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Concept
Battle of Balikpapan (1942)
Summary
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 send 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.
Before the war, Balikpapan was a crucial center for Dutch economic enterprises in Borneo. Within the city, lies 2 crude oil processing plants, a paraffin and lube oil plant, a cracking plant, a sulfuric acid plant and a precious petroleum refining plant, a tin and drum factory and several workshops. Most importantly, Balikpapan housed an oil refinery with a complex of petroleum tanks that could hold eight times as much those at Tarakan, employing up to 7,000 native workers and 100 European employers, who produced up to one millions tons of oil annually before the war.
As the Dutch began to contemplate the possibility of a Japanese military aggression, they began to bolster defenses to protect the facilities. In 1924, a detachment of 6 infantry brigades was stationed to defend the oilfields of Balikpapan, as well as that of Semboja and Sanga Sanga (supported by 3 additional brigades from Samarinda).
Just as the detachment at Tarakan, troops from Java will reinforce the Balikpapan detachment if a threatening situation occurred. In 1933, a battalion staff and 2 companies was sent to strengthen Balikpapan's defenses, as tensions in the Pacific were brewing up at the time. After 4 months, the reinforcement returned to Java. Afterwards, strength of the detachment at Balikpapan was reduced to a single infantry battalion.
Official source
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