Battle of Balikpapan (1942)
World War II battle on Borneo / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The First Battle of Balikpapan took place on 23–25 January 1942, off the major oil-producing town and port of Balikpapan, on Borneo, in the Netherlands East Indies. After capturing mostly-destroyed oilfields at Tarakan, Japanese forces send an ultimatum to the Dutch that they would be executed if they destroyed the oilfields there, to no avail.
Battle of Balikpapan (1942) | |||||||
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Part of World War II, Pacific War, Dutch East Indies campaign | |||||||
Japanese troops of the Sakaguchi Detachment advancing through Balikpapan's burning oilfields. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Netherlands United States | Japan | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Cornelis van den Hoogenband Paul H. Talbot |
Shizuo Sakaguchi Shoji Nishimura | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
ca. 1,100 | ca. 6,600 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Troops deserted or surrendered (Only 200 evacuated) 1 destroyer lightly damaged 1 submarine heavily damaged |
47 infantry killed At least 121 sailors killed 5 transport ships sunk 2 transport ships damaged 1 patrol boat damaged 1 seaplane tender damaged |
After destroying the oilfields, Dutch forces retreated inland, taking up positions in and around Samarinda II Airfield, while the Japanese landed and seized the also-destroyed refineries. Shortly thereafter, an American naval task force ambushed the invasion convoy and sank multiple transport ships, but they ultimately failed to stop Japan from swiftly occupying Balikpapan.