Last week, the Japanese had commenced their most important operation: the capture of the
Dutch East Indies and the important resources that it harboured; yet this week, they would
also start a new operation for the invasion of the island of New Britain, further trying
to interrupt the lines of communication between Australia and the US.
And as the invaders continue their advance across Borneo and the Celebes, a major breakthrough
is achieved at Malaya and the Philippines.
Join us, as we delve into this critical point of the Pacific War.
Since the start of the war, Tokyo had acknowledged that the British presence in the island of
New Britain was a huge threat to one of their most important naval bases in the Pacific:
the Truk Atoll.
In response, they planned Operation R, an invasion of Rabaul in New Britain and Kavieng
in New Ireland.
The South Seas Detachment of General Horii was earmarked to carry out Operation R after
the occupation of Guam, supported by the main strength of Admiral Inoue’s 4th Fleet.
Due to the rapid progress across all theaters of the Pacific, back on January 4, the Japanese
had started to bombard Rabaul, the old capital of the Australian-controlled Territory of
New Guinea, in preparation for a naval invasion.
Ten days later, the South Seas Detachment departed Truk escorted by the 4th Fleet’s
main units . In Rabaul, the Australians had a garrison of around 1400 soldiers, mainly
from the 23rd Brigade, under the command of Colonel John Scanlan; while an independent
company of 130 soldiers was also sent to Kavieng for the protection of the island of New Ireland.
On January 20, the 4th Fleet including Carriers Akagi and Kaga sent over 100 aircraft which
attacked Rabaul in multiple waves.
8 Wirraways attacked with 3 being shutdown, 2 crash landing and another damaged.
The following day, Australian Catalina flying boat discovered the invasion fleet just off
Kavieng and sent a warning to headquarters before being shot down.
In response, Australian soldiers quickly took up positions and their aircraft was hastily
evacuated to Lae . But before continuing with the invasion of Rabaul, we turn to Burma,
where the first major Japanese operations were also taking place.
At the start of the war, the 143rd Regiment of the 55th Division accomplished the first
attacks against British Burma during the invasion of Thailand.
Upon reaching the Kra river, which marked the Thai border, the Japanese soldiers had
quickly occupied Victoria Point on December 14 of 1941.
The British forces at Burma, under Lieutenant-General Thomas Hutton, then tried to delay the Japanese
by blowing up bridges connecting to Thailand, but they could not stop the Japanese from
launching probing raids on southern Tenasserim.
At the same time, Commander-in-Chief, India, Sir Archibald Wavell was negotiating with
Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek to aid them on the defense of the Burma Road, the last
Chinese lifeline, as the British only counted with the 46th and 16th Indian Brigades and
the 1st Burma Division for the defense of their Burmese colony.
In early January, Hutton had placed the 2nd Burma Brigade and the 46th Indian Brigade
at Tenasserim itself, with their headquarters at the city of Moulmein.
The British plan consisted on keeping the Japanese forces as far away as possible from
the port of Rangoon, through which most aid flowed towards the Burma Road and China.
In turn, Brigadier John Smyth thought that Tenasseirim was practically indefensible and
that they should retreat behind the Sittang River to establish more solid defensive positions,
something that Hutton strongly opposed.
This was to be a mistake, as on December 22, the 55th Division of Lieutenant-General Iida
Shojiro had assembled at Bangkok to prepare the invasion of Tenasserim.
They would commence their advance on Moulmein on January 20 of 1942, heading from Rahaeng
towards the Kawkareik Pass.
By January 18, the 143rd Regiment would also manage to overcome the steep jungle-covered
Tenasserim Range, then attacking Tavoy and overwhelming the 6th and 3rd Burma Rifles.
The Japanese soldiers would next continue their advance on Mergui, where the 2nd Burma
Rifles were promptly evacuated before engaging the enemy.
The occupation of Mergui also saw some Burmese nationalist proclaim the creation of the Burma
Independence Army , which would go on to accompany Japanese forces in this campaign.
On January 22, the first clashes occurred at Kawkareik between the 16th Indian Brigade
of the 17th Indian Division and forward units of the 55th Division.
The Indian defenders managed to hold to this position with great tenacity, but they would
be eventually outflanked and forced to retreat after two days of resistance.
Between January 23 and 29, the Japanese would make a determined effort to establish air
superiority over Tenasserim and Rangoon; and on the night of January 30, their main attack
on Moulmein would begin as Japanese forces engaged the remainder of the 2nd Burma Brigade
to the south and east of the city.
The invaders quickly managed to force a position on the left of a ridge and then continued
to increase their pressure over the defenders throughout the next day, This position was
almost impossible to defend and the brigade was getting squeezed until Smyth finally ordered
the retreat by the end of January 31.
