52nd Fighter Wing

The 52d Fighter Wing (52 FW) is a wing of the United States Air Force stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. It flies the F-16CJ fighter aircraft. It was activated in 1948, but derives significant elements of its history from the predecessor Second World War 52d Fighter Group, which is now the 52d Operations Group, subordinate to the wing.
The wing provides United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa and/or the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe with mission-ready personnel and systems. The assigned F-16 aircraft can be tasked to suppress enemy air defenses, provide close air support, carry out air interdiction, counter-air, strategic attack, and combat search and rescue. The wing also supports contingencies and operations other than war as required.
In concert with USAFE wings at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, the 52d Fighter Wing directly supports the strategic mobility mission once conducted at Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany. The wing provides logistics support for C-17 Globemaster III and C-5 Galaxy aircraft, crew, passengers and cargo to sustain air mobility operations throughout Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia. The 52d Fighter Wing also supports USAFE's Joint Fires Center of Excellence, whose mission is to conduct joint and combined training focused on the effective integration and application of tactical fires.
Subordinate organizations.
The wing is authorized for about 5,560 active-duty members and about 210 Department of Defense civilians. The wing is organized with four groups responsible for operations, maintenance, mission support and medical operations, and has headquarters staff.
52d Operations Group (52 OG)
52d Maintenance Group (52 MXG)
52d Medical Group (52 MDG)
52d Mission Support Group (52 MSG)
52d Munitions Maintenance Group (52 MMG) (custody and storage of tactical nuclear weapons)
History.
Cold War.
Established as the 52d Fighter Wing, All Weather, on 10 May 1948, the wing served in the United States as an air defense unit in the northeastern United States from 1947 until the end of 1968.
The 52d was reactivated on 18 August 1955 and designated 52d Fighter Group (Air Defense). It was assigned to Air Defense Command and equipped with North American F-86 Sabre aircraft. It served once more as an air defense unit in the southeastern United States.
In December 1971, it became the host wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, and inherited tactical squadrons from the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing at nearby Bitburg Air Base. The wing participated in numerous tactical exercises, operations, and tests of USAFE and NATO and provided close air support, interdiction, and base defense operations. It operated with other NATO forces in frequent "squadron exchange" programs and hosted US-based units on temporary duty in Europe. In January 1973, a Wild Weasel defense suppression mission was added. After October 1985, using the F-4 Phantom II model aircraft, defense suppression became the wing's sole tactical mission. In 1987, the 52d acquired F-16 Falcons and became the first wing to integrate F-16Cs with F-4Gs to form hunter/killer teams within individual fighter squadrons.
It deployed aircraft and personnel to strategic locations in Saudi Arabia and Turkey in support of the liberation of Kuwait from September 1990 – March 1993. Near the end of 1992, it began receiving A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft. It received F-15 Eagles in 1994 but lost its F-4Gs. In January and December 1999, the wing supported Operations Northern Watch, Allied Force, and Decisive Forge with numerous deployments to Italy and Turkey.
Twenty-first century.
Following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon in the United States on September 11, 2001, the 52d Fighter Wing began preparations for possible combat tasking. Within one month the wing had deployed people and equipment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in and around Afghanistan. The 22d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron began flying operations at a deployed location in support of the war on terrorism within 100 hours of tasking notification.
Personnel assigned to the 52d FW continued to deploy for Operation Enduring Freedom circa 2020.
In April 2010 the wing's strength was reduced by one third. Twenty F-16Cs were flown to the 148th Fighter Wing, Minnesota Air National Guard, one F-16 was transferred to Edwards Air Force Base, California. All aircraft were from the 22d Fighter Squadron. As a result of the drawdown of F-16s, the 22d and 23d Fighter Squadrons were inactivated on 13 August 2010 and formed a single "new" squadron, the 480th Fighter Squadron.
On 18 June 2013, the 81st Fighter Squadron was inactivated at Spangdahlem Air Force Base in Germany. The inactivation marked the end of A-10 operations in Europe at that time.
