12 October 1942

At 10am C Company 2/33^rd Battalion attacks Jap position at Templeton’s Crossing. In fierce fighting over very small territory about 3m wide by about 70m deep, the Jap defenders fire from weapons pits as the Diggers attack with rifles and grenades.

Four Diggers, Privates Alex Erp, Reg Foott, Les Gunns and Gordon Ludbrook are killed in the action. But the Australians force the enemy to withdraw about 100m further up the Track.

C Company then settles down to wait for the rest of its battalion to reach them around mid afternoon. The battalion is ordered to attack within hours of arriving, with little time to recover from their march and no time for reconnaissance.