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Dutch East Indies Campaign, Celebes and Moluccas

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseOn 11 Jan 1942, Japan landed troops on the Menado Peninsula in the north of the island of Celebes in the Dutch East Indies. The troops were sent from the newly established forward base of Davao in the Philippines. The island's defenses did not pose a significant challenge for the invading troops. On 24 Jan, the Japanese Eastern Force took control of Kendari, along with its air base, which would prove to be strategic as that air base enabled the Japanese to control the sky between Java and Australia. On 9 Feb, Japanese troops captured Makassar.

ww2dbaseTo the east, the island of Ambon hosted a major Dutch military base in the Moluccan Islands. Japanese aircraft began bombarding the island as early as 6 Jan 1942. The invasion began on 30 Jan when 1,000 Japanese Special Naval Landing Force and Army troops landed at Hitu-lama on the northern coast and on the Laitimor Peninsula on the southern coast. Batugong was captured by the Japanese on the following day early in the morning, and the town of Passo also fell by 1600 hours, which signaled the end of the main Dutch resistance. On 3 Feb, the main Australian resistance surrendered at Kudamati at 1200 hours. After a lull, the Japanese captured Aru, Babar, Kai, and Tanimbar islands in the Moluccan Islands in late Jul 1942.

ww2dbaseSources:

Dan van der Vat, The Pacific Campaign

Wikipedia



Last Major Update: Mar 2005

Dutch East Indies Campaign, Celebes and Moluccas Timeline

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