Before the start of the operation, the following pre-landing measures were to be carried out:
- it was decided that emissaries would be dispatched to prevent the destruction of the oil refinery installations
- native policemen would be dispatched to the area to be used as road guides by the Surprise Attack Unit
- the Surprise Attack Unit would receive training and instruction in the important points of secret movement up the river.
The Dutch East Indies Army had in Balikpapan City a reasonably strong garrison with approximately 1,100 troops
under the command of KNIL Lieutenant Colonel C. van den Hoogenband.
The city itself was also very well protected with coast, anti-aircraft and field batteries.
There were coastal guns at the harbour (2 x 120mm guns and 4 x 75mm guns), while the entrance to the harbour was protected by a
minefield; the last passage laid by auxiliary minelayer Soemenep (Lt. T. Jellema).
At Balikpapan and the nearby oilfields in Samarinda were also stationed some well-trained destruction groups with the mission
to destroy the important oil installations in case of Japanese attack.
Meanwhile back at Tarakan Island, a former manager of the Tarakan Branch of the Borneo Petroleum Manufacture Company agreed to work for the
Japanese Army on condition they would employ him in repairing the wrecked oilfields in Tarakan.
The Group Commander,therefore, with the consent of the Navy's commander, dispatched this men, together with a captured Dutch officer
and three Japanese soldiers-interpreters, to Balikpapan on a captured Dutch ship, the motor boat Parsifal.
They carried a message to the Balikpapan Garrison Commander, Lieutenant Colonel C. van den
Hoogenband, demanding that the oil refinery installations there be handed over to the Japanese Army without being damaged.
These emissaries left Tarakan Island on 16 January 1942.
On January 20th, 1942, the Dornier flying boat X-21 spotted a small vessel off the coast
of Samboaja, heading for Balikpapan. The flying-boat landed near the
vessel, the motor boat Parsifal, and took aboard two KNIL
Captains, G.L. Reinderhoff and A.H. Colijn, and flown to Balikpapan to
deliver the message to the Balikpapan Garrison Commander. Lieutenant
Colonel C. van den Hoogenband refused their demands and three Japanese
soldiers-interpreters were immediately returned back to their unit on
23 January, while both Dutch officers did not return.
Two native policemen, who had moved from
Balikpapan to Tarakan Island two months previously, were secretly
landed near Balikpapan. It was planned to use them as guides for the
Surprise Attack Unit. They were to change to a canoe near Samboaja and
land on the coast south of that city. They were then to proceed to
Balikpapan and reconnoiter in its vicinity. They landed as planned and
later successfully guided the Surprise Attack Unit up the river by
lighting lamps at all important points as signals. They were also used as road guides for the unit.
In order to test the possibility of proceeding up
the river secretly, the Surprise Attack Unit placed mangrove tree
branches on both sides of landing craft and had a destroyer direct a
searchlight on them from the distance of one kilometer. The test proved
successfull and it was decided that the river near the Dutch fort
could be successfully navigated in this manner. The planned date of
departure was delayed from 16 January until the 20th, because of a lack
of air support which was still needed in the Celebes Operation. On the
18th, the Dutch commander ordered the destruction of oil installations
in Balikpapan. After that, the destruction teams were evacuated from
Balikpapan to Samarinda II airfield, while the smaller group at
Samarinda was transported by the flying boats of the MLD. The oilfields
were, however, not badly damaged. The only serious damage was to tanks,
pipes and special wharves in the harbour area.
At 2000 on the 22nd the convoy crossed the equator
and advanced southward. From early morning to sunset of the 24th
formations of Dutch bombers attacked the convoy every fifteen to twenty
minutes. The convoy successfully reached the designated position,
approximately three miles southeast of Balikpapan airfield, on the
evening of the 24th. About 2000 on the 24th, the four USN destroyers -
USS Paul Jones, USS Parrot, USS Pope and USS John D. Ford
of the 59th USN Destroyer Division under the command of Commander Paul
H. Talbot, under cover of darkness, slipped into the midst of the
convoy, torpedoed the transports and sank six of them. As the Assault
Unit had already transfered most of its men to the landing craft, only
29 men of the Sakaguchi Detachment were reported killed or missing in this raid.
The Assault Unit landed as scheduled without meeting enemy resistance and, by dawn, had occupied the airfield.
Their advance southward, however,
was slow as the bridges on the coastal road had been destroyed and the unit did not reach the northern outskirts of Balikpapan City until the night of the 25th.
The Dutch garrison troops had been withdrawn and the unit entered the city without a fight.
Also that night the 56th Mixed Infantry Group Headquarters with Major-General S. Sakaguchi followed the main unit into the town.
After leaving the main body of the convoy the Surprise Attack Unit, while proceeding southward, was attacked by approximately 20 Dutch bombers,
but none of the transport ships were hit. The ships arrived at the designated position after sunset and at
2200 hours, the unit began to move up the river in landing craft.
While passing Balikpapan Fort, the craft were compelled to pass through an
area strongly illuminated by Dutch searchlights, but due to their
camouflage and well-timed movement, they luckily passed through unseen.
