 2/32nd Battalion positions. There had been 54 men left from the 2/24th Battalion. This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Australian Official History.