Battle of Palembang

Battle of Palembang

Part of: World War II , Pacific War

Japanese Army Paratroopers during the Battle of Palembang, February 14, 1942

date	14. - 15. February 1942
place	Palembang , Sumatra
output	Japanese victory
consequences	Conquest of the oil refineries

Parties to the conflict
Netherlands United Kingdom Australia New Zealand	Japan
Commander
Lieutenant Colonel L. NW Vogelesang	Vice Admiral Ozawa Jisaburō (Supreme Command) Colonel Tanaka Yoshisaburô (Amphibious Force) Colonel Kume Seiichi (Parachute Units )
Troop strength
2,000 men 10 × 3.7-inch guns 10 × 40-mm Bofors 8 × 75-mm guns Some armored cars approx. 30 Hurricanes approx. 30 Curtiss Hawks approx. 40 Blenheim bombers approx. 10 Hudson bombers	Paratroopers: 339 (1st wave) 90 (2nd wave) amphibious forces: 3000 men Air support: 80 fighters 9 attack aircraft
losses
approx. 100 dead approx. 500 prisoners approx. 40 aircraft	approx. 100 paratroopers killed approx. 170 paratroopers wounded several dead and wounded of the landing forces by air raids approx. 10 aircraft

Overview - Pacific War

The Battle of Palembang was a battle during the Pacific War that took place from February 14 to 15, 1942 near Palembang on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the surrounding area between the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy on the one hand and British , Dutch , Australian and New Zealand units on the other hand. The primary objective of the Daihon'ei (Imperial General Headquarters) was to capture and secure the two oil refineries near Palembang before the Allies could destroy them. The Japanese called the company operation L .

prehistory

As early as January 1942, when the Japanese invasion of the Malay Peninsula recorded major land gains and was getting closer and closer to Singapore , the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) withdrew their aircraft from the Malay Peninsula and relocated them Airfields of the Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger , the military air service of the Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger (Royal Dutch Indian Army), known as KNIL for short, in Sumatra and Java . As early as December 1941, ABDACOM had decided to set up two airfields near Palembang as the fulcrum of their air forces. One airfield, the Pangkalanbenteng airfield and called P1 by the Allies , was located 13 kilometers north of Palembang. The second airfield, called P2 , was about 80 kilometers southeast of Palembang near Prabumulih and was a secret military airfield. P2 was difficult to find even for KNIL pilots and P2 was completely unknown to the Japanese .

Allied plans

A Hawker Hurricane of the RAF

Two squadrons of fighter pilots were stationed on the P1 . The Dutch Lieutenant Colonel LNW Vogelesang had 2,000 KNIL men under his command. These included regular soldiers from a battalion of the South Sumatra Garrison, reserve companies in Palembang and eight 75 mm guns. Smaller units were assigned to defend the refineries and some armored cars were available. Parts of the British 6th Heavy AA Regiment (6th Heavy Flak Regiment) had six 3.7-inch guns and six 40-mm Bofors stationed at the P1 . Four guns of each caliber were positioned near the refineries. In addition, 260 ground personnel from the RAF and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) were accommodated on the P1 , but these had only little armament and insufficient combat training.

Japanese plans

Operation L's target , Palembang, is about 350 kilometers south of Singapore

Already in September 1940 - before the parachute troops of the Imperial Army were deployed - the Daihon'ei had plans to attack Palembang drawn up. When Japan stationed troops in Indochina in July 1940 despite an American warning , the American government under President Franklin D. Roosevelt restricted American exports of oil and steel to Japan in September 1940 . At that time, Japan got 80% of its oil from the USA. When this did not have the desired effect and Japan stationed further troops in Indochina in July 1941, the USA imposed a complete oil embargo on Japan on July 25, 1941 and froze all Japanese assets. As the United Kingdom and the Dutch East Indies followed suit, Japan lost 75% of its foreign trade and 90% of its oil imports. For this reason, the military protection of the oil wells was the top priority for the Japanese Empire.

