Battle of Tarakan (1942)

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Tarakan


caption=Tarakan island
partof=World War II
date=January 11-12, 1942
place=Tarakan Island, northeastern Borneo island
result=Decisive Japanese Victory
combatant1=flag|Empire of Japan
combatant2=flag|Netherlands
commander1=Major General Shizuo Sakaguchi Colonel Kyohei Yamamoto (Right Wing Unit)
commander2=Lieutenant Colonel S. de Waal
strength1=Over 6,600
strength2=Over 1,300
casualties1=255 killed
casualties2=All killed in battle or executed after surrenderingThe Battle of Tarakan took place on January 11–12, 1942. Even though Tarakan was only a small marshy island at northeastern Borneo in the Netherlands East Indies, but the 700 oil wells, oil refinery and airfield on it, was one of the main objectives for the Empire of Japan in the Pacific War. [Womack, 2006] It is interesting that one day earlier, Japan just declared a war to the Kingdom of the Netherlands on January 10, 1942; although the combat had taken place in the surrounding area about one month and Queen Wilhelmina from the Kingdom of Netherlands had declared war to Japan on December 8, 1941.

The Japanese landing

On January 10, 1942 a Dutch Dornier Do 24K flying boat spotted a coming Japanese invasion fleet and knowing the winning chance was small, the Dutch Commander ordered the destruction of all oil fields on the island.

The Japanese forces of the "Right Wing Unit" from the "Sakaguchi Detachment" landed on the east coast of Tarakan at midnight on 11 January 1942, followed by the "2nd Kure Special Naval Landing Force". After mounting a brief, but fierce resistance, the "Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger" (Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, or KNIL) garrison was outnumbered and surrendered in the morning of January 12. All prisoners of war were executed by the Japanese in retaliation for the destruction of the oil installations; a feat that was repeated later in Balikpapan.

During the night of January 11, before Japan completed the blockade of Tarakan, the Dutch submarine "K-X", the patrol boat "P-1" and the civilian motor launch "Aida" slipped away. The Dutch minelayer "Prins van Oranje" tried to escape as well but was sunk by the Japanese destroyer "Yamakaze" (Lt. Cdr Shuichi Hamanaka) and the patrol boat "P-38".

Tarakan remained under Japanese occupation until May 1945 when it was liberated by Australian troops in the Battle of Tarakan.

Order of battle

Ground forces

Japanese Units

Sakaguchi Detachment
* HQ 56th Regimental Group
* Tankette Company
** 146th Infantry Regiment (+)
*** I Battalion, 56th Field Artillery Regiment
*** 1 Company, 56th Engineer Regiment
*** 2 Company, 56th Transport Regiment
* Infantry elements, 2nd Kure Special Naval Landing Force
* 2nd Oilfield Construction Unit
* 5th Airfield Construction Unit

Dutch Units

Tarakan Local Command
* Tarakan Garrison Battalion (7th KNIL Infantry Battalion)
** Motorised detachment with 7 armored cars
* 3 Coastal Artillery Regiment(?)
** Two mobile coastal artillery batteries (total of 3 × 75 mm guns and 2 × 70 mm guns)
** Five fixed coastal artillery batteries (total of 2 × 120 mm guns, 10 × 75 mm guns and 3 × 37 mm guns)
** Two AA batteries (total of 4 × 40 mm guns and 4 × 20 mm guns)
** Four AA machine gun platoons (each with 3 × 12.7 mm HMG)
* Two engineer platoons
* Mobile Auxiliary First Aid Platoon

References

Books

* Womack, Tom (2006), "The Dutch Naval Air Force Against Japan - The Defense of the Netherlands East Indies, 1941-1942", McFarland & Company, Inc., ISBN 0-7864-2365-X

Web

* L., Klemen, 1999-2000, [http://www.geocities.com/dutcheastindies/tarakan.html The Netherlands East Indies 1941-42] , "The capture of Tarakan Island, January 1942"
* Morison, Eliot Samuel (2001), "The Rising Sun in the Pacific 1931 - April 1942", University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
* Niehorster, Dr. Leo, [http://orbat.com/site/ww2/drleo/index.htm World War II Armed Forces Orders of Battle and Organizations]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/timeline/411208cwp.html The Kingdom of The Netherlands declares war with Japan]