In December 2014, the wing commander, Col. Peter Bilodeau, who had commanded the wing for six months, was relieved of his command for "a loss of faith and confidence in his leadership." His deputy served as commander until Col. McFall took command.
On 1 April 2017, the 606th Air Control Squadron, Detachment 1 was inactivated at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany following the relocation to Aviano Air Base, Italy.
Components.
Wing
Group
Squadrons


SS Ussukuma

The Ussukuma was a German passenger ship named after a location in the central highlands of German East Africa (now Tanzania).
On 6 December 1939, only a few months into the Second World War, she was scuttled off the coast of Argentina. In January 2008 her wreck was identified by the Argentine Navy in 70 metres of water, 62 miles off Necochea.
Construction & Career.
She had a crew of 107, could carry 264 passengers and was powered by steam turbine. Her building number was 389 and her home port was Hamburg. Her sister ships were the "Usaramo" of the "Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie" and the "Wangoni" of the Woermann-Linie.
She was launched on 20 December 1920 at the Hamburg shipyard of Blohm + Voss and entered service with the Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie on 8 July the following year. She used 13 ports in Europe, 38 in Africa and 1 in Aden.Her last round trip to Africa began from Hamburg on 15 July 1939. On 19 August she left Cape Town and by 26 August had reached Lorenço Marques.
Action in WW2.
On the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939 she was lying off Lorenço Marques and was taken over by the Abwehr for service in the South Atlantic. In late September she went to South America and on 11 October reached Bahía Blanca in Argentina, where she stayed until 4 December Her captain Karl Schulte fell ill there and was replaced by Hugo Wilmsen from the "Nienburg".
On 4 December 1939 the "Ussukuma" left Bahía Blanca in the direction of Montevideo in Uruguay, possibly to help the pocket battleship "Graf Spee", also heading for Montevideo. On 5 December, towards evening, the "Ussukuma" met the British cruiser HMS "Ajax". "Ajax" had been looking for the "Graf Spee" (later meeting her in the battle of the River Plate on 13 December) and had been informed of the departure of the "Ussukuma" by the British naval attaché in Montevideo and by a Dutch ship which had met the "Ussukuma" shortly after the latter's departure. The "Ajax" threatened not to rescue the German crew if they left their ship but also ordered them not to sink it. Captain Wilmsen decided to scuttle her nevertheless and the "Ajax" fired three rounds at her, the first across the bows, the second whilst she was lowering her lifeboats and the third when the boats were dropped into the water, 62 miles from the coast. The "Ussukuma" sank during the night of 5 December or morning of 6 December.
The 107 crew members were rescued by the "Ajax" and interned as enemy civilians. The cruiser HMS "Cumberland" took them first to the Falkland Islands, then in 1940 to Camp Baviaanspoort near Pretoria in South Africa, from which they were released at the end of the war.
The vessel's remains appeared on charts as an unnamed wreck for years and in January 2008 became "the first Nazi wreck to be identified in Argentine waters in decades."


Hainan Island Operation

The Hainan Island Operation, or in Japanese, was part of a campaign by the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War to blockade the Republic of China and prevent it from communicating with the outside world as well as to prevent imports of much-needed arms and materials.
Background.
Hainan Island lies midway between French Indochina and Hong Kong, occupying a position south of the Leizhou Peninsula across the Strait of Hainan. It is also near Kwangchowan, a French-leased territory on the southern coast of China. The 33,920 km2 (13,100 sq mi) Hainan Island had a population of 2,200,000 at the time. The island was guarded by the 152nd Division, approximately 25,000 strong, under the command of Yu Hanmou, who was in charge of peace preservation in Kwangtung Province.
The Japanese Navy, after the capture of Canton (Guangzhou) the previous year, had maintained a formidable blockade all along the coast of south, central and north China. However, loopholes were found in the southern end of the blockade line. These included the supply route to Chiang Kai-shek with Hong Kong and Northern French Indo-China as relay points and the direct routes through Hainan Island and Kwangchowan areas. Because of these loopholes, as well as the necessity to conduct air operations deep into the interior as far as the Kunming area, the Japanese Navy came to feel the necessity for establishing air bases on Hainan Island. The Central Authorities of the Navy advocated this move. Operations were carried out by the Special Naval Landing Forces with Army elements supporting them.