Palembang is 80 kilometers inland south of the northeast coast of Sumatra. For the Japanese, it was extremely important to get the refineries intact. Since the advance of an amphibious force would have taken too long, the Dutch would have been able to have enough time to prepare for the demolition and subsequent destruction of the refineries.

Lineup

Japanese army paratroopers on the way to Palembang

In August 1941, the Daihon'ei's plan of attack to conquer Southeast Asia already included the use of paratroopers , although the Army Parachute Force was not yet officially operational. On October 28, 1941, the army paratroopers successfully presented their skills to senior officers during a maneuver in Takanabe . Those present were enthusiastic and decided to use the paratroopers to conquer the oil refineries.

On December 1, 1941, the 1st Air Storm Brigade from the 1st and 2nd Air Storm Regiments was set up, but the aim and purpose of the setup was not disclosed to the brigade command six days before the attack on Pearl Harbor for reasons of secrecy. Maps and aerial photographs of Palembang and the surrounding area were not delivered until December 8, and the brigade was subordinated to the Southern Army under General Terauchi Hisaichi . Within this, the 16th Army under Lieutenant General Imamura Hitoshi was the superior unit. The company was then operation L called. The plan stipulated that the 1st air storm regiment should be dropped off by parachute jump near Palembang. The paratroopers then left Japan on December 19 aboard the transport ship Meiko Maru . On January 3, 1942, the Meiko Maru was in the South China Sea towards Indonesia when she caught fire and finally sank off Hainan . It was later suggested that the fire could have been caused by self-ignition of the ammunition or by an accidental source of gas. The escort ships were able to save the paratroopers, but all their equipment was lost and the shock of the sinking was deep in the bones of the men. A deployment of the 1st Air Storm Regiment was therefore no longer an option.

As a replacement, the 2nd air storm regiment was given the mission. Although it was still in the erection phase, it was quickly supplied with weapons and parachutes. The regiment left Japan on January 15th and reached Phnom Penh in Cambodia on February 2nd . At the same time, the transport machines of the Luftsturm-Flieger-Regiment (directly under the Army Parachute Troops), the 98th Flieger-Regiment and the 12th Transport Company arrived. The paratroopers made their preparations for the attack near Phnom Penh: weapons were checked and made ready to fire, parachutes and equipment were packed and the drop containers filled with heavy weapons such as machine guns, additional ammunition and food. The drop containers could not be dropped with the Luftsturm-Flieger machines and therefore had to be entrusted to another transport aircraft unit. The coordination of dropping the paratroopers and the drop containers one after the other by two different units was viewed as critical. If the drop containers do not go down in the immediate vicinity of the landed paratroopers, they would have to rely on attacking a heavily armed enemy with pistols and hand grenades .

The units involved in the airborne operation gathered on February 11, 1942 in Sungai Petani , Malaysia . On February 13, the first wave of attacks was relocated to the airfields of Keluang and Kahang in southern Malaysia, while the second wave of attacks remained in Sungai Petani.

The headquarters of the 1st Air Storm Brigade, 330 men of the 2nd Air Storm Regiment, the Air Storm Flieger Regiment, the 12th Transport Company and the 64th Air Regiment were housed in Keluang. At Kahang were the 59th, 90th and 98th Air Regiment and reconnaissance units of the 15th Independent Air Unit and the 81st Air Regiment. Lieutenant General Sugawara Michio , commander of the 3rd Air Group, visited the troops in Keluang to encourage them and give them the final orders. He had brought sake and sushi as souvenirs , which he said: “This is the last time you will taste Japan. Drink and eat your fill, without ceremony ”. The paratroopers emptied their sake in one go and enjoyed their "last meal".

