World War II Database

Battle of Makassar Strait
4 Feb 1942

On 3 Feb 1942, the American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command gathered a sizable task force to stop a Japanese invasion force sailing down the Makassar Strait. On the morning of 4 Feb, Japanese reconnaissance aircraft discovered this Allied fleet, and two-engine bombers were sent to attack. Without air cover, the Allied fleet suffered two damaged cruisers and was forced to turn back to Tjilitjap without making contact with the invasion fleet. Makassar fell shortly thereafter.

Battle of Badung Strait
19-20 Feb 1942

The invasion of Bali was carried out by a relatively small advance force of Japanese warships covering a pair of transports. The transports successfully disgorged their troops in Sanur Roads, but were attacked during the day by Allied airpower. One of the transports was severely damaged. The Japanese withdrew the majority of their force to the north, detailing one pair of destroyers (Michishio and Arashio) to escort the cripple, and another pair (Oshio and Asashio) to bring up the rear with the undamaged Maru. Just as this latter pair was getting underway, the first of two Allied squadrons charged with breaking up the landings appeared. Composed of a Dutch and Australian light cruiser and three destroyers, it heavily out-gunned the Japanese force. However, the Japanese bravely gave battle, first driving off the light cruisers through the channel northward, and then turning to attack the Allied destroyers. A successful torpedo attack resulted in the sinking of one of the Allied destroyers, which then shortly drew off to the south.

Shortly afterwards, however, the second Allied squadron of four U.S. destroyers and a Dutch light cruiser came up the Strait from the south as well. Oshio and Asashio again returned to defend the damaged transport against a second superior enemy force. In short order they had attacked the U.S. destroyers so fiercely as to force them to withdraw through the Strait to the north, leaving only the Dutch light cruiser Tromp to be dealt with. This they quickly did, hitting the cruiser eleven times in the superstructure in rapid succession. She, too, fled.

The final act was played out as some of the Allied warships retreating northward ran into Michishio and Arashio. A sharp fight developed, in which Michishio was heavily damaged. However, the Allied ships continued on their way without giving a serious fight.

The final result of this rather confusing action was that two superior Allied squadrons had been manhandled almost single-handedly by a lone pair of audacious Japanese destroyers. It was a most embarrassing performance by the Allies, who were admittedly heavily fatigued, but who possessed more than enough firepower to deal handily with their Japanese adversaries. This was the first of the impressive night-fighting performances the Japanese Navy would turn in throughout the war.

Battle of the Java Sea
27 Feb 1942

On 27 Feb, ABDA commander Karel Doorman gathered a task force and sailed northeast from Surabaya at the east end of Java, attempting to intercept a Japanese convoy sailing from the Makassar Strait. Doorman's force consisted of every warship available to him, including heavy cruisers HMS Exeter and USS Houston, three light cruisers HNLMS De Ruyter (flagship), HNLMS Java, and HMAS Perth, and nine destroyers HMS Electra, HMS Encounter, HMS Jupiter, HNLMS Kortenaer, HNLMS Witte de With, USS Alden, USS John D. Edwards, USS John D. Ford, USS Pope, and USS Paul Jones. The Japanese convoy was escorted by two heavy cruisers Nachi and Haguro, two light cruisers Naka and Jintsu, and fourteen destroyers Yudachi, Samidare, Murasame, Harusame, Minegumo, Asagumo, Yukikaze, Tokitsukaze, Amatsukaze, Hatsukaze, Yamakaze, Kawakaze, Sazanami, and Ushi, all under the command of Rear Admiral Shoji Nishimura of the Japanese 3rd Fleet.

The two forces met in the Java Sea. The Allied ships immediately aimed to reach the troop transports, but the superior Japanese firepower quickly overwhelmed the Allied fleet that sported some obsolete WW1-vintage ships. In one of the more rare occasions, the Allies actually had air superiority in the region, but bad weather prevented the aircraft from operating. The Allied inability to operate as a coherent unit, which was worsened by Japanese jamming of Allied radio frequencies, sealed their doom from the start.