Operation.
Escorting a convoy, the South China Naval Force (Fifth Fleet) commanded by Vice Admiral Kondo Nobutake entered and anchored in Tsinghai Bay on the northern shore of Hainan Island at midnight on 9 February 1939 and carried out a successful landing. In addition, Navy land combat units effected a landing at Haikou at 1200 on 10 February. Thereafter, the Army and Navy forces acted in concert to mop up the northern zone. On 11 February, land combat units landed at Samah (Sanya) at the southern extremity of Hainan Island and occupied the key positions of Yulin and Yai-Hsien. Thereafter, the units engaged in the occupation and subjugation of the entire island.
Retreat to Wuzhi mountain range.
Facing crisis, Nationalist forces evacuated all remaining civilians from Haikou to Qionghai to the safe Wuzhi mountain range in central Hainam. However they faced fierce opposition by the ethnic Li highlanders there. An ethnic Li called Wang Guoxing started an uprising but was brutally crushed and in revenge, the Nationalists killed 7,000 of Wang Guoxing's family members in his village.
The Communists under Feng Baiju and the native Li people of Hainan fought a vigorous guerrilla campaign against the Japanese occupation, the Japanese killed large numbers of Li in western Hainan (eg. Sanya, Danzhou). Furthermore, numerous foreign slave labourers were also killed. There are mass graves of tens of thousands of Korean slave labourers in Sanya and throughout the island. Of the 100,000 slave labourers from Hong Kong only 20,000 survived the war.
Partial occupation.
Later, occupied parts of Hainan Island became a naval administrative district with Hainan Guard District Headquarters established at Samah. Strategically, the island was built as a forward air base as well as an advance base for blockading Chiang. At the same time, the iron and copper resources of the island were exploited. Partial control of certain areas of Hainan Island provided a base of operations for the invasion of Guangdong province and French Indochina, as well as providing airbases that permitted long-distance air raids of routes into China from French Indochina and Burma.
The Occupation of some parts of Hainan lasted until the Surrender of Japan in September 1945, following the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Enola Gay that killed approximately 226,000 Japanese civilians in Hiroshima.


90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

The 90th Light Infantry Division was a light infantry division of the German Army during World War II that served in North Africa as well as Sardinia and Italy. The division played a major role in most of the actions against the British Eighth Army in the Western Desert Campaign and eventually surrendered to the Allies in the final stages of the Tunisia Campaign in May 1943. It was re-constituted later in 1943 and deployed to Sardinia and when the expected Allied invasion of Sardinia failed to materialise, the division was moved to Italy. It was engaged in actions against the Allies in Italy from 1943 to April 1945 when the division was listed as "destroyed" in the Po River valley.
Formation.
On 26 June 1941, the OKH ordered the creation of a Division HQ staff for "Kommando zbV Afrika" in Germany. The planned division was intended for deployment to Africa to re-balance, and add infantry troops to the DAK deployed in the Western Desert. The formation headquarters was sent to Africa between late August and mid-September 1941 and deployed to command the Sollum area with the first units (347th Infantry Regiment and 300th Special Services "Oasis" Battalion) being attached on 15 October 1941. On 20 October more units were attached (155th Inf Regt, 900th Engineer Battalion and 605th Anti Tank battalion) and the division troops were expanded to full strength with the division becoming known as Division z.b.V. Afrika
The subordinated 288th Special Service Unit, originally known as "Sonderverband 288" was a regimental sized, special operations unit consisting of sub-units with various combat specialties including mountain and desert warfare, night operations and infiltration. This unit was formed in Potsdam in 1941 from specialist soldiers with previous experience in the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa. Two battalions from "Sonderverbande 288" and one locally recruited Arab battalion were later amalgamated to form the 155th Rifle (later 155th Infantry and then Panzergrenadier) Regiment within the division. The 361st Regiment contained 300 Germans who had previously served in the French Foreign Legion; who were usually considered unworthy of service but brought about by the Wehrmacht's incessant need for additional troops.
