prior to learning about the massacre, kido ordered his men to launch an offensive against indonesian forces at around 2 a.m. on 15 october, though gunshots had been heard in the city the night before. in another account, kido only ordered an offensive after indonesians burned an ammunition depot at around 3 a.m. the japanese garrison at semarang numbered some 500 men, with an additional 300 men stationed in nearby ambarawa. for the ordered offensive, kido divided his forces into two groups, comprising 383 and 94 men respectively. by 3 p.m. that day, kido had mobilized all japanese around the area under his command.