The Japanese used their 24-inch torpedoes to effect at the start of the battle, sinking the destroyer Encounter. Japanese gunfire, questionable at first, nevertheless scored an accurate barrage on Exeter, critically wounding her in the boiler room. As the damaged Exeter attempted to withdraw with a destroyer screen, the Japanese forces continued to exert pressure with accurate gunfire and torpedoes. Four older American destroyers, low in fuel, retired eastward on their own initiative; they eventually reached Australia via Bali Strait safely. Kortenaer was struck by torpedo, breaking in two and sank quickly. Electra remained in the rear and drew fire from Jintsu and Asagumo, driving Asagumo into withdraw but Electra also suffered critical damage which eventually led to an abandon ship order.

As light waned at dusk, Admiral Doorman tried on several occasions to double back and attack the Japanese transports, but was intercepted and driven back each time, losing one destroyer in the process to an uncharted minefield. During his last attempt, a spread of long lance torpedoes fired by cruisers Nachi and Haguro struck both Dutch light cruisers, sinking De Ruyter and killing Doorman. At this point the remaining two Allied ships, cruisers Perth and Houston, fled westward towards Batavia.

As the damaged Exeter and destroyers Encounter and Pope attempted to flee from the Japanese fleet, they were given chase and discovered by Japanese aircraft on 1 Mar. The aircraft damaged and crippled the ships, and heavy cruisers Nachi and Haguro reached the scene to sink them by gunfire.

This battle was the first large-scale engagement between Japanese and Allied fleets, and it resulted in a Japanese victory. The ABDA fleet was essentially written off after this battle, with 8 warships sunk and about 2,000 officers and sailors lost. Without a naval fleet to deter the Japanese invasion fleets, American and British aircraft began falling back to Australia, hence marking the practical fall of the Malay barrier. The only strategic goal achieved by the ADBA fleet was delaying Japanese invasion plan by one day. The remnants of Dutch and British troops surrendered on 9 Mar.

Battle of Sunda Strait
28 Feb 1942

Australian light cruiser Perth and American heavy cruiser Houston survived the Battle of the Java Sea and reached Tanjung Priok. On 28 Feb, they received orders to sail for Tjilatjap via Sunda Strait. On the night of 28 Feb, to both sides' surprise, the two Allied cruisers ran into the main Japanese invasion fleet for West Java at Bantam Bay off Batavia. At least three Japanese cruisers and accompanying destroyers engaged the two Allied cruisers, but because they were so widely dispersed that they could not converge on the Allied ships quickly. Houston and Perth immediately charged at the exposed transports guarded only by destroyer Fubuki. They were unable to sink any Japanese transports before the Japanese escort fleet closed in. Perhaps a bit trigger-happy as a result of the surprised engagement, the escort ships fired a total of 87 torpedoes against the two Allied ships, followed up by a hail of gunfire. The two Allied ships sank in short order. With torpedoes swimming in all directions, two Japanese ships, a minesweeper and a loaded troop transport, were struck and lost. Three other transports were also damaged by friendly torpedo fire.

Battle of Java
1-12 Mar 1942

With the waters near Java secured after Battle of the Java Sea, the Japanese ground forces arrived at the island of Java in two groups. The Eastern Force, with its headquarters at Jolo Island in the Sulu Archipelago, included the 48th Division and the 56th Regimental Group; the Western Force, based at Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina, included the 2nd Division and the 230th Regiment of the 38th Division. The two groups totaled about 35,000 men.

