Japanese invasion of Borneo
date | December 16, 1941 to March 1942 |
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place | Borneo |
output | Japanese victory |
Territorial changes | Fall of the Dutch East Indies to Japan |
Parties to the conflict | |
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Commander | |
losses | |
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1. Borneo - Manado - Tarakan - Balikpapan - Ambon - Makassar - Sumatra - Palembang - Badung - Timor - USS Langley - 1. Java Sea - Sunda Strait - Java - 2. Java Sea - U 168 - U 537 - U 183 - Ashigara - 2. Borneo
1941
Thailand - Malay Peninsula - Pearl Harbor - Hong Kong - Philippines - Guam - Wake - Force Z - Borneo
1942
Burma - Rabaul - Singapore - Sumatra - Timor - Australia - Java - Salamaua - Lae - Indian Ocean - Port Moresby - Coral Sea - Midway - North America - Buna-Gona - Kokoda-Track
The Japanese invasion of Borneo took place from December 16, 1941 to around mid-March 1942 as part of the Pacific War in Southeast Asia and led to the fall of the entire colonial possessions of the Dutch and British on the island.
prehistory
The island of Borneo , located southwest of the Philippines , is known for its coal and oil deposits and was therefore an indispensable destination for the Japanese. The north of Borneo ( Sarawak and Sabah ) was under British influence. The white radjas of the Brooke family had signed an agreement with the British government in 1888 that it was responsible for all foreign policy affairs. Domestically, they remained largely independent. For this reason, the British stationed the 205th Squadron of the Royal Air Force with Walrus flying boats in Kuching in the late 1930s . In 1941 the squadron was moved to Singapore . The rest of the island belonged to the Dutch East Indies .
To compensate for the island's lack of air and sea defense, Air Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham explained at the Singapore Conference in 1940 that 200 Dutch and British fighter planes would be sufficient to defend the island against the Japanese. His statement was based not least on the knowledge that other aircraft were not available. In addition, a scorched earth policy should be pursued in the event of loss and all oil production facilities in Miri and Lutong should be destroyed. The strategically important Bukit Sabir airfield , 11 kilometers south of Kuching, was to be held as long as possible and then also destroyed.
Stationed units
Stood for the defense in North Borneo in Miri, a Punjab - Infantry Regiment , a 15.2-cm artillery battery and an engineer platoon , which was to prepare the destruction of the oil fields are available. Another six infantry platoons of the Punjab regiment were ready at Kuching to repel a Japanese attack on the airfield. The Brooke government put together the SARFOR ( Sarawak Force ), a 2,565-strong association made up of several police, paramilitary and military units. This included the Sarawak Rangers , which consisted mainly of members of the headhunter tribe of the Iban .
After the news of the outbreak of war in the Pacific the Brooke government in North Borneo ordered on the morning of December 8, 1941, the fastest possible and complete destruction of the Miri and Seria oil fields . In addition, the refineries at Lutong should be razed to the ground. Since the explosive charges had already been installed, the execution of the order could be reported in the late afternoon of the same day. The soldiers and employees of the oil companies left the facilities for Kuching on December 13th.
The Japanese invasion
At the same time as the second invasion convoy for the Malay Peninsula , ten transporters with the 124th Regiment of the 18th Infantry Division under the command of Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi with the 2nd Yokosuka Special Landing Force and the 4th Marine Pioneers were lifted in Cam Ranh Bay on December 13th the anchors. They were the first Japanese units of Operation "L" and set course for Miri in Borneo. They were accompanied by a cruiser , four destroyers and a minesweeper . To cover the landing two cruisers and two destroyers ran to Borneo under Rear Admiral Takeo Kurita . Shortly before arrival, a transporter changed course in the direction of Seria.
The landings took place at early dawn on December 16 in northern Borneo near Miri, Lutong and Seria. As the wind picked up sharply towards morning, the Japanese army had problems getting into the landing craft. The problem could only be solved with the help of the on-board cranes. All units were able to land by 6:00 a.m. In Miri, the Japanese occupied the administration building and the post office as well as the surrounding area with the plantation fields . In Seria they conquered the oil fields and plantations without any noteworthy British resistance. Miri airfield also fell into their hands, as did the oil refinery near Lutong. In total, the Japanese recorded 40 casualties during the landings, with most of them drowning on landing.
After the news of the Japanese landing had reached the Far East headquarters in Singapore , reconnaissance aircraft took off from Singkawang II airfield on December 16, and on the following days Dutch naval planes attacked the anchoring transporters, but without success. It was not until December 17 that the Dutch flying boat X-32, which had started from Tarakan , succeeded in sinking the Japanese destroyer Shinonome off Miri. 228 crew members were killed. Another flying boat, the X-33, damaged one of the transporters. On the same day, 15 Japanese bombers bombed Kuching and set a gas station on fire, but otherwise could hardly cause any damage. As a result, a large part of the local population fled the city.
