Battle of Palembang

For the air attacks on Palembang in 1945, seeOperation Outflank.For the 15th-century naval battle, seeBattle of Palembang (1407).

Battle of Palembang
Part ofWorld War II,Pacific War
Japanese paratroopers landing at Palembang
Date 13–15 February 1942 Location Palembang,southern part ofSumatra Island,Dutch East Indies Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom Netherlands Australia New Zealand	Japan
Commanders and leaders
L.N.W. Vogelesang Karel Doorman Henry Hunter Stanley Vincent	Jisaburo Ozawa Yoshisaburô Tanaka Seiichi Kume
Units involved
ABDA Command NL East Indies Army ABDA naval force No. 225 Bomber Group No. 226 Fighter Group	Army Air Force 2nd Parachute Regiment 59th, 64th, 98th Sentai Imperial Navy 229th Infantry Regiment 230th Infantry Regiment
Strength
2,000 infantry 50 aircraft	3,000 amphibious force 350 paratroopers 3 squadrons transports 1 bomber group 2 fighter groups

TheBattle of Palembangwas a battle of thePacific theatreofWorld War II.It occurred nearPalembang,onSumatra,on 13–15 February 1942. TheRoyal Dutch Shelloil refineries at nearby Plaju (then Pladjoe) were the major objectives for theEmpire of Japanin the Pacific War, because of an oilembargoimposed on Japan by the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom after the Japanese invaded China. With the area's abundant fuel supply and airfield, Palembang offered significant potential as a military base to both theAlliesand the Japanese.

Prelude

Palembang location. The map shows the current border, whereIndonesiaarea was thenDutch East Indies.

In January, theAmerican-British-Dutch-Australian Command(ABDACOM) decided to concentrate Allied air forces in Sumatra at two airfields near Palembang:Pangkalan Benteng,also known as "P1" and a secret air base atPrabumulih(thenPraboemoelih), or "P2".

The BritishRoyal Air Forcecreated No. 225 (Bomber) Group at Palembang. It included twoRoyal Australian Air Forcesquadrons and a large number of Australians serving with British squadrons. The group could only muster 40Bristol Blenheimlight bombers and 35Lockheed Hudsonlight bombers. The Blenheims had flown from the Middle East andEgypt,where they were considered too old to cope with newerGermanandItalianfighters. A handful ofUnited States Far East Air ForceB-17 Flying Fortressheavy bombers also operated out of Palembang briefly in January, but these were withdrawn toJavaand Australia before the battle commenced.

No. 226 (Fighter) Group RAF also arrived at Palembang in early February: two squadrons ofHawker Hurricanestransported to Sumatra by the aircraft carrierHMSIndomitable.They were joined by the remnants of British, Australian andRoyal New Zealand Air ForceHurricane andBrewster Buffalosquadrons, which had both inflicted and suffered heavy losses in intense air battles over theMalayanandSingapore campaigns.

TheRoyal Netherlands East Indies Army(KNIL) South Sumatra Island Territorial Command, its command in the Palembang area, consisted of about 2,000 troops under Lieutenant Colonel L. N. W. Vogelesang: the South Sumatra Garrison Battalion and aStadswacht/Landstorm( "home guard/reserve") infantry company in Palembang, aStadswacht/Landstorminfantry company inJambi(Djambi), as well as various artillery and machine gun units. (KNIL units in other parts of Sumatra lacked mobility and played no part in the fighting.) TheRoyal Netherlands Navywas represented by theminelayerPro Patriaand the patrol boatsP-38andP-40on theMusiriver.

Battle

Airborne attack

Japanese Army paratroopers retrieving their weapons during Battle of Palembang

While the Allied planes attacked the Japanese ships on 13 February,Kawasaki Ki-56transport planes of the 1st, 2nd and 3rdChutai,Imperial Japanese Army Air Force(IJAAF), droppedTeishin Shudan(Raiding Group)paratroopersover Pangkalan Benteng airfield. At the same timeMitsubishi Ki-21bombers from the 98thSentaidropped supplies for paratroopers. The formation was escorted by a large force ofNakajima Ki-43fighters from the 59th and 64thSentai.

