The destruction of Darwin rendered it useless as a supply and naval base to support operations in the East Indies.īattle A formation of Japanese twin engined land based bombers under anti-aircraft fire whilst attacking ships in the Java Sea on 15 February 1942 seen from the Australian cruiser HMAS Hobart. Also on 19 February, the Japanese made two air raids on Darwin, on the Australian mainland, one from carrier-based planes and the other by land-based planes. On the night of 19/20 February, an Allied force attacked the Eastern Invasion Force off Bali in the Battle of Badung Strait. On 13 February the Japanese captured the major port of Palembang in eastern Sumatra. On 23 January 1942 a force of four American destroyers attacked a Japanese invasion convoy in Makassar Strait as it approached Balikpapan in Borneo. To oppose these invading forces was a small force, consisting of Dutch, American, British and Australian warships-many of them of World War I vintage-initially under the command of American Admiral Thomas C. They seized bases in eastern Borneo and in northern Celebes while troop convoys, screened by destroyers and cruisers with air support provided by swarms of fighters operating from captured bases, steamed southward through the Makassar Strait and into the Molucca Sea. The Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies progressed at a rapid pace as they advanced from their Palau Islands colony and captured bases in Sarawak and the southern Philippines. These defeats led to Japanese occupation of the entire Dutch East Indies. The aftermath of the battle included several smaller actions around Java, including the smaller but also significant Battle of Sunda Strait. The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) Strike Force commander- Dutch Rear Admiral Karel Doorman-was killed. The Battle of the Java Sea ( Indonesian: Pertempuran Laut Jawa, Japanese: スラバヤ沖海戦, romanized: Surabaya oki kaisen, lit.' Surabaya open-sea battle') was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II.Īllied navies suffered a disastrous defeat at the hand of the Imperial Japanese Navy on 27 February 1942 and in secondary actions over successive days.
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