Kammala wannan jumla: Jafananci sun shiga yaƙin a watan Disamba na 1941 kuma yayin da suka ci gaba zuwa kudu zuwa Papua, 49th ya sami kansa a ƙarƙashin harin iska. A cikin dukan
Kokoda Track yaƙin neman zaɓe, an yi ƙoƙari don tashi abubuwa na bataliya zuwa Kokoda don tallafawa Bataliya ta 39 a lokacin Yaƙin Kokoda, amma wannan ya zama mara nasara. Daga baya, sojoji daga Bataliya ta 49 sun shiga Honner Force, wani sashin ad hoc da aka ɗorawa alhakin gudanar da sintiri mai nisa tare da Kogin Goldie don hana Jafananci yanke hanyar, yayin da sauran bataliya suka kafa sintiri tsakanin Kogin Goldie da Laloki. Ko da yake ba a tuntubi Jafananci ba, rawar da aka yi a cikin yakin ya taimaka wajen inganta hangen nesa na sojoji kuma ya inganta halin kirki. A cikin watannin da suka gabata an kara karfin bataliya kuma a watan Satumbar 1942 tana da karfin jami'ai 37 da sauran darajoji 818, gami da daftarin jami'ai 12 da aka tura daga gogaggun rukunin rundunar sojojin Ostiraliya na biyu a watan Agusta. Rundunar ta ci gaba da fadada a cikin watan Oktoba da Nuwamba, lokacin da fiye da rabin ma'aikatanta suka ba da kansu don canja wuri zuwa AIF. Samun damar horarwa ya kasance iyakance, kodayake, yayin da aka shirya shirye-shiryen aikawa da rukunin zuwa yaƙi. A wannan lokacin, an raba kamfanin bindigar bindigar ta rundunar tare da wasu kamfanonin bindigar bindigar Militia, an yi amfani da shi don samar da Battalion na 7 na Machine Gun.