Training was completed in the Bardia area and the division was earmarked by Rommel to lead the attack on Tobruk. On 28 November 1941, the formation was renamed 90. leichte Afrika Division (90th Light Africa Division). Through its five-year existence, it was re-designated several times, although always known colloquially as the "Africa Division," being the only German combat division to have been largely raised in Africa itself.
The Germans combed the French Foreign Legion in French North Africa and press-ganged some 2,000 German "légionnaires" into the Wehrmacht. Germans had been urged by the Nazi regime not to join the Legion and these recalcitrants were given a rough reception as unpatriotic elements, being classified "Wehrunwürdig"/999. The 999 units were made up of men seen as not "worthy to serve" ("Wehrunwürdig"), so they were not condemned in a court; these men were assigned mainly for political reasons. The bulk of these légionnaires would be formed into the ("mot") 361, also known as 361 (361st Reinforced Africa Regiment), as part of the 90th Afrika Division.
North African campaign.
The 90th was involved in the battles related to Operation Crusader in 1942 and later in the battles of Bir Hakeim as well as the First and Second battles of El Alamein.
Final battles in Tunisia.
In Tunisia, the 90th were initially involved in the Battle of El Guettar.
The 90th Light was regarded by the 2nd New Zealand Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard C. Freyberg VC, as their special foe and as the two formations had faced each other on several occasions. In the final confrontation with the 90th Light in May 1943, Freyberg had sent a message to the German Division stating "..your position is hopeless. We have fought you for two years and have no wish to annihilate you." The reply was "..We appreciate your message and we realise our position is hopeless; but we have our duty to perform." A direct assault by the New Zealand Division was checked and a later attack by the 167th Bde of 56th (London) Infantry Division was also halted by the 90th Light with British casualties being 63 dead, 221 wounded and 104 missing. The 90th Light continued to resist attacks by the 56th Division but finally succumbed to attack by the 6th Armoured Division as well as immense air attacks from the South African and Royal Air Forces. The Division was finally overrun at 18:45 on 12 May 1943 and was granted an honourable surrender at 12:30 on 13 May 1943 together with all remaining Axis forces at Cap Bon, marking the end of the Tunisia Campaign.
Italian Campaign.
Reconstitution.
As with the other units of the Afrika Korps, replacement units were quickly raised from available troops stationed in Western Europe. As such, the "Africa Division" was reconstituted as the 90th Panzergrenadier Division in Sardinia during July 1943 drawing an experienced nucleus of troops from "Sturmbrigade Reichsführer SS." The division was then transferred to Corsica where it absorbed the ground organisation of the "Luftwaffe" command on Corsica and added regulars coming from Volksdeutsche recruits. The reconstituted division was deployed along the Bonifacio - Bastia coastal road on 9 September 1943 where it was involved battles against Italians, the maquis and French troops for the liberation of Corsica. The division was transferred to the Italian mainland from the Bastia bridgehead on 3 October 1943 and assigned to LXXXVII Corps of Army Group C.
Southern Italy.
On arrival in Italy, the 90th was deployed in Tuscany close to Pisa and then moved to Gatteo a Mare on the Adriatic coast and in mid November to the Abruzzo region, as part of the Gustav Line defences. It was here that the division faced its first damaging battle in Italy during the bitter fighting with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division during the Moro River Campaign in late November 1943 and the Battle of Ortona in December. In late December the division was moved to the south of Rome in order to replenish and recover from these battles under LXXVI Panzer Corps.
Monte Cassino.