Six of the transporters anchored off Miri in North Borneo left their beach on December 22nd to land two battalions the next day in Kuching, West Borneo. They were accompanied by a cruiser, six destroyers and a cover group operating a little further away. In the morning, Dutch reconnaissance planes sighted the convoy about 150 miles off the coast of Kuching and reported this to Singapore, from where the bombing order was issued. The bombers that were intended for this purpose and ready to take off had to remain on the ground, however, because at around 11:40 a.m., 24 Japanese aircraft attacked the Singkawang II airfield and destroyed the runway. Regardless of the situation near Borneo, the Dutch moved their entire air fleet to Sumatra the next day because the threat from the Malay Peninsula seemed too great. Although the convoy was initially unmolested from the air, it did not come to its intended landing position without losses. In the early morning of December 23, the Dutch submarine K-XIV managed to sink two transporters and damage three more. The next day the Japanese submarine I-66 sank the Dutch submarine K-XVI , which had previously managed to torpedo the destroyer Sagiri , which then sank. Five British Bristol Blenheims launched from Singapore, operating at the extreme limit of their range, caused hardly any damage.
The convoy reached a position east of Cape Sipang at 3:00 a.m. on December 24. Forty minutes later, a transporter dropped anchor at the mouth of the Santubong and the troops on board began to disembark into the landing craft. At around 9:00 a.m., the Japanese landed on the coast in 20 boats. A small Indian gunboat detachment quickly retreated across the river when they saw the Japanese overwhelming force. The Japanese boats went up the river and were taken under fire with rifles and mortars off Kuching from 11:00 a.m. Although the defenders succeeded in sinking four boats, the Japanese from the remaining boats went ashore and overwhelmed the defending troops. Kuching fell at 4:30 a.m. The remaining British units withdrew to the nearby airfield, which was also attacked by the Japanese immediately afterwards. During the night, the Japanese almost completely enclosed the airfield. The British managed to keep a ferry connection to Batu Kitang and a road open. After further Japanese reinforcements landed, a large-scale attack on the airfield began on December 25th. Two Indian companies tried to stop the Japanese as long as possible so that the rest of the units could make a quick retreat towards North Borneo. At 4:40 p.m., the Japanese captured the airfield. Only one detachment of the defending Indians managed to escape; four British officers and 230 Indians fell or were captured by Japan. The Japanese had 100 dead and just as many injured in the course of the entire operation. The British reached Singkawang Airfield on December 31st.
Since in the far north of Borneo only a small railway line ran along the west coast and no roads were available, Major General Kawaguchi decided to land in Brunei by sea. On December 31, an infantry battalion boarded small local boats in Miri because the British had sunk the larger units in the port. They landed on January 1, 1942 on the Brunei island of Labuan .
Other Japanese units captured Jesselton on January 8 and Sandakan on January 18 .
On January 11th, 20,000 Japanese soldiers under Major General Sakaguchi Shizuo landed on the east coast of Tarakan . They managed to capture the island by January 12th (→ Battle of Tarakan ). Two days later, Japanese landing units ran from Tarakan to Balikpapan , further south, to occupy the oil fields and refineries there. After the Battle of Balikpapan on 24 January, broke the same day Battle of Balikpapan . The Dutch defenders withdrew from the city around midnight and the Japanese occupied it early the next day.
On January 24th, the Japanese discovered the secret airfield Samarinda II and started constant bombing. Small KNIL groups tried to fight the Japanese in the jungle. These in turn were paid for by the indigenous people ( Dayaks ) for Dutch people who were extradited. Samarinda II surrendered on March 9th and Japanese units took the airfield on March 19th.
After the fall of Balikpapan, the Dutch had withdrawn to Banjarmasin further southwest. This important oil port was now the further destination of the Japanese, as the island of Java, the main island of Dutch East India, was directly accessible from there for the Dutch. Java itself was the next Japanese target and the troops in Balikpapan were already in the preparatory phase for this attack. The airfield at Bandjermasin was taken on February 10 by landed infantry units and infantrymen who had marched across the land. In the meantime, the KNIL units had fled the city and Bandjermasin fell to the Japanese on the same day (→ Battle of Banjarmasin ).
Further line-ups:
- January 26 - Anambas Islands and Natuna Islands
- January 27 - Singkawang , Pemangkat (Amphibious Landing), Sambas , Ledo , Singkawang II airfield
- January 29 - Pontianak
- January 31 - Ngabang
- February 16 - Sintang
- March 6th - Sampit
- March 9 - Pangkalanboeoen
swell
Main sources
- The Japanese Invasion of British North Borneo (English); in the Internet Archive
- The conquer of Borneo Island, 1941-1942 (English); in the Internet Archive
Web links
- World War II in Miri, Sarawak, Borneo (English)