Battle of Borneo (1941–1942)
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| Battle of Borneo | |||||||||
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| Part of the Pacific Theatre of World War II | |||||||||
 Japanese paratroopers of the 2nd Yokosuka Naval Landing Force under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Genzo Watanabe (standing on top in the left) inside a transport ship heading to Borneo prior to their invasion in December 1941. | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Japan | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Kiyotake Kawaguchi |
 Robert Brooke-Popham C.M. Lane Dominicus Mars | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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4,500 infantry 2 heavy cruisers 1 light cruiser 6 destroyers 1 submarine chaser 1 seaplane tender 1 minesweeper 1 submarine 1 collier 10 transports |
1,000 Sarawak Force 1,000 British Punjab Regiment 1,000 KNIL 650 police 5 fighters Unknown bomber strength 3 flying boats 2 submarines | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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567+ casualties 2 destroyers sunk 1 minesweeper sunk 1 collier sunk 2 transports sunk 1 transport beached 1 transport damaged |
2,300 casualties 1 flying boat destroyed 1 submarine sunk | ||||||||
The Battle of Borneo was a successful campaign by Japanese Imperial forces for control of Borneo island and concentrated mainly on the subjugation of the Raj of Sarawak, Brunei, North Borneo, and the western part of Kalimantan that was part of the Dutch East Indies. The Japanese main unit for this mission was the 35th Infantry Brigade led by Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi.[1]
The invasion of Borneo was part of a large Japanese invasion in the Pacific, which starting on December 7, 1941 attacked or invaded the United States, Great Britain, and Thailand, including territories in Burma, Malaya, and the Pacific. Previously, they had only been at war with China, even though they had signed the tripartite act with Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
Background
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In 1941, Borneo was divided between the Dutch East Indies and British protectorates (North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei) and crown colonies (Labuan).
The so-called "
The rest of the island—collectively known as Kalimantan—was under Dutch control. The Netherlands were invaded by Nazi Germany in 1940. However, Free Dutch forces—mainly the Royal Netherlands Navy and the 85,000-strong Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL, including a small air service)—fought on, spread throughout the Dutch East Indies, and by December 1941 under an embryonic and somewhat chaotic joint Allied command which became the short-lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM).
The
With its rich petroleum exploitation capacity, for instance at Tarakan, Balikpapan and Banjarmasin, Borneo was a prime target for Japan, and a very poorly guarded one. Chronically short of natural resources, Japan needed an assured supply of fuel to achieve its long-term goal of becoming the major power in the Pacific. Borneo also stood on the main sea routes between Java, Sumatra, Malaya and Celebes. Control of these routes were vital to securing the territory.
Order of Battle
Allied
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Defence in Sarawak and North Borneo
The main objectives were the oilfields at
tribesmen. Altogether these forces were commanded by British Lieutenant Colonel C.M. Lane and was known as "SARFOR" (Sarawak Force).After having heard of the attack on Pearl Harbor, on 8 December 1941, the Brooke government ordered that the oilfields at Miri and Seria and refinery at Lutong be quickly demolished.
Defence in Singkawang and Pontianak (Dutch East Indies)
The Dutch forces had an important airfield near the border of British Malaysia (Sarawak) called "Singkawang II", which was defended by about 750 Dutch troops. On 25 November, five Brewster 339 Buffalo fighter planes arrived for local defence, followed in the beginning of December by Martin B-10 bombers.
