George Cops along with the 39^th, had arrived in PNG on Boxing Day 1941 aboard the Aquitania. Deployed as part of the 30 Australian Infantry Brigade, their primary job was to garrison Port Moresby. The first couple of months had been relatively uneventful, unloading stores and digging static defences.

However, this all changed in February 1942 when the Japanese overran the Australian garrison further north, in Rabaul. Shortly after, the Japanese began bombing Port Moresby and by mid-July a full-scale invasion was underway near Buna on the north coast of Papua.