World War II Pacific
Japanese Conquest of the East Indies : Jan - Mar '42.
In a two month period, the Japanese conquered the Netherlands East Indies, (now Indonesia) and destroyed the combined American, British, Dutch and Australian surface naval forces in the area. The chronology that follows takes place south of concurrent advances in the Philippines and SE Asia and northwest of simultaneous activities in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands which are later resolved in the battles of Coral Sea, Guadalcanal, and New Guinea.
January 1942.
11. Japan declares war on the Netherlands; invasion of Netherlands East Indies begins as Japanese Central Force lands Army and Special [Naval] Landing Force at Tarakan; naval paratroops occupy Menado. Eastern Force then follows up the airborne assault on Menado with 1st Special Landing Force going ashore at Menado and Kema, Celebes. These operations will secure control of the northern approaches to the Java Sea.12. Dutch army shore battery sinks Japanese minesweepers off Tarakan, Borneo.
15. The previously agreed American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Supreme Command is established at Lembang, Java. General Sir Archibald Wavell, British Army, assumes supreme command of all forces in area; LtGen George H. Brett, USAAF, is deputy commander; Adm Thomas C. Hart is to command naval forces.
17. Japanese submarine I-60 is sunk by British destroyer HMS Jupiter 25 miles NNW of Krakatoa, Java.
20. Submarine S-36 (SS-141) is damaged when she runs aground on Taka Bakang Reef, Makassar Strait, Celebes and is scuttled by her crew in Makassar Strait.
21. In response to the movement of the Japanese convoy sighted the previous day in Makassar Strait, a U.S. task force (RAdm William A. Glassford), consisting of light cruisers Boise (CL-47) (flagship) and Marblehead (CL-12) and four destroyers sails from Koepang, Timor, to engage it. En route, however, Boise steams across an uncharted pinnacle in Sape Strait, N.E.I., and suffers sufficient damage to eliminate her from the force. Turbine trouble limits Marblehead (the ship to which Glassford transfers his flag) to only 15 knots, so the admiral orders the destroyers ahead.
23. Japanese land at Balikpapan, Borneo, N.E.I.
24. Battle of Makassar Strait off Balikpapan occurs when four U.S. destroyers (Cmdr Talbot, DesDiv 59) attack Japanese Borneo invasion convoy. Destroyers John D. Ford (DD-228), Parrott (DD-218), Paul Jones (DD-230) and Pope (DD-225) sink four transports and a patrol boat. John D. Ford (DD-228) is damaged by gunfire.
USAAF B-17's and Dutch Martin 139's [B-12] and Brewster 339's [F2A Buffalo] bomb invasion shipping, sinking two transports.
27. USAAF B-17's bomb and damage Japanese seaplane carrier off Balikpapan, Borneo.
28. Japanese troops land on Rossel Island off New Guinea.
29. Japanese troops land at Badoeng Island and Mampawan, Celebes.
31. Japanese troops land on Amboina Island, N.E.I.
February 1942.
2. Japanese minesweeper sunk and two minesweepers damaged, by Dutch mines off Ambon, N.E.I.3. Japanese naval land attack planes bomb ABDA operating base at Surabaya; other naval land attack planes bomb Malang, Java. These raids indicate for the first time that substantial Japanese air forces have been moved south. En route home from Malang, aircraft report presence of Allied naval force (RAdm Karel W.F.M. Doorman, RNN) off Madoera.
4. Japanese reconnaissance flying boats contact and shadow the allied force of four cruisers and accompanying destroyers attempting transit of Madoera Strait to attack Japanese Borneo invasion fleet. Japanese naval land attack planes bomb Doorman's ships, damaging heavy cruiser Houston (CA-30) and light cruiser Marblehead (CL-12). Dutch light cruisers De Ruyter and Tromp are slightly damaged by near-misses. Marblehead's extensive damage (only by masterful seamanship and heroic effort does she reach Tjilatjap after the battle) results in her being sent back to the United States via Ceylon and South Africa. Houston remains despite the loss of one-third of her main battery.
U.S. Asiatic Fleet (Adm Thomas C. Hart) ceases to exist organizationally. Units of Asiatic Fleet are organized into Naval Forces, Southwest Pacific Area (VAdm William A. Glassford).
Submarine Sculpin (SS-191) torpedoes Japanese destroyer as the latter patrols off Staring Bay, south of Kendari, Celebes.
5. Japanese planes bomb Allied shipping off Soembawa Island, N.E.I.; after destroyer Paul Jones (DD-230) is damaged by near-miss, she then rescues survivors of Dutch merchantman Tidore, which had run aground avoiding Japanese bombs.
7. Commander Naval Forces Southwest Pacific Area (VAdm Glassford) establishes headquarters at the port of Tjilatjap, on Java's south coast.
8. Japanese troops land at Gasmata, New Britain.
Submarine S-37 (SS-142) attacks Japanese convoy in Makassar Strait, and torpedoes destroyer Natsushio south of Makassar City, Celebes; it sinks the next day. S-37 survives resultant depth-charging.