Attack plan

Japanese paratroopers jump off Palembang

The Japanese paratroopers had two primary targets: the Pangkalanbenteng airfield ( called P1 by the British ), which was 13 kilometers north of Palembang, and the two oil refineries on the southern bank of the Musi River . From a military point of view, the P1 was a higher priority, but the oil refineries had enormous economic value to the Japanese Empire. The Southern Army assessed the strength of its own paratroopers as insufficient to be able to take both targets at the same time with the same division of the troops. Therefore, the risk was taken to assign the main forces of the paratroopers to the P1 . The underlying idea was that after a successful capture of the airfield, reinforcements could have been landed. From the P1 , the paratroopers would have had to hurry the 13 kilometers to the river, then cross one of the few bridges to then secure the refineries. The two refiners were in turn separated by the Komering River , a tributary of the Musis .

Japanese parachutes over Palembang

The final plan was to drop the majority of the paratroopers southwest and west of the P1 by parachute jump. Only two small groups of paratroopers were supposed to jump off near the refineries. On February 13th, the 1st Air Assault Brigade issued the following orders, dividing the attack into two phases:

• L "-1" day (February 14th):
  • A battalion of Colonel Tanaka's reinforced 229th Infantry Regiment of the 38th Division was supposed to secure the Bangka Island off the coast of Sumatra.
  • The first paratroopers should be dropped.
• L-day
  • The 229th Infantry Regiment was to go up the Musi River in landing craft and reach Palembang on the L “+2” day.

The landing zones for the 2nd Air Storm Regiment were as follows:

• 1st wave of attack
  • 1200 meters southeast of P1
    • Regimental leadership (Major Komura): 17 men
    • Telecommunication unit (Lieutenant Komaki): 30 men
    • 4th Company (Lieutenant Mitsuya): 97 men
    • 3rd platoon, 2nd company (Lieutenant Mizuno): 36 men
  • 200 meters west of P1
    • 2nd Company (Lieutenant Hirose): 60 men
  • 500 meters west of the refineries
    • 1st Company (Lieutenant Nakao): 60 men
  • 700 meters south of the refineries
    • 3rd platoon, 1st company (Lieutenant Hasebe): 39 men

Japanese paratroopers sink to the ground, only to assemble for the attack shortly afterwards

Transport and escort of the 1st attack wave by the following units:

• 1st Air Storm Aviation Regiment (Major Niihara)
  • 1st company: 12 × Type 1 transporters (9 southwest of P1, 3 west of P1)
  • 2nd Company: 9 × Type 1 transporters (6 west of the refineries, 3 south of the refineries)
  • 3rd Company: 12 × Type 100 transporters (9 southwest of P1, 3 west of P1)
• 98th Air Regiment (drop container)
  • 15 × Type 97 bombers southeast of P1
  • 3 × Type 97 bombers west of P1
  • 6 × west of the refineries
  • 3 × south of the refineries
• 64th Air Regiment ( escort fighter )
  • 3 squadrons of Nakajima Ki-43 "Oscar", fighter escort to the P1 airfield
• 59th Air Regiment (escort fighter)
  • 2 squadrons of Nakajima Ki-43 "Oscar", fighter escort to the refineries
• 90th Air Regiment ( close air support )
  • 1 squadron Mitsubishi Ki-51 "Sonia", attack aircraft

Assembly, transport and escort of the 2nd attack wave with target P1 by the following units:

• 3rd Company, 2nd Air Storm Regiment (Lieutenant Morisawa): 90 men
• 12. Transport Company, Type 1 Transporter
• 1 squadron of the 98th Air Regiment (drop container)
• 9 × Type 97 bombers
• Units of the 59th and 64th Air Regiments

The brigade commander of the 1st air storm brigade and at the same time the commander of the 1st attack wave, Colonel Kume, intended to crash land with his staff in a transport aircraft between P1 and Palembang. At the same time, they would be carrying a Type 1 37-mm anti-tank gun that could not be dropped from a drop container.