The 29th and 90th Divisions had been moved from the Rome defences to Monte Cassino to bolster the southern defensive Gustav Line in January 1944 as a division assigned to I Parachute Corps. This move was encouraged by Adm Wilhelm Canaris assuring Field Marshal Kesselring that there was no possibility of any Allied landings close to Rome (The virtually unopposed Anzio landings took place two weeks later on 22 January 1944). The 90th thus remained in the Casino defence lines and didn't participate in the Anzio battles. On 3 February, Kesselring instructed the whole 1st Parachute Division to be moved from the Adriatic to Cassino to relieve the 90th Division. The 90th would then move to the Adriatic to fill the gap in the 51st Mountain Corps left by the relocation of the parachute division. This proposed move was strongly opposed by the Corps generals who insisted that the 90th was just beginning to make itself felt at Cassino. The Corps staff prevailed and the 90th went into battle to following day. The 90th was involved in the defence of Monte Cassino during the first Battle of Monte Casino and lead the recapture of Monte Calvari from the American 2nd Brigade of 168th Infantry Division on 7 February 1944. During the second Battle of Monte Casino on 17 February 1944, the 90th was attacked by New Zealand Corps and defended their positions against the Indian 4th Division. Close hand-to-hand combat ensued and the Indian Division launched three attacks against the 90th defences. Battles raged around the abbey for an additional three days after which Gen Freyberg called off the corps attack. The 90th was relieved in the Cassino line after the second battle for Cassino by the 1st Parachute Division and were moved to join the 51st Mountain Corps after refitting at Frosinone. On 18 May, when the 90th reached the Hitler Line, it was transferred from 51st Mountain Corps to fall under the command of 14th Panzer Corps and deployed in the at Pignataro - Pontecorvo area. This was done to allow one Corps commander to command forces on both sides of the Liri River and prevailed until 21 May, when the 90th reverted to the command of 51st Mountain Corps. The 90th was then involved in the fourth battle for Monte Cassino.
Defense of Rome.
By 1 June, Kesselring tried to concentrate the 90th, the 1st Parachute, 305th Infantry and 94th Infantry divisions into a defensive line between Piglio and Paliano. But by then, these units were very weak and were constantly in contact with Allied forces, making relocation extremely difficult. By 4 June, the 90th were again fighting rear-guard actions on the line Ponte Orsino - Trevi and had retreated further north. At the end of July 1944, the division was again relocated into the Po Valley between Modena and Parma and then to Liguria north of Genoa to re-group. After the Allied landings in southern France, the division was relocated to Piedmont to secure the border of the Alpine crossings from France into Italy.
Bologna and the Po Valley.
By 15 October the division had been withdrawn from Piedmont in orchestrated disengagement manoeuvres and was deployed as part of a defensive line in the Abruzzi Mountains as part of "10. Armee." By November 1944 the division had withdrawn north and formed part of the defensive lines covering the advances to Bologna. By this time, the division infantry battalions were considered fortunate if they had more than 200 men! After a series of retreating battles into March 1945, the 90th was assigned as Field Army Group reserve under command of "Heeresgruppe C". and put into reserve for rebuilding. The reserve was committed to battle in April 1945 to attempt to halt a breakthrough by the US 10th Mountain Division on the Po defence line but were unable to hold the advancing Allied forces.
Surrender.
By 25 April the US 5th Army had five divisions over the Po River and IV (US) Corps crossed Lake Garda using Fantails and Duplex Drive tanks to push west to close the Brenner Pass escape road and to secure Milan. By 28 April all passes providing a possibility of escape into Austria had been closed and the 90th made a last great effort to keep these escape routes open for the divisions in the west. The 90th was forced to surrender on 28 April 1945 after the divisional commander and his staff had been captured earlier in the day, with the remnants of the division surrendering to the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) on the Via Emilia south of Lake Garda.
General Sir W Jackson, the government historian responsible for documenting the British official history of the War in Italy, considered the 90th Panzergrenadier Division a "worthy opponent."
War crimes.
The division has been implicated in a number of war crimes in Italy between August 1944 and April 1945, with up to five civilians executed in each incident.
Lineage and organisation.
The division formed part of the Afrika Korps during its deployment to North Africa.


United States Naval Forces Europe Band

The United States Naval Forces Europe Band (NAVEUR Band) is the musical component of the United States Naval Forces Europe - Naval Forces Africa, a subordinate command of the United States European Command and United States Africa Command. It acts as the "de facto" American musical unit for Europe. As a United States Navy band, it is part of the Navy Music Program. Currently stationed in at Naval Support Activity in Naples, Italy, it operates under the direct control and supervision of the Commander of NAVEUR.