The Allied forces were headed up by Royal Netherlands East Indies Army General Hein Ter Poorten, with 25,000 Indonesian under his command; although the number was impressive, most of the men were poorly trained. The Dutch forces were divided up so that two regiments guarded the Jakarta region, and one regiment guarded each of the north central, southern, and eastern regions of the island. A garrison of 7,000 men, British, Australian, and American, under the command of British Major General H. D. W. Sitwell, was available to assist. The 3,500 British were predominantly anti-aircraft units, though one armored unit, the British 3rd Hussars, was present. The 2,500 Australians were of Blackforce of Brigadier Arthur Blackburn. The 1,000 Americans were of the 2nd Battalion of the 131st Field Artillery, a Texas National Guard unit, was attached to Blackforce.

The Japanese troops landed at three points on the Java shore on 1 Mar 1942. The victors of the Battle of the Sunda Strait delivered the Western Force, and the victors of the Battle of the Java Sea delivered the Eastern Force.

One group of the Western Force landed at Bantam Bay near Merak at 2320 on 28 Feb. Captain F. A. M. Harterink's Royal Dutch Indies Army 12th Infantry Battalion raked the beach with machine gun fire, but the overwhelming invasion force quickly wiped aside the resistance. Landing operations completed at 0200 on 1 Mar. After daybreak, the Japanese set up headquarters at Serang overseeing three detachments. The Nasu Detachment under Major General Yumio Nasu was ordered to capture Buitenzorg to cut the escape route from Batavia (where Jakarta was located) to Bandoeng, while the Fukushima and Sato Detachments, under Colonels Kyusaku Fukushima and Hanshichi Sato, respectively, attacked Batavia through Balaradja and Tangerang. On 2 Mar, the Nasu Detachment arrived at Rangkasbitung and continued to Leuwiliang, 24-kilometers west of Buitenzorg. The Australian 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion and 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion were positioned along a riverbank at Leuwiliang and put up a vigorous defense, pinning down the Japanese tanks and trucks for D Company of the 2nd Battalion of the American 131st Field Artillery to destroy. The Blackforce managed to delay Japanese advance for two days before withdrawing to Soekabumi. Meanwhile, Fukushima and Sato Detachments maneuvered their troops for Batavia, but progress was delayed by blown bridges. On 4 Mar, the main Dutch defense moved from Batavia to Buitenzorg, and the remaining pockets of resistance surrendered to the Sato Detachment by that evening. At the dawn of 6 Mar, Japanese troops attacked Buitenzorg, wiping aside the 10th Company of the Royal Dutch Indies Army 1st Infantry Regiment and the 10th Company of the Royal Dutch Indies Army 2nd Infantry Regiment, occupying the city by the end of the morning. As the Allied units fled for Bandoeng, the Nasu Detachment gave chase.

Meanwhile, Shoji Detachment under Colonel Toshishige Shoji of the Western Force landed at Eretan Wetan near Soebang on the northern coast of West Java, also on 1 Mar. On that morning, 12 Dutch aircraft and 12 British aircraft attacked the beachhead, though to little effect. The town of Soebang, the Kalidjati airfield, and the road connecting Kalidjati airfield and Batavia all fell on the day of the landing. In the morning of 2 Mar, 20 Dutch tanks commanded by Captain G. J. Wulfhorst and 250 men of the Dutch 5th Infantry Battalion commanded by Major C. G. J. Teerink counterattacked near Soebang, but the attack was repulsed by the afternoon. Later that day, the Japanese 3rd Air Brigade arrived at Kalidjati airfield. As Shoji's units arrived at Lembang, only 8 kilometers from Bandoeng, he dispatched a small unit to assist the Nasu Detachment in eliminating the Dutch troops fleeing from Buitenzorg. At 1000 on 8 Mar, less than a day after Shoji's troops arrived at Lembang, Major General Jacob J. Pesman surrendered Bandoeng to Shoji at the Isola Hotel in Lembang.