The
Dutch forces in West Borneo consisted of the following units:
- West Borneo KNIL Garrison Battalion
- Stadswacht Infantry Company (about 125 men) in Pontianak
- Anti-Aircraft Battery (two 40 mm (1.57 in) guns) plus some AA machine-guns
- Mobile Auxiliary First Aid Platoon
- Stadswacht Detachment (about 50 men) in Singkawang
- Stadswacht Detachment (unknown strength) in Sintang
Imperial Japanese
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The main Japanese force—led by Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi—consisted of units from Canton, southern China:
- 35th Infantry Brigade Headquarters
- 124th Infantry Regiment from Japanese 18th Division
- 2nd Yokosuka Naval Landing Force
- 4th Naval Construction Unit
- 1 platoon of the 12th Engineer Regiment
- 1 unit from the 18th Division Signal Unit
- 1 unit from the 18th Division Medical Unit
- 4th Field Hospital, 18th Division
- 1 unit from the 11th Water Supply and Purification Unit
Invasion
On 13 December 1941, a Japanese invasion convoy left
Part of the Japanese force was allocated to capture
- Seria & Miri
During World War II, Seria was one of the first places in Borneo invasion by the Imperial Japanese Army.[2] The Japanese Kawaguchi Detachment came ashore on 16 December 1941, nine days after the Attack on Pearl Harbor.[3] Upon the invasion, the oil field was destroyed by the British forces to prevent being captured by the Japanese.[4][5]
Soon after the news of Japanese
- Dutch air raid and naval actions
Dutch Martin B-10 bombers attacked Japanese shipping from their base, 'Singkawang II' at Miri, on 17 December, but their attempt failed. The three Dornier Do 24Ks followed up with their own attack, but one was shot down, possibly by a floatplane from Kamikawa Maru.[9] The remaining two, benefiting from cloud cover, were never seen by the Japanese. One flying boat scored two 200 kg bomb hits on Shinonome, causing a massive explosion, while a near miss ruptured its hull plating. The destroyer's stern broke off and the ship sank within minutes.[9] The last flying boat dropped its bombs on a freighter, but missed. The B-10 bombers made attacks at Miri 18 and 19 December, but retired to Sumatra on 23 December since Singkawang II airfield was discovered by the Japanese, who began attacking it the same day.
On 22 December, a Japanese convoy left Miri for Kuching, but was spotted by the Dutch flying boat X-35, which radioed a warning to the Dutch submarine HNLMS K XIV, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Carel A. J. van Groeneveld. At 20:40 on 23 December, K XIV infiltrated the convoy and began its attack. The army transports Hiyoshi Maru and Katori Maru were sunk with the loss of hundreds of troops. Hokkai Maru was beached to prevent her from sinking, and another transport was less seriously damaged.[9] The rest of the troops were able to land. Although 2nd Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment, resisted the attack, they were soon outnumbered and retreated up the river. By the afternoon, Kuching was in Japanese hands.
On the night of 23–24 December, HNLMS K XVI torpedoed the Japanese destroyer Sagiri 30 miles (48 km) north of Kuching, becoming the first Allied submarine in the Pacific to sink a warship. K XVI was lost with all hands during the day by a torpedo from Japanese submarine I66.[9]
On 24 and 28 December, B-10 bombers from a different unit flew missions against Kuching from Singapore, Sembawang. On 26 December, B-10s operating out of Samarinda sank a Japanese minesweeper and a collier.[9]
- Brunei
Meanwhile, on 31 December 1941, the force under Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe moved northward to occupy
- Kuching Airfield and retreat
At about 16:40 on 25 December, Japanese troops successfully captured Kuching airfield. The Punjab regiment retreated through the jungle to the Singkawang area. After Singkawang was secured as well on 29 December, the rest of the British and Dutch troops retreated southward further into the jungle, trying to reach
References
- Runciman, S., The White Rajahs: A History of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946, particularly 252–5. Cambridge University Press, 1960.
- Percival, Arthur Ernest The War in Malaya, (especially Chapter XII: Operations in Borneo.) London, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1949.
- L., Klemen, 1999–2000, The Netherlands East Indies 1941–42, "The Invasion of British Borneo in 1942".
- L., Klemen, 1999–2000, The Netherlands East Indies 1941–42, "The Japanese occupation of Sandakan, January 1942".
- Governors of North Borneo, World Statesmen.
Citations
- ^ "Borneo: The End in the Pacific". Australian War Memorial, London. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-19-580474-4.
- ISBN 978-1-4488-4795-2.
- ISBN 978-1-84162-390-0.
- ^ "The British Empire, Imperialism, Colonialism, Colonies". www.britishempire.co.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Decline and War". MiriResortCity.com. 13 January 2006. Archived from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ a b c d L, Klemen (1999–2000). "The Invasion of British Borneo in 1942". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942. Archived from the original on 1 April 2015.
- ^ Visser, Jan (1999–2000). "Who sank IJN destroyer Shinonome, December 1941?". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942.
- ^ ]