History.
Naval music has had a long history in North America as well as Europe that dates back to the 1950s. The current NAVEUR Band traces back to two separate naval bands in the continent, the Allied Forces Southern Europe Band (CINCSOUTH Band) and the Sixth Fleet Band, both operating from Naples, Italy.
CINCSOUTH Band.
The CINCSOUTH Band was formed in the 1950s in London from a small contingent of naval musicians who served under the command of Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic. Later on in the decade, the band was relocated to Italy and was permanently stationed there. In 1974, the CINCSOUTH Band was expanded to included military musicians from countries such as Greece and Turkey to better reflect the diversity of NATO. In 1997 and 2002 respectively, it was expanded even more to include musicians from the United States Marine Corps and the Corps of Royal Marines. In 2004, the band was redesignated as the Allied Forces Band Naples.
Sixth Fleet Band.
Until 1958, the newly established Sixth Fleet never maintained a unit band and constantly carried various naval bands from the U.S. In the Spring of that year, the "USS Des Moines" established a unit band which would be based at Villefranche-sur-Mer, France. Following the withdrawal of France from the military command of NATO in 1967, the band changed its permanent base to Gaeta in central Italy. The band continued to serve onboard ships of the Sixth Fleet until the early 1970s, when it moved San Pietro a Patierno, a suburb of Naples.
Merger.
In 2004, the Sixth Fleet was merged into the staff of Commander of NAVEUR, effectively making the two bands operate under the same command structure. In May 2006, Admiral Henry G. Ulrich III, requested that the two bands are combined to create a singular band that would represent the entire naval command. The request was
approved the following month with a layout of the size, mission and jurisdiction being established. As a result of a restructuring of Fleet Band Activities (FBA) in 2012, the NAVEUR was reduced to 52 members (50 enlisted musicians and two officers).
Mission.
The 50 members of the NAVEUR Band serve the mission of supporting NAVEUR and the personnel of the Sixth Fleet at official military ceremonies such as ship arrivals and departures, change of command ceremonies, and official receptions. It also serves to enhance the "esprit de corps" of all United States Naval personnel and naval personnel of allied countries on the European mainland. Like the bands of the other European commands in the Army and Air Force, the NAVEUR Band is involved in improving United States–European Union relations, often acting as a symbolic ambassador for the United States. The repertoire of the band is very diverse, having been known to cover all types of music. Other than the significant protocol music that the band performs (ruffles and flourishes, "Hands Across the Sea", "Admirals March" and "Anchors Aweigh" being common pieces), the band also has been known to perform to American and European classical music, as well as jazz from the two regions. country rock and swing music are also notable examples of the band's musical diversity. In its travels, the band has performed throughout the continent, stopping in countries such as Iceland, Croatia, Spain, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom. It also travels outside Europe and performs in African countries such as Djibouti and South Africa. In all, the band reaches a combined audience of more than 60 million people spanning the two continents.
Composition.
Uniquely, the NAVEUR Band is composed of both active duty Navy and United States Marine Corps (USMC) musicians, alongside by foreign musicians from the European countries such as the United Kingdom and Italian services such as the Carabinieri to make the band serve also as a musical support unit for all events involving the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). These musicians are divided into different performing units, each of which serve to fulfill a specific ceremony at any request.
The following is a list of ensembles in the NAVEUR Band:
The band also maintains the following solo roles:
The marching band and the ceremonial band are the flagship units of the NAVEUR Band, supporting military ceremonies by leading the formation in parades and rendering honors (the former is done by the marching band).


Convoy SC 7

SC 7 was the code name for a large Allied World War II convoy of 35 merchant ships and six escorts, which sailed eastbound from Sydney, Nova Scotia, for Liverpool and other United Kingdom ports on 5 October 1940. While crossing the Atlantic, the convoy was intercepted by one of the first "Kriegsmarine" submarine wolfpacks. During the ensuing battle, the escort was completely overwhelmed and 20 of the 35 cargo vessels were sunk and 2 more damaged, with 141 lives lost. The disastrous outcome of the convoy demonstrated the German submarines' potential of being able to work more efficiently using wolfpack tactics and the inadequacy of British anti-submarine tactics at the time.