The Eastern Force, consisted of the Japanese 48th Division under Major General Yuitsu Tsuchihashi landed at the village of Kragan, approximately 160 kilometers west of Surabaya. Dutch troops of the 3rd Cavalry Squadron of the 1st Cavalry Regiment resisted the landing, but were quickly defeated despite assistance from American horizontal and dive bombers and British torpedo bombers. After the beachhead was secured, the Japanese 48th Division was divided into the Imai Unit under Colonel Hifumi Imai, Abe Unit under Major General Koichi Abe, Tanaka Unit under Colonel Tohru Tanaka, and Kitamura Unit under Lieutenant Colonel Kuro Kitamura. The Tanaka Unit occupied Tjepoe and secured the oil fields there, while the Kitamura Unit occupied nearby Bodjonegoro, with the conquests completing on 2 and 3 Mar, respectively. The two units continued to move east and defeated Dutch defenders at the Ngawi Regency, Tjaroeban, Ngandjoek, Kertosono, Kediri and Djombang. At the city of Porong, near Surabaya, Dutch and American troops gave fierce resistance, but could only hold the line for so long before the numerically superior Japanese forces overwhelmed them. After destroying the city's infrastructure, they fled to the island of Madura on 8 Mar. On 9 Mar, Major General Gustav A. Ilgen surrendered eastern Java to the Japanese at Madura.

A smaller group, the Sakaguchi Detachment consisted of three battalions, landed in eastern Java as well in early Mar 1942. After landing, they occupied Tjilatjap by 8 Mar to prevent the harbor being used to evacuate Allied troops to Australia. On 9 Mar, Major General Pierre A. Cox of the Dutch Central Army District surrendered at Wangon near Tjilatjap.

At 0900 on 8 Mar, Ter Poorten surrendered all of Java to the Japanese. The Dutch Governor, Jonkheer Dr. A.W.L. Tjarda Van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, along with Lieutenant General Ter Poorten and Major General Pesman, met with Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura at Kalidjati in the afternoon to finalize the surrender. At 2300, the Dutch radio station NIROM broadcasted for the last time from a temporary transmitter at Ciumbuluit, with Bert Garthoff ending his broadcast with "Wij sluiten nu. Vaarwel tot betere tijden. Leve de Koningin!" ("We are closing now. Farewell until better times. Long live the Queen!") On 10 Mar, Imamura was named the military governor of Java and Madura and remained in this role until 11 Nov 1942. On 12 Mar 1942, at Bandung, the British, Australian, and American commanders joined the Dutch government in the official surrender ceremony; Lieutenant General Masao Maruyama accepted the Allied instrument of surrender.

At the end of the land campaign at Java, the Allies suffered about 5,000 casualties, with the Dutch and Indonesian troops making up the bulk of that number.

Invasion of Christmas Island
31 Mar 1942

Christmas Island was a British possession 300 kilometers south of Java. It was a strategic location for the control of the northwestern approach to Australia. On 14 Mar 1942, the Imperial General Headquarters issued orders for Operation X as the concluding operation for the conquest of the Java region. The island was defended by a garrison of 32 men (most ethnically Indian) commanded by 5 British officers and non-commissioned officers, with the only heavy weapons available to them being one WW1-era 6-inch naval gun and two or three anti-aircraft guns.

Although the Japanese knew they wielded a force that could easily wipe aside the defending garrison, a propaganda campaign was mounted to make the invasion even easier. They announced that the arrival of the Japanese in South and Southeastern Asia would be the liberation of Asian peoples from western imperialism, and many of the Indian troops believed it. On 10 Mar 1942, the Indian troops murdered their British superiors and jailed the few European inhabitants on the island.