Guided by the lights placed by the native policemen, who had proceeded
them, the Surprise Attack Unit landed just south of the reservoir at
0430 on the 25th. No Dutch troops were encountered and while part of
the unit occupied the area around the reservoir, the main body
proceeded to the village of Banoeabaroe, arriving there at 1440 hours,
thus cutting off the Dutch line of retreat. While the main body of the
unit was advancing along the road to Balikpapan City, it ran into a
Dutch military column, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel C. van den
Hoogenband (garrison commander), attempting to escape from Balikpapan.
After defeating this Dutch column, the Surprise Attack Unit proceeded to
Balikpapan City. The city was completely occupied during the night of
the 25th. Having completed mopping up the surrounding area on the 26th,
the men of the 56th Mixed Infantry Group assisted the naval infantry
units in repairing the airfield.
After the capture of Balikpapan City, a new unit -
the Kume Detachment, was formed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
Kume, which was dispatched to secure and to protect the oilfields
together with naval infantry units. The part of the detachment advanced
from Balikpapan City through the village of Banoeabaroe to Samarinda, while
the main force moved forward along the Balikpapan
City-Samboaja-Sangasanga-Samarinda-Road, mopping up the remained Dutch
troops in the vicinity of Samarinda.
| Kume Detachment |
| Lieutenant Colonel Kume (commander) |
| 1st Battalion of the 146th Infantry Regiment (less two companies) |
| One Engineer Platoon |
| One Radio Squad |
Immediately after the capture of Balikpapan City, the main elements of
the Sakaguchi Detachment began to prepare for the invasion of Bandjermasin.
On Japanese request, several employees of the local administration, a few
patients in the town's hospital, several doctors, three priests and one
parson stayed in Balikpapan City. Taken captivity were also some
military personnel - members of the Dutch East Indies Army. A few days
later (on February 20th or 24th), all these prisoners, about 80 of them,
were executed at the beach near the old fortress Klandasan, in front of the eyes of the native
inhabitants who were forced to watch this execution.
Order of battle for Dutch and Japanese Army
Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger (KNIL Army)
The
Dutch garrison in Balikpapan numbered approximately 1,100 men. Dutch
Commander was KNIL Lieutenant Colonel C. van den Hoogenband.
The garrison had following units (Balikpapan Force):
• 6th KNIL Infantry Battalion
• Artillery Battery (4 x 75mm guns)
• Artillery Battery (4 x 75mm guns)
• Mobile Auxiliary First Aid Platoon
• Engineer Company
• Anti-Aircraft Battery (4 x 40mm guns)
• Anti-Aircraft Machine-Gun Platoon (3x AAMG)
• Anti-Aircraft Machine-Gun Platoon (3x AAMG)
• Anti-Aircraft Machine-Gun Platoon (3x AAMG)
• Coastal Artillery Detachment with 2 x 120mm, 2 x 75mm and 2 x 75mm guns
Militaire Luchtvaart, KNIL (Air Force)
At that time there were no Dutch planes. There exist however one airfield which was located near the town of Manggar.
Zeemacht Nederlands-Indië (Royal Dutch Navy)
In Balikpapan existed Commandement Maritieme Middelen Balikpapan
under (local) Naval Commander Cdr. F.H. Vermeulen. There were also some
vessels in Balikpapan at the time of Japanese invasion: lightship Orion, auxiliary minelayer Soemenep,
two ships from the "search service", a service which checks entering
ships on contrabande, etc. They were sunk on the river by own crews in
such a way, that they formed obstacles for entering ships. The "search
vessel" was sunk in the "mouth" of the Sanga Sanga River. The
lightship, apparently also in service as search vessel (most likely
immobile) was sunk near the island of Noebi.
Nihon Rikugun (Imperial Japanese Army) & Imperial Japanese Special Naval Landing Force
• Sakaguchi Brigade (56th Regimental Group) under command of Major-General Shizuo Sakaguchi. The brigade numbered ca. 5,500 men.
• Kure 2nd Special Naval Landing Force under command of Navy Commander Masanari Siga.
Teikoku Kaigun (Imperial Japanese Navy)
Convoy for Balikpapan numbered 16 transport ships carrying the Sakaguchi Brigade and the Kure 2nd Special Naval Landing Force from Tarakan Island.
Convoy escort was under command of Rear-Admiral Shoji Nishimura in light cruiser Naka (flagship) and consisted of:
4th Destroyer Flotilla
Naka
• 2nd Destroyer Division
destroyers- Harusame, Samidare, Yudachi, Murasame
• 9th Destroyer Division
destroyers- Asagumo, Minegumo, Natsugumo
• 24th Destroyer Division
destroyers- Umikaze, Kawakaze
Air Group
seaplane tender Sanyo Maru
seaplane tender Sanuki Maru
one oiler
Base Force was under command of Rear-Admiral Sueto Hirose.
2nd Base Force
Patrol boats- P 36, P 37, P 38
• 11th Minesweeper Division
minesweepers- W 15, W 16
• 30th Minesweeper Division
minesweepers- W 17, W 18
• 31st Submarine-chaser Division
submarine- chasers- Ch 12
and other auxiliary vessels.
The map of the Dutch East Indies 1941-1942