9. Japanese planes bomb Batavia, Surabaya, and Malang, Java.
10. USAAF LB-30s [B-24 Liberators built to British specifications] bomb and damage Japanese seaplane carrier in Makassar Strait south of Celebes.
12. USAAF B-17's bomb Japanese shipping off Surumi, damaging two transports.
14. Adm Thomas C. Hart, USN, is relieved as Commander in Chief Allied Naval Forces in Southwest Pacific by VAdm Conrad E. L. Helfrich, RNN.
Japanese army paratroopers assault Palembang, Sumatra. During ensuing Allied air attacks on Japanese invasion convoy, RAF Blenheims bomb and sink merchant ship off Palembang.
ABDAFloat orders task force (RAdm Doorman) to proceed and attack Japanese Palembang-bound expeditionary force. As Doorman's ships -- two Dutch light cruisers, a Dutch flotilla leader, one British heavy cruiser, one Australian light cruiser, four Dutch destroyers and six American -- heads toward its objective, Dutch destroyer Van Ghent runs aground on a reef north of Banka Island and is scuttled; sistership Banckert takes off the crew.
15. Singapore falls, releasing Japanese troops and shipping.
Japanese army paratroops secure vital oil refineries at Palembang, on southeast Sumatra, N.E.I.; enemy capture of this territory establishes sea and air control of the Karimata Channel and Gaspar Strait.
Having proceeded through Gaspar Strait to the north of Banka and failed to contact the Japanese force (which has already reached Banka Strait), ABDA striking force (RAdm Doorman, RNN) is attacked by Japanese naval land attack planes as well as carrier attack planes from carrier Ryujo. Australian light cruiser HMAS Hobart is straddled, while near misses damage U.S. destroyers Barker (DD-213) and Bulmer (DD-222), which will need to retire to Australia for repairs.
19. Japanese forces land on Bali, N.E.I.
Battle of Badoeng Strait begins as Allied naval force (RAdm Doorman, RNN) of three cruisers and accompanying destroyers attacks retiring Japanese Bali occupation force in Badoeng Strait. Destroyer Stewart (DD-224) is damaged by gunfire of Japanese destroyers. Dutch destroyer Piet Hien is sunk. Dutch light cruisers Java and Tromp are damaged by Japanese gunfire. Two Japanese destroyers are damaged by Allied gunfire.
Japanese carrier striking force attacks Darwin, Australia, and Japanese naval land attack planes bomb the airfield at Darwin. Darwin is abandoned as an Allied naval base.
20. Japanese invade Timor Island, N.E.I
Stewart (DD-224), damaged by shellfire in the Battle of Badoeng Strait the previous night, suffers further damage when, improperly shored and placed on blocks, she rolls on her port side in a Dutch floating drydock at Surabaya, Java.
23. Submarine Tarpon (SS-175) is damaged when she runs aground in Boling Strait, Netherlands East Indies, and becomes stranded.
24. Submarines Pike (SS-172) and Pickerel (SS-177) are sent to assist Tarpon who manages to work herself free.
25. Japanese force lands on Bawean Island, 85 miles north of Surabaya, Java, and sets up a radio station.
26. Submarine S-38 (SS-143) bombards Japanese radio station on enemy-occupied Bawean Island.
27. Battle of Java Sea is fought as Allied naval force (RAdm Doorman, RNN) of five cruisers and 11 destroyers in Java Sea near Surabaya attack Japanese support force covering Java invasion convoy. Japanese gunfire proves ineffective 1,271 8-inch rounds achieve only five hits; of those five, four are duds. The only shell that does explode reduces HMS Exeter's speed. Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro torpedoes and sinks Dutch destroyer Kortenaer. Japanese destroyer gunfire sinks British destroyer HMS Electra; while British destroyer HMS Jupiter is sunk by mine laid earlier that day by Dutch minelayer Gouden Leeuw. Allied gunfire damages two Japanese destroyers ; U.S. destroyers' torpedo attack proves ineffective.
Seaplane tender Langley (AV-3), carrying 32 USAAF P-40's earmarked for the defense of Java, is bombed by Japanese naval land attack planes 75 miles south of Tjilatjap, Java. Irreparably damaged, the ship that had once been the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier (she had been converted to a seaplane tender in 1936) is put under by destroyer Whipple (DD-217).
U.S. freighter Sea Witch delivers 27 crated USAAF P-40's to Tjilatjap, Java, but the planes will be destroyed on the docks to deny their use by the victors.
28. Battle of Java Sea, begun late the previous afternoon, concludes. Japanese heavy cruisers torpedoes and sinks Dutch light cruiser De Ruyter (Doorman's flagship, in which he is lost) and Dutch light cruiser Java. Remnants of the Allied force flee to Surabaya, sheltering briefly there before trying to escape to Australia.