Ships of the convoy.
The slow convoy SC 7 left Sydney, Nova Scotia on 5 October 1940 bound for Liverpool and other British ports. The convoy was supposed to make but several merchant ships were much slower, necessitating a further reduced speed.. The convoy consisted of older, smaller ships, mostly with essential cargoes of bulk goods. Much of the freight on these ships originated on Canada's east coast, especially from points to the north and east of Sydney. Typical cargoes included pit props from eastern New Brunswick for British coal mines, lumber, pulpwood, grain from the Great Lakes ports, steel and steel ingots from the Sydney plant and iron ore from Newfoundland, bound for the huge steel plants of Wales. The largest ship in the convoy was the 9,512-ton oil tanker , belonging to the Admiralty, which was bound for the Clyde with fuel for the Royal Navy. Another ship, the British , carried a valuable cargo of trucks.
Many of the ships were British but the convoy included Greek, Swedish, Norwegian and Dutch vessels. The convoy commodore, Vice Admiral Lachlan Donald Ian Mackinnon, a retired naval officer who volunteered for this civilian duty, sailed in , a British ship of . As convoy commodore, Mackinnon was in charge of the good order of the merchant ships but did not command the escort. The sloop was sole naval escort for the first three quarters of the journey. There was no aircraft protection in 1940 for Allied ships in the Atlantic Ocean after leaving coastal regions. "Scarborough" would have had little chance against a surface attack by a German raider. Many of the merchant ship captains were resentful at having to sail in convoy and would have preferred to take their chances on their own, rather than risk such a slow crossing with a weak escort. They were often uncooperative; at one point early in the voyage "Scarborough"s captain was shocked to find a Greek merchant ship in the convoy travelling at night with her lights on.
Battle.
5–18 October.
The convoy sailed on Saturday 5 October 1940. On the first day, one ship, dropped out with mechanical trouble, and had to return to port. The convoy "ran into a gale" on 8 October and then were engaged by U-boats. As bad weather set in on 11 October, several ships became separated and were forced to sail independently. One of these, , was a small Canadian Laker of 1,813 tons, with a cargo of lumber destined for Scotland. She was sighted by on 16 October and sunk. The Greek freighter was seen by and sunk on the 17 October but , another Laker, avoided this fate and was able to rescue survivors from "Aenos", before arriving safely at Rothesay on 19 October. A fourth straggler regained the convoy on 15 October.
On 17 October, as the convoy entered the Western Approaches, "Scarborough" was joined by the sloop and the new corvette . Later that day they were sighted by , which attacked, sinking two ships including the tanker "Languedoc". "Scarborough" counter-attacked, driving "U-48" deep so she was unable to shadow or report but the attack was prolonged unwisely and the convoy moved so far ahead that "Scarborough" was unable to rejoin. On 18 October SC 7 was joined by the sloop and the corvette , with "Leith" assuming command. Later that day, "U-38" sighted the convoy and attacked, damaging . "Leith" and "Heartsease" attacked without success, though "U-38" was driven off and "Heartsease" was detailed to escort "Carsbreck" home, weakening the escort further.
18/19 October.
On the night of 18/19 October, , , , and made a concerted attack. "U-99" was captained by the famous ace "Korvettenkapitän" Otto Kretschmer. The attack was coordinated from Lorient by Admiral Karl Dönitz and his staff. An early casualty was the iron ore ship, , bound for Cardiff, Wales. With her heavy cargo, she sank quickly, taking all 36 crew members with her. Later that night, SC 7 lost many of its members, including "Empire Brigade" with her cargo of trucks and six of her crew and with her cargo of steel ingots from Sydney. She sank quickly as well, taking with her 38 of her 39-man crew. Also among the casualties was the commodore's ship, "Assyrian", which went down with 17 crew (Mackinnon was rescued after a long immersion in the chilly waters). In all, 16 ships were lost in this six-hour period.