The way to Rangoon was now open, but we’ll have to wait some time to cover the main attack
on Burma.
Meanwhile, in Malaya, the situation was critical for the British defenders.
On the coast, the Japanese had taken the town of Muar, annihilating the 45th Indian Brigade
and opening a hole on Westforce’s defenses; while to the north, the Australians had been
pushed out of Gemas after losing much equipment.
On January 17, the retreating Allied units that managed to escape from Muar regrouped
at Bakri and established a defensive perimeter around it.
General Percival ordered them to recapture Muar, but the remaining Indian soldiers fell
into a Japanese ambush, suffering heavy casualties and then deciding to call off the counterattack
. The next day, General Nishimura of the Imperial Guards Division started a three-pronged assault
against the Allied positions, thus commencing the siege of Bakri.
Yet the spearhead of the attack, composed of Type 95 Ha-Go tanks, advanced without infantry
support and was wiped out by Australian gunners . Despite their valiant resistance, employing
an excellent tactic of moving one section at a time to enfilade the enemy positions;
by January 19, Bakri had been surrounded by the Japanese invaders, who then started a
concentrated shelling of the area.
At the same time, the 5th Division had been applying heavy pressure to Australian forces
to the north, forcing them to retreat to Segamat by January 20.
Seeing the rapid progress of the Japanese on the coast, they would continue to retreat
towards the town of Kluang, which they would reach on January 24.
In the meantime, a single Indian company was holding off an entire Japanese division, while
the rest of the Allied forces started to retreat towards Parit Sulong on January 20.
Isolated, this company was cut off from the Allied retreat, getting almost completely
annihilated by the enemy forces.
Yet Westforce’s retreat was also cut off by the Japanese, who managed to establish
roadblocks 2 km or so from Bakri.
Several failed assaults were executed to break through until a bayonet charge led by Lieutenant-Colonel
Charles Anderson managed to break through the Japanese roadblock.
Under heavy Japanese pressure, Anderson would then go on to lead the Allied forces on their
withdrawal to Parit Sulong.
They arrived at the Parit Sulong bridge on January 22, but the bridge was already under
Japanese hands, so Anderson would have to fight his way through it.
Heroically, the Allied forces resisted tank attacks at their rear while launching continuous
assaults against the bridge.
Yet Anderson’s efforts would be unsuccessful, and so, he would decide to retreat northeast
towards Yong Peng by January 23, leaving behind substantial amounts of equipment and all their
wounded men.
These wounded men would be subjected to the same Japanese retaliations that the latter
had shown elsewhere during the war.
After being harshly mistreated, the 150 wounded men would be subsequently executed during
the Parit Sulong Massacre . This was to be the end of the Battle of Muar, and afterwards,
Westforce would establish positions on a line that extended from Mersing on the east coast,
through Kluang and then to Batu Pahat on the west coast, while preparing for a final retreat
towards Singapore.
Now, we turn to the Dutch East Indies, where the 16th Army and the 3rd Fleet were preparing
to resume their offensives in Borneo and the Celebes.
After conducting mopping-up operations in Tarakan and Manado, the Japanese forces prepared
to launch simultaneous attacks on Balikpapan and Kendari by the end of this week.
Reinforced by units from Jolo, the Sakaguchi Detachment departed Tarakan on January 21,
supported by Admiral Nishimura’s fleet . Their plan was to have a battalion-sized unit secretly
ascend the Wain River in front of the city of Balikpapan to advance deep into the rear
of the city so that it could take control of its weak points in a swift surprise attack.
Meanwhile, the Dutch garrison in Balikpapan numbered some 1100 men, mainly from the 6th
Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Cornelis van den Hoogenband.
On January 18, alerted of an incoming Japanese attack, the Dutch commander ordered the destruction
of all oil installations in Balikpapan, trying to prevent their full employment by the enemy.
On January 22, the Japanese invasion fleet was sighted by an American PBY, so the Dutch
sent some Martin B-10 bombers and 12 F2A Brewster Buffaloes to escort to attack the convoy,
as well as some of their submarines.
Despite sinking the Nana Maru transport ship and damaging others while losing a single
B-10, they could not prevent the landings of the Sakaguchi Detachment by the early hours
of January 24.
Without meeting any resistance, the main force of the Sakaguchi Detachment quickly seized
the Dutch airfield and then continued on towards Balikpapan.
At the same time, an American task force sent by Admiral Hart was approaching the vicinity
of the Dutch city.
This task force, consisting of 4 destroyers under the command of Rear-Admiral William
Glassford and Commander Paul Talbot, launched a strong attack over 12 Japanese transport
ships, sinking four transports and damaging many more vessels . In return, two of the
American destroyers only suffered light damage before retreating back to the sea.
