Blackforce

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Blackforce - named after its commander, Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn - was an Australian brigade set up in Java in 1942 . It consisted of parts of the 2/3 machine gun battalion and the 2/2 engineer battalion , which belonged to the Australian 7th Division . In total, the Blackforce comprised around 3,000 soldiers.

The battalions had been ordered from Syria to Java at the end of February 1942 to support the Dutch KNIL units in repelling a possible Japanese invasion of the island. The former passenger ship of the Orient Line , Orcades , served as a troop transport . Since the Australians had to leave much of their equipment behind in the Middle East, they equipped a British air defense unit , which had fled from Singapore to Java, with communication systemsout. The associated reporting section was then assigned directly to the Blackforce.

Shortly afterwards, a squadron of the 3rd Hussars , an American field artillery unit and 450 servants of the Royal Air Force who were hastily trained as infantrymen joined the Blackforce . The reaction group was ready for action in the Bandung area on February 28 . Shortly thereafter, General Hein ter Poorten transferred them to Buitenzorg so that they were supposed to defend the rubber plantations there. So they came under the high command of Major General Wijbrandus Schilling , the commander of the West Java units.

The Japanese finally landed in the west and east of Java on March 1st. The Blackforce participated in the defense in the Buitenzorg area. After ten days, however, she had to surrender to the Japanese army . Brigadier Blackburn and many other Blackforce soldiers were captured by Japan.

Web links