As many as 180 men from the Japanese Army 2nd Parachute Regiment, under Colonel Seiichi Kume, dropped between Palembang and Pangkalan Benteng, and more than 90 men came down west of the refineries at Pladjoe. Although the Japanese paratroopers failed to capture the Pangkalan Benteng airfield, they did manage to gain possession of the entire Pladjoe oil refinery complex undamaged. A makeshift counter-attack byLandstormtroops and anti-aircraft gunners from Praboemoelih managed to retake the complex but took heavy losses, due to Japanese soldiers entrenched in the refinery's air raid shelters. The planned demolition failed to do any serious damage to the refinery, but the oil stores were set ablaze. Two hours after the first drop, another 60 Japanese paratroopers were dropped near Pangkalan Benteng airfield.

On 14 February, the surviving Japanese paratroopers advanced to theMusi,Salangand Telang rivers, near Palembang.

Amphibious assault

The main Japanese invasion force, anamphibious assaultfleet under Vice-AdmiralJisaburo Ozawaof theImperial Japanese Navy(IJN), was on its way fromCam Ranh BayinFrench Indochina.It was made up of the Imperial Japanese Army's 229th Infantry Regiment and onebattalionfrom the 230th Infantry Regiment. A small advance party set out eight transports escorted by thelight cruiserSendaiand four destroyers. The main force followed in 14 transports, escorted by theheavy cruiserChokaiand four destroyers. The covering force included theaircraft carrierRyujo,four heavy cruisers, one light cruiser and three destroyers. Additional air cover was provided by land-based IJN planes and the IJAAF 3rd Air Division.

On the morning of 14 February, a river boat commandeered by the BritishRoyal Navy,HMSLi Wo— under LieutenantThomas Wilkinson— ferrying personnel and equipment between Singapore and the Dutch East Indies, ran into the Japanese fleet. AlthoughLi Wowas armed only with a 4-inch (100 mm) gun and two machineguns, its crew fired at the Japanese troop transport ships, setting one on fire and damaging several others, while under fire from the Japanese cruisers. This action continued for 90 minutes until theLi Woran out of ammunition. Wilkinson then ordered therammingof the nearest transport, before his ship was destroyed by Japanese fire. Wilkinson received aposthumousVictoria Cross(VC), the highest award for gallantry in the British Commonwealth, and the only VC awarded in theDutch East Indies campaign.

On 15 February, an ABDA naval force of five cruisers,HNLMSDe Ruyter,HNLMSJavaandHNLMSTromp,HMSExeter,HMASHobartand 10 destroyers, under AdmiralKarel Doorman,made an abortive attempt to intercept the Japanese force. Planes fromRyujoand land-based aircraft made a series of attacks on the Allied ships, forcing them to withdraw to the south of Sumatra.

As the Japanese landing force approached Sumatra, the remaining Allied aircraft attacked it, and the Japanese transport shipOtawa Maruwas sunk. Hurricanes flew up the rivers, machine-gunning Japanese landing craft.

Port facilities at Oosthaven were destroyed by Allied troops as part of a scorched-earth policy

However, on the afternoon of 15 February, all Allied aircraft were ordered to Java, where a major Japanese attack was anticipated, and the Allied air units had withdrawn from southern Sumatra by the evening of 16 February 1942. Other personnel were evacuated via Oosthaven (nowBandar Lampung) by ships to Java or India.

References

• Klemen, L."The battle for Palembang, February 1942".The Netherlands East Indies 1941–42.
• Klemen, L."The Japanese Invasion of Sumatra Island".The Netherlands East Indies 1941–42.Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2012.Retrieved9 August2010.
• P.C. Boer, R. Enthoven:The battle for Palembang 14–15 February 1942. An invasion which almost became a disaster for the Japanese if not for the panic with and bad decisions made by a few involved commanding officers.Batavian Lion International, Amsterdam 2022, ISBN 978-90-6707-737-8.
• Paul S. Dull:A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941–1945.Naval Institute Press, USA 1978, ISBN 1-59114-219-9.
• Gordon L. Rottman,A. Takizawa:Japanese Paratroop Forces of World War II.Osprey Publishing, UK, 2005, ISBN 1-84176-903-7.
• Bill Yenne:The Imperial Japanese Army – The Invincible Years 1941–1942.Osprey Publishing, UK, 2014, ISBN 978-1-78200-932-0.