Units involved

Japanese

Airborne or air units

• 2nd air storm regiment (paratroopers)
• 1st Air Storm Air Regiment (transport of paratroopers)
• 98th Air Regiment (transport of the drop containers)
• 59th Air Regiment (escort fighter)
• 64th Air Regiment (escort fighter)
• 90th Air Regiment (close air support)

Amphibious units

• 229th Infantry Regiment (reinforced) of the 38th Division
• a battalion of the 230th Infantry Regiment

Allies

Dutch

Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger (KNIL Army) Territorial Command "South Sumatra Island", the commander was KNIL-Lieutenant Colonel LWN Vogelesang, Palembang headquarters.

• South Sumatra Garrison Battalion in Palembang
• City Guard Infantry Company in Palembang
• City Guard Infantry Company in Djambi
• Artillery battery (4 × 75 mm L / 35 guns)
• Artillery battery (4 × 75 mm L / 35 guns)
• Air Defense Department (2 × 40mm Bofors)
• some machine gun groups
• 2 mortar trains
• motorized first aid train

British

• Parts of the 6th Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment (6th Heavy Flak Regiment)
  • 6 × QF 3.7-inch AA guns (P1 airfield)
  • 6 × 40 mm Bofors guns (P1 airfield)
  • 4 × QF 3.7-inch AA guns (refineries)
  • 4 × 40 mm Bofors guns (refineries)
• 130 RAF ground crew (P1 airfield)
• 226th RAF Fighter Squadron
  • 2 × relay Hawker Hurricane

Australian

• 130 RAAF ground crew (P1 airfield)
• some hawker hurricane
• some Brewster F2A

New Zealanders

• some hawker hurricane
• some Brewster F2A

Fighting before February 14th

Model of the HMS Li Wo that attacked the Japanese dropships. Her commandant, Lieutenant of the Royal Naval Reserve Thomas Wilkinson , was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for the attack .

On February 6, 1942, Japanese planes bombed P1 for the first time. Air battles broke out during the bombing, in which the Allies lost four Hawker Hurricans and damaged two more.

Vice Admiral Ozawa commanded the convoy coming from Cam Ranh Bay in French Indochina consisting of eight transport ships of the first amphibious attack wave, 14 of the second wave as well as the cruisers Kumano , Mogami , Mikuma , Suzuya and Yura , ten destroyers , mine layers , other support ships and the aircraft carrier Ryūjō , which had the 3rd Squadron of the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force on board. The convoy was sighted by a British reconnaissance aircraft on February 13th. The Allies then decided to use their air force against the convoy and on February 14, Bristol Blenheim and Lockheed Hudson bombers, accompanied by fighter pilots, attacked the Japanese ships. The primary targets of attack were the aircraft carrier and transport ships, one of which, the Otawa Maru , could be sunk.

On the morning of February 14, the patrol boat HMS Li Wo , which had been able to escape from Singapore, unexpectedly encountered the Japanese landing fleet. The HMS Li Wo was armed with a 100 mm cannon and two Lewis guns . Their captain, Lieutenant of the Royal Naval Reserve Thomas Wilkinson , after informing his crew of their options, decided to attack the transport ships. In the subsequent 60-minute battle, HMS Li Wo was able to set a transport ship on fire and sink one by ramming it. Badly hit by the Japanese cruisers and destroyers, the HMS Li Wo sank with 77 men of her 84 crew. Lieutenant Wilkinson was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross , the highest medal of valor in the face of the enemy for Commonwealth soldiers. It was the only Victoria Cross awarded during the fighting for the Dutch East Indies.

Operation L

14th of February

Japanese paratroopers sink to the ground at various positions around the P1 airfield and Palembang

P1 airfield

On February 14, the paratroopers were awakened at 7:00 a.m. and around 8:30 a.m. all planes took off to reunite near Batu Pahat, northwest of Singapore. 34 transporters and 27 bombers, accompanied by 80 Type 1 fighters and nine light Type 99 bombers, flew in formation 550 kilometers southeast in the direction of Palembang at an altitude of 3300 meters. At the head of the federation was a Type 100 reconnaissance aircraft that led the air armada of 150 aircraft, Japan's largest airborne operation.

