Battle of Balikpapan

1942 CE.

Shown on the map at -1.246°, 116.822°.

The First Battle of Balikpapan took place on 23–25 January 1942, off the major oil-producing town and port of Balikpapan, on Borneo, in the Netherlands East Indies. After capturing mostly-destroyed oilfields at Tarakan, Japanese forces sent an ultimatum to the Dutch that they would be executed if they destroyed the oilfields there, to no avail. After destroying the oilfields, Dutch forces retreated inland, taking up positions in and around Samarinda II Airfield, while the Japanese landed and seized the also-destroyed refineries. Shortly thereafter, an American naval task force ambushed the invasion convoy and sank multiple transport ships, but they ultimately failed to stop Japan from swiftly occupying Balikpapan.

Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Balikpapan (1942), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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