In the meantime, the surprise unit got to the mouth of the Wain River by early morning,
beginning their ascent up the river.
On the morning of January 25, these soldiers got to the rear of the city, while the main
force of the detachment reached the northern outskirts of Balikpapan.
The Dutch garrison had been taken completely by surprise, and by midday, the surprise unit
advanced into Batu Ampar and defeated Hoogenband’s forces in battle.
They would then join with the rest of the detachment to enter into the city of Balikpapan
and capture the whole urban area.
Mopping-up operations began the next day, aimed against the town of Samarinda, while
a battalion-sized detachment under Lieutenant-Colonel Kume Motozo was created to seize the oilfields
at Sanga Sanga.
Simultaneous to the Battle of Balikpapan, Admiral Takagi’s forces had left Bangka
on January 21, launching their attack on Kendari three days later.
With the landings of the Sasebo Force by early morning, the small Dutch garrison of 400 soldiers
was caught off guard and had to retreat to Mandongan after destroying as much of the
Kendari II airfield as possible.
Kendari and its airfield then fell by midday, while the Dutch forces retreated further back
to Tawanga on the Koneweha River, from where they would start to execute guerrilla warfare.
Due to intense rain making visibility poor, the next morning a happy accident happened
for the Allies, as the destroyer Hatsuharu collided with the cruiser Nagara.
The collision left them both with severe damage, so they had to sail back to Davao for repairs.
Yet by January 25, with the fall of Balikpapan and Kendari, the Japanese had achieved their
next step in their plan of invasion for the Dutch East Indies, getting slowly but surely
ever closer to the island of Java.
But in the Philippines, the Americans had much bigger things to worry about.
With the Abucay Line pierced and the 51st Division destroyed, General MacArthur had
sent his last reserves to stop the Japanese advance before it was too late.
In turn, General Nara of the 65th Independent Mixed Brigade decided to slice through the
Abucay Line along the Abo Abo River valley, and although the Philippine Scouts offered
much resistance, they could hardly stop the advance of the Japanese 9th Regiment.
Eventually, however, General Parker’s efforts managed to pay off, as the American forces
began to hold off their enemy in a series of attacks and counterattacks that lacked
decisive action.
Meanwhile, General Homma demanded more progress on the western sector, so he reinforced the
122nd Regiment there with the main force of the 16th Division, under the command of Major-General
Kimura Naoki.
With Kimura now in charge of the western offensive, the Japanese forces started to push the 1st
Division out of the Mauban Line by January 18, while the main strength of the 16th Division
broke through the apparently-not-impassable Mount Natib area and started to drive southwest
of the Silanganan ridge with the objective of cutting off the Filipino defenders.
By January 21, the Mauban Line had been completely pierced, with Japanese soldiers enveloping
the 1st Division and pushing towards the coast.
Under much pressure, General Wainwright finally ordered the abandonment of the Mauban Line
and a general retreat southwards.
The following day, Nara started a massive assault against the Abucay Line after a heavy
bombardment of the American positions, forcing the defenders to slowly commence to retreat.
In the end, the deteriorating situation at the Mauban Line also forced MacArthur to pull
all remaining units from the Abucay Line.
On January 23, the gradual retreat towards the new Bagac-Orion Line thus commenced, being
successfully completed by January 26 . Now, we finally get back to New Ireland, where
around 400 SNLF marines landed on the morning of January 22, quickly taking the main town
of Kavieng and engaging the small force of Australian commandos.
After a fierce struggle, the defenders would have to withdraw towards the Sook River, where
they would start guerrilla warfare operations.
The following day, the bulk of the South Seas Detachment landed at several points on the
beaches of the Rabaul area, capturing many batteries and some minor airfields.
In response, Colonel Scanlan ordered the destruction of military facilities and a general withdrawal
from the town of Rabaul.
Yet the Australian units had already been engaged by General Horii’s forces, so the
defenders would split into small groups that managed to retreat through the jungles by
January 24, then starting to execute guerrilla warfare.
By this point, the Japanese had occupied Rabaul and were preparing to begin mopping-up operations
up to Lassul Bay.
The Japanese would also execute mopping-up operations in New Ireland until January 24,
then sweeping through Namatanai and its neighbouring islands for four days straight.
Luckily for the Japanese, the military facilities and airfields at Rabaul were quickly repaired,
with Rabaul becoming the biggest Japanese base in the New Guinea region.
The success of this operation, as well as the victories at Bataan, Muar, Balikpapan,
Kendari and Tenasserim continued the triumphant trend that the Japanese had been enjoying;
yet this was only the beginning, as next week, the Japanese would continue their advance
across the Philippines, Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, getting ever near to the final
objectives of their respective campaigns.
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