At 11:20 a.m., they had reached the mouth of the Musi River , partially obscured by the rising smoke of the burning Singapore, and split up into two groups. Since the Allied planes were engaged in the attack of the Japanese landing fleet 80 kilometers north, the Japanese encountered no resistance in the air. Allied anti-aircraft bombardment began, but could not record any kills on the transport machines that were meanwhile lower flying. At 11:26 a.m., the paratroopers jumped at their planned drop zones at P1. Four minutes later, parachutes opened over the refinery. Shortly thereafter, the drop containers were dropped and the attack aircraft attacked ground targets. An attack aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft guns over the refinery and crashed. Fighter planes of the 64th Air Regiment got into a fight over the P1 at 1000 meters altitude in a fight with five hurricanes  - who had returned from their attack on the Japanese landing fleet and were running out of fuel - of which they could shoot down one while the rest fled. Shortly thereafter, ten more hurricanes appeared at an altitude of 2000 meters. Two of the Allied planes were shot down without a Japanese loss. The Japanese attack aircraft now attacked accommodations and anti-aircraft positions at P1 and since the fighters of the 59th Air Regiment had gained control of the air over the refineries , they too took part in ground attacks.

The 180 paratroopers who landed southeast of P1 were about 3 kilometers away from it. The aerial photographs taken in preparation for the operation had shown low bushes, but the area was actually littered with undergrowth and small trees. Many of the drop bins ended up in trees, making it difficult or even impossible for the Japanese soldiers to recover them. In addition, the men who had landed had difficulty making eye contact with one another and so small groups formed, which advanced one by one towards the airfield. Most paratroopers were only armed with pistols and hand grenades because the drop containers could not be recovered. The Allied anti-aircraft gun fired blindly into the drop zones, but caused no losses among the Japanese.

The 4th Company, led by Lieutenant Okumoto, had to jump off delayed because of a blocking door and landed on the road between Palembang and P1. After a successful landing, Lieutenant Okumoto and four men met four trucks loaded with 40 Dutch soldiers. The Japanese attacked them suddenly with their pistols and the Dutch reservists surrendered. Around 12:00 p.m., two armored cars and army trucks came from Palembang . Surprised by gunfire and grenade explosions, 150 Dutch soldiers fled from their trucks and hit the bushes. Only the crews of one of the armored cars and one of the trucks remained and engaged in a firefight with the paratroopers. Lieutenant Okumoto was wounded and two of his men fell. The Dutch did not advance any further and Okumoto had - inadvertently - successfully blocked the road between Palembank and P1.

One of the few drop containers that could be salvaged by the Japanese paratroopers

In the meantime, regimental commander Major Komura and ten men made their way towards P1 . When he was about 1.5 kilometers from the airfield, he met Lieutenant Mitsuya of the 4th Company, who led 24 men. Shortly afterwards, Lieutenant Okumoto appeared in a captured armored car and made a report. Major Komura gave instructions to keep the blockade upright and ordered Lieutenant Mitsuya and his men to advance to the airfield in order to capture the main airfield building. Mitusuya divided his men and sent Lieutenant Ooki ahead with 20 men and the armored car. Shortly before the airfield they met 300 Allied soldiers, who were pushed back after a violent exchange of fire. The Japanese pursued the enemy and then found the airfield deserted. At 6:20 p.m. the P1 was secured.

Major Komura tried to unite the scattered paratroopers who were fighting separately with retreating Dutch troops. At 6:00 p.m. he met Lieutenant Komaik of the telecommunication unit on the eastern edge of P1 and Lieutenant Mitsuya at the main airfield building at 9:00 p.m. Little by little, paratroopers arrived at the airfield individually or in smaller groups, where they immediately holed up in order to be able to fend off a possible counterattack.