Japanese land on north coast of Java.
Battle of Sunda Strait begins shortly before midnight as heavy cruiser Houston (CA-30) and Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth, attempting to retire from Java, accidentally encounter Japanese transport force and escorting ships in Banten Bay, Java, and engage them.
March 1942.
1. Battle of Sunda Strait continues as heavy cruiser Houston (CA-30) and Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth heading for Sunda Strait, are attacked by three Japanese cruisers and nine destroyers. In the melee, Houston and Perth are sunk by torpedoes and gunfire of Japanese heavy cruisers. Japanese minesweeper and four transports are sunk ; a landing ship and two destroyers are damaged by gunfire.Japanese oiler Tsurumi is torpedoed by Dutch submarine K-XVeast of Nicholas Point, Banten Bay, Java.
In another action in the wake of the Battle of the Java Sea, four Japanese heavy cruisers engage three Allied ships fleeing Java, sinking British heavy cruiser HMS Exeter [of Graf Spee fame] and destroyer HMS Encounter. U.S. destroyer Pope (DD-225), the third ship, escapes the cruisers but is located and damaged by floatplanes from two seaplane carriers and carrier Ryujo; scuttling is in progress when two heavy cruisers deliver the coup de grace with gunfire.
Japanese planes bomb Surabaya, Java; destroyer Stewart (DD-224), previously damaged on 19-20 February 1942, is damaged again.
Japanese naval forces sweep the waters south of Java. Destroyer Edsall (DD-219) encounters Japanese battle fleet consisting of battleships Hiei and Kirishima, heavy cruisers Tone and Chikuma, and planes from carriers Akagi and Soryu; the nimble Edsall evaded 297 15-inch and 844 eight-inch main battery shells before stopped by aircraft. Edsall's five enlisted survivors are subsequently executed at Kendari. Oiler Pecos (AO-6), with Langley (AV-3) survivors on board as well as evacuees from Java, is bombed and sunk by carrier bombers from Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and Soryu, south of Christmas Island [Australian island south of Java].
Submarine Perch (SS-176) is depth-charged and damaged by two Japanese destroyers, 73 miles west of Bawean Island, Java Sea.
As Japanese invasion of Java proceeds, Allied planes bomb enemy ships off the beaches: RAF Wildebeests damage light cruiser, transport, and army cargo ship. Dutch Martin 139s [B-10], RAF Blenheims, RAAF or RAF Hudsons also claim damage to Japanese ships.
ABDA Command is dissolved as the fall of Java looms.
2. Japanese Main Body, Southern Force overtakes fleeing Allied ships southwest of Bali; sink British destroyer HMS Stronghold and destroyer Pillsbury (DD-227), which is lost with all hands. Stewart destroyed to prevent capture.
Submarine Perch (SS-176) is depth-charged and damaged by Japanese destroyer, Java Sea.
Submarine S-38 (SS-143) attacks Japanese light cruiser Kinu which evades all four torpedoes fired.
Submarine Sailfish (SS-192) torpedoes and sinks Japanese aircraft transport north of Lombok Strait.
3. Submarine Perch (SS-176), depth-charged and irreparably damaged by Japanese destroyers is scuttled by her crew in Java Sea. All hands (59 men) survive the boat's loss and are taken prisoner.
Gunboat Asheville (PG-21) is sunk by gunfire of Japanese destroyers south of Java. Asheville's sole survivor will perish in POW camp in 1945.
4. Submarine S-39 (SS-144) torpedoes and sinks Japanese oiler Erimo south of Billiton Island.
RAN sloop Yarra and convoy sunk by Japanese cruiser sweep.
5. Submarine Salmon (SS-182) torpedoes Japanese transport north of Lombok, N.E.I.
9. Dutch surrender the East Indies to the Japanese.
Lost in the week of Feb 27-Mar 4: Netherlands: CL De Ruyter, Java ; DD Korteaer ; DE Evertsen Australian: CL Perth ; PG Yarra English: CA Exeter ; DD Jupiter, Encounter, Stronghold American: CA Houston ; DD Pope, Edsall, Pillsbury, Stewart ; SS Perch ; PG Ashville AO Pecos ; AV Langley
Subsequently
11. MacArthur departs Corregidor and transits the area to Australia.17. United States, in agreement with Allies, assumes responsibility for the strategic defense of entire Pacific Ocean.
27. Japanese collier is sunk by Dutch planes off Koepang, Timor.
30. Pacific War Council representing United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, and China is established in Washington, D.C. to plan war policy in the Pacific.
Joint Chiefs of Staff order Pacific Ocean divided into two commands: Pacific Ocean Areas (Admiral Chester W. Nimitz) and Southwest Pacific Area (General Douglas MacArthur).
Japanese forces occupy Christmas Island south of Java.
Submarine Sturgeon (SS-187) sinks Japanese transport off Makassar City, Celebes.
31. Submarine Seawolf (SS-197) is damaged by depth charges off Christmas Island.
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