On 31 Mar 1942, the invasion force arrived. Nishimura was the naval commander for this operation, with his flag on the light cruiser Naka. Light cruisers Nagara and Natori and destroyers Minegumo, Natsugumo, Amatsukaze, Hatsukaze, Satsuki, Minatsuki, Fumitsuki and Nagatsuki, supported by three smaller craft, made up Nishimura's fleet. The invasion force was made up by the 850 men from the 21st Special Base Force, 24th Special Base Force, and the 102nd Construction Unit. At dawn, 12 Japanese bombers destroyed the radio station on the island as a safety precaution, and at about 0800 Japanese troops landed at Flying Fish Cove without opposition. At 0949, American submarine Seawolf fired four torpedoes at Naka, but they all missed. At 0949 on 1 Apr, Seawolf launched three torpedoes at Natori, missing again. That evening, with the final two torpedoes, Seawolf managed to hit Naka on her starboard side, requiring her to be towed to Singapore by Natori for temporary repairs.

Christmas Island never held an important role for the remainder of the war, despite some Japanese Army reconnaissance flights originated from the island to gather intelligence on Australia's northern and western coasts. On 3 Apr, three days after the invasion, the Japanese garrison was reduced to 20 men, and the only valuable natural resource, in the form of a large phosphate deposit, was taken back to Japan on a transport. After the war, the Indian troops who aided the Japanese were prosecuted by a military court in Singapore in 1947; five were given death sentences, though they were commuted to life imprisonment after protest from India and Pakistan.

Aftermath of the Campaign

The termination of the Java area battles saw the Japanese securing the vast resources of the Southwest Pacific and establishing a defensive perimeter along the arc of large islands stretching from Singapore south and east through Sumatra, Java, the northern shore of New Guinea, and Rabaul in New Britain. The Japanese Navy proved itself as equals to their western counterparts, but in retrospect Captain Mitsugo Ihara, staff officer of the Japanese 3rd Fleet, lamented that the

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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Anonymous says:
   23 Mar 2007 09:40:03 AM
   
   Your assertions regarding the Battle of Sunda Straits are contentious highly inaccurate and cursory in detail. A clear indication of this is exampled by Japanese media reports of the time:“....In all the Japanese had lost fifteen ships and could not believe that a Battleship was not present. A report in the Syonan Times in Japan in 1942 read - In the terrific battle in Sunda Strait many ships on both sides were sunk. It must be remembered, however, that the lighter Nipponese ships were fighting a superior force which included a battleship.The Japan Times made a similar admission.”
   For a more detailed, accurate account I suggest you refer to this link: http:www.gunplot.netperthww2Perth.htm
2. Anonymous says:
   10 Feb 2009 07:55:59 AM
   
   You have left out some key facts and battles and your article is rather erroneous implying the Allies did not fight decisively- they were simply beaten by superior forces.
   
   The Exeter was the only ship in the battle equipped with radar at the time.
   "The battle consisted of a series of attempts over a seven hour period by Doorman's Combined Striking Force to reach and attack the invasion convoy each was rebuffed by the escort force with heavy losses being inflicted on the Allies.
   
   The fleets sighted each other at about 16:00 on February 27 and closed to firing range, opening fire at 16:16.
   Both sides exhibited poor gunnery and torpedo skills during this phase of the battle. The exception was Exeter being critically damaged by a hit in the boiler room from an 8-inch shell.
   The ship then limped away to Surabaya, escorted by Witte de With.
   The Japanese launched two huge torpedo salvoes, 92 in all, but scored only one hit, on Kortenaer.
   She was struck by a Long Lance, broke in two and sank rapidly after the hit.
   Electra, covering Exeter, engaged in a duel with Jintsu and Asagumo, scoring several hits but suffering severe damage to its superstructure.
   After a serious fire started on Electra and its remaining turret ran out of ammunition, abandon ship was ordered.
   
   Only Asagumo was forced to retire because of damage.
   