60 paratroopers of the 2nd Company fell west of the P1 in alleged grassland . In fact, the terrain here was anything but ideal for a landing zone, as the area was covered by a dense grassland almost 2 meters high. This made it difficult to collect the troops, not to mention locating the drop bins. Here too, the majority of the paratroopers only advanced to the P1 armed with pistols and hand grenades . Lieutenant Gamo was able to gather 16 men and was moving forward when they suddenly encountered an Allied flak position. Gamo threw a hand grenade and stormed forward and was killed in the process. The rest of his men continued on their way towards the airfield.

Paratroopers in firefight with allies

Lieutenant Hirose, leader of the 2nd Company, found only two comrades and reached the western edge of the airfield with them at around 2:00 p.m. From his position he saw 350 Dutch people and retired. A little later another scattered paratrooper joined the small group, which decided to approach the airfield again. When they reached it around 5:00 p.m., they found it abandoned by the enemy. Surprised and happy at the same time, the Japanese found warm food on the stove in the main airfield building - they themselves had only jumped off with minimal provisions .

Petroleum refineries

Sixty paratroopers of the 1st Company had jumped south and west of the refineries over shallow marshland , which made it easier for them to find their drop containers. Platoon leader Lieutenant Tokunaga and six of his men were able to occupy a fortified shelter on the southeastern edge of the refinery. He then moved north through residential areas and shortly after met 60 Allied soldiers armed with machine guns. The Japanese received reinforcements from lieutenants Ogawa and Yosioka, who arrived with other men. Tokunaga ordered the newcomers to secure the refinery while he would hold up the enemy. A dozen paratroopers hurried through the refinery, removing explosive charges, and one of the men hoisted the kyokujitsuki , the flag of the rising sun , at around 1:30 p.m.

When Lieutenant Tokunaga and Lieutenant Nakao saw the flag, they withdrew to it while they shut down parts of the oil refinery to prevent destruction. The Allied soldiers immediately launched an attack on the Japanese and fighting broke out at a distance of 50 meters. Oil pipes were damaged in the exchange of fire and a Dutch mortar shell set the oil on fire. Lieutenant Nakao ordered Tokunaga's platoon to attack, whereupon they pushed the enemy back north. The fighting continued until evening. Sergeant Kamoshida had been cut off from his unit, but had its own, made their way to the target, the refinery. On the way he killed several opponents with his pistol until he was badly wounded by a machine gun salvo. After throwing his last grenade, he committed suicide with his pistol.

Lieutenant Hasebe's train had landed in a swamp south of the NKPM refinery, but he and his men were able to use a local boat to secure their jump containers. Two of his men had landed right next to an Allied position, whereupon they immediately attacked it with pistols and hand grenades, killing eight defenders. They came under fire on their way to the refinery and one of the paratroopers was wounded, whereupon they both retreated and soon encountered the rest of their platoon.

The road to the NKPM refinery was a 300 meter straight road through a swamp that did not provide cover. Lieutenant Hasebe offered no opportunity for a flanking maneuver and so he had to attack from the front. He was able to get within 100 meters of the swamp bank when he was killed. After that, the attack stalled and lay there. A non-commissioned officer took over the platoon and decided to wait until dark to renew the attack. At 11:00 p.m., they snuck up to the refinery to find that the defenders had withdrawn.

February 15th

P1 airfield

On February 15 at around 10:30 a.m., a reconnaissance aircraft coming from Keluang landed on P1 . After the pilot was informed that some of the drop containers could not be recovered, he flew back to Keluang to report. This was the first time since the start of the attack that General Sugawara received a situation report after a radio link with the paratroopers could not be established. He ordered weapons and ammunition to be delivered to P1 as quickly as possible.

Colonel Kume only reached P1 shortly before noon , as he had crash-landed several kilometers from the airfield the day before and had to break through swampy undergrowth. Kume and his men had had a sleepless night as myriads of mosquitoes had not let them sleep.