   The Allied fleet broke off and turned away around 18:00, covered by a smoke screen laid by the 4 destroyers of U.S destroyer division (DesDiv) 58. They also launched a torpedo attack but at too long a range to be effective.
   Doorman's force turned south towards the Java coast, then west and north as night fell in an attempt to evade the Japanese escort group and fall on the convoy. It was at this point the ships of DesDiv 58, their torpedoes expended, left on their own initiative to return to Surabaya
   
   21:25, Jupiter ran onto a mine and was sunk, while about 20 minutes later, the fleet passed where the Kortenaer had sunk earlier, and Encounter was detached to pick up survivors.
   Doorman's command, now reduced to 4 cruisers, again encountered the Japanese escort group at 23:00 both columns exchanged fire in the darkness at long range, until De Ruyter and Java were sunk, by one devastating long lance salvo.
   
   Doorman and most of his crew went down with De Ruyter only 111 were saved from both ships.
   
   Cruisers Perth and Houston remained low on fuel and ammunition, and following Doorman's last instructions, the two ships retired, arriving at Tanjung Priok .
   
   The Allied fleet did not reach the invasion fleet, the battle did give the defenders of Java a one-day respite.
   
   Battle of Sunda Strait
   
   Perth and Houston were at Tanjung Priok
   Neither were able to rearm or fully refuel.
   Departing at 21:00 on February 28 for the Sunda Strait, by chance they encountered the main Japanese invasion fleet for West Java in Bantam Bay. The Allied ships were engaged by at least three cruisers and several destroyers. In a ferocious night action that ended after midnight on March 1, Perth and Houston were sunk. A Japanese minesweeper and a troop transport were sunk by friendly fire, while three other transports were damaged and had to be beached.
   
   Java Sea
   After emergency repairs the badly damaged Exeter left for Ceylon, escorted by Encounter and Pope. However all 3 were sunk by the Japanese heavy cruisers Nachi and Haguro
   
   Bali Strait
   The 4 U.S destroyers of DesRon58, Edwards, Ford, Alden and Jones, were also at Surabaya they left at nightfall February 28 for Australia. After a brief encounter with a Japanese destroyer in the Bali Strait they were able to evade them and reached Fremantle
   
   Consequences
   A further two American, and one Dutch destroyer were sunk as they attempted to escape to Australia. The main ABDA naval force had been almost totally destroyed: 10 ships and approximately 2,173 sailors had been lost.
   
   The Battle of the Java Sea ended significant Allied naval operations in South-East Asia in 1942, and Japanese land forces invaded Java on February 28. The USAF and RAF retreated to Australia. Dutch troops aided by British remnants fought fiercely for a week.
   
   
   
   Your spellings are incorrect, these are Dutch era spellings and now obsolete.
   
   Tjepoe Cepu
   Batavia IS Jakarta- not where it was located
   Bandoeng Bandung
   Bodjonegoro Bojonegoro
   Ngawi Regency correct
   Tjaroeban Caruban
   Ngandjoek Nganjuk
   Djombang Combang
   
   You omit that the Japanese were ecstatically welcomed as liberators from the hated oppressive and supremely racist Dutch. I refer you to "No Dogs or Natives" by Stef Scagliola
   
   Furthermore, perhaps beyond the scope of your article is the Chinese collaboration to retain the status of overlord over the oppressed Indonesian natives, Chinese funded anti-Japanese and anti-Nationalist espionage, Chinese funding of Kwo Min Tang in Java and their anti-Japanese guerrilla tactics and Chinese Force 136 operations from Singapore to re-establish ABDACOM (Australian, British, Dutch American COMmand) overlordship again.
   
   Also you neglect to mention the Dutch KNIL soldiers were exclusively Malukan and Ambonese (Christians).
   Batak and Javanese as a rule rarely ever served KNIL- the Dutch did not trust them to not establish an anti-Dutch army using learnt Dutch tactics, weaknesses and methodology.
   Also the role of Javanese as PETA, Gokkutotai, Kempetai (ahgainst the Chinese) and the first generation of Kamikaze style suicide brigades against the Australian invaders of Biak and Irian Jaya.
   (http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id7428, Rickleff: A History of Modern Indonesia, http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Battle_of_the_Java_Sea)

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