Japanese paratroopers in the foreground watch as the second attack wave is launched

At around 1 p.m., the second wave of attacks with 90 men from 3rd Company arrived on P1 . Colonel Kume ordered Lieutenant Adachi and his platoon to explore the road to Palembang, which they reached around 5:30 p.m. They found the city undefended as well as two armed unmanned patrol boats, one of which they sank. After Colonel Kume had been informed of the situation, he ordered 3rd Company to also advance to Palembang.

Towards evening the first units of the 229th Infantry Regiment arrived in Palembang and on February 20th the Japanese 38th Division officially took over Palembang from the paratroopers.

Petroleum refinery

Around 6:00 a.m., an explosive charge with a time fuse detonated in the NKPM refinery, which destroyed 80% of the refinery.

Japanese landing section

In the meantime the Allied air forces had formed a picture of the situation of the Japanese landing forces and mobilized a final air strike on them. 22 Hurricanes, 35 Blenheim and a few Hudson bombers took off from P2 and hunted down the defenseless Japanese landing craft between the mouth of the Musi River and Palembang. The Japanese escorts threw themselves on the Allied aircraft, whereupon a wild air battle developed.

losses

Although the air landing by the Japanese was chaotic at times, the landed paratroopers were unable to recover most of their drop containers and thus their infantry weapons and the Japanese only attacked in small groups, Operation L was the most successful operation in the history of the Japanese army paratroopers. For the most part armed only with pistols and hand grenades and also outnumbered, the Japanese had the element of surprise and the psychological effect of the previous Allied defeats on their side. About 80% of the paratroopers were killed or wounded. The Allies, who did not have an overview of the number of paratroopers landed, decided to withdraw and recorded minor casualties in the dead and wounded. Several hundred allies were captured by the Japanese.

consequences

Although one of the refineries was largely destroyed, the much larger refinery had fallen into Japanese hands almost intact. General Terauchi was delighted with the effectiveness of the paratroopers. The oil supply of the Japanese Empire was thus secured for the time being.

After the airborne operation, the paratroopers returned to Phnom Penh, where they united with the 1st Air Storm Regiment after its ship tragedy and prepared to participate in an airborne operation in Burma.

The Allies evacuated Sumatra and withdrew their troops to Java. Just 14 days later, on February 28th, the Japanese invasion of Java began .

literature

• Gordon L. Rottman , A. Takizawa: Japanese Paratroop Forces of World War II. Osprey Publishing, UK, 2005, ISBN 1-84176-903-7 .
• Paul S. Dull: A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press, USA 1978, ISBN 1-59114-219-9 .
• Bill Yenne: The Imperial Japanese Army - The Invincible Years 1941-1942. Osprey Publishing, UK, 2014, ISBN 978-1-78200-932-0 .

Web links

• The Battle for Palembang. The Netherland East Indies 1941-42, August 10, 2014, accessed September 11, 2014 . 
• Dutch Docu Channel: Battle for Palembang. YouTube, July 28, 2013, accessed September 12, 2014 . 
• Far Eastern Heroes: Paratroops at Pladjoe. 2003, accessed September 13, 2014 . 
• The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia: Palembang. Retrieved September 14, 2014 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Yenne p. 201.
2. ↑ American Foreign Policy November 1939 to November 1941 (English) ( Memento from October 23, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
3. ^ Rottman & Takizawa, p. 27.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Rottman & Takizawa, p. 28.
5. ^ Rottman & Takizawa, p. 29.
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Rottman & Takizawa, p. 31.
7. ↑ Yenne p. 202.
8. ↑ ^{a b} Yenne p. 203.
9. ↑ The gallant 'HMS Li Wo'. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 10, 2012 ; Retrieved September 20, 2014 . 
10. ^ Rottman & Takizawa, p. 41.
11. ^ Rottman & Takizawa, p. 42.
12. ↑ Yenne p. 205.
13. ^ Rottman & Takizawa p. 43.