18–20 October.
On 18 October, was torpedoed by "U-101" and was abandoned. She was torpedoed again on 19 October by "U-100" but remained afloat. She was towed to the Clyde and later repaired at Greenock. The escorts were unable to prevent any of these losses; their responses were uncoordinated and ineffective. They never realised that the attacking submarines did not attack submerged or from outside the convoy, but were actually running surfaced between the ships inside the convoy. Therefore, the escorts were unable to mount any serious attacks on the U-boats, and had to spend much of their time rescuing survivors. During 19 October, the escorts, loaded with survivors, gathered together those ships that remained. "Fowey" collected eight ships and made for the Clyde, arriving there a few days later. "Scarborough" passed through the scene of the battle later on 19 October; she found wreckage, but no survivors. Later that afternoon "Leith" met "Heartsease", still escorting the damaged "Carsbreck"; together they headed for Gourock, Renfrewshire, collecting two more stragglers on the way. "Bluebell" with over 200 survivors on board, headed directly for the Clyde, arriving on 20 October.
Aftermath.
SC 7 had lost 20 ships out of 35, of which seven fell to Kretschmer's "U-99". The total tonnage lost was . The arrival of convoy HX 79 in the vicinity had diverted the U-boats and they went on to sink 12 ships from HX 79 that night.
No U-boats were lost in either engagement. The loss of 28 ships in 48 hours made 18 and 19 October the worst two days for shipping losses in the entire Atlantic campaign. The attack on SC 7 was a vindication of the U-boat Arm's wolfpack tactic, and was the most successful U-boat attack of the Atlantic campaign. The convoy escort was ineffective in guarding against the attack. Convoy tactics were rudimentary at this early stage of the war. The escorts' responses were uncoordinated, as the ships were unused to working together with a common battle-plan. Command fell to the senior officer present, and could change as each new ship arrived. The escorts were torn between staying with the convoy, abandoning survivors in the water, as DEMS regulations demanded, and picking them up, leaving the convoy unprotected and risking being torpedoed themselves.


Landing at Amchitka

The Landing at Amchitka was the amphibious landing operation and occupation of Amchitka island by American forces during the Aleutian Islands Campaign.
Background.
In June 1942, the Japanese occupied some of the western Aleutian islands, and hoped to occupy Amchitka. A Japanese survey team scouted the island but rejected it for military purposes.
During the Aleutian campaign an air force base was needed near the occupied islands of Attu and Kiska. Amchitcka was ruled out as a possible candidate due to its close proximity only 50 miles away from the island of Kiska. At the War Department's suggestion, an initial reconnaissance of Amchitka was carried out in September 1942, which found that it would be difficult to build an airstrip on the island. Nevertheless, planners decided on December 13 that the airfield "had to be built" to prevent the Japanese from doing the same. A further reconnaissance mission visited Amchitka from 17 to 19 December, and reported that a fighter strip could be built in two to three weeks, and a main airfield in three to four months. In December 1942, plans were drawn out for the landings dubbed "Operation Longview". The operation would scrape together 2,000 immediate U.S military in the Aleutian Islands by the Alaska Defense Command. It was thought through reconnaissance that Amchitka was occupied by a small Japanese military presence. Eager to remove the Japanese, the Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed to move quickly to regain the territory.
Landing at Constantine Harbor.
The operation was set for January 9, but delayed due to the weather conditions.
American forces made the unopposed landing on the island on January 12, 1943, three days later. Nearly 2,100 troops disembarked in Constantine Harbor without opposition. Their only enemies were the weather, the unpredictable current, and the rock-studded waters through which the landing was made. The destroyer was guarding the as that transport put the preliminary Army security unit on the shores of Constantine Harbor, Amchitka Island. The destroyer maneuvered into the rock-edged harbor and stayed there until the last men had landed and then turned to the business of clearing the harbor. A strong current, however, swept "Worden" onto a pinnacle that tore into a hull beneath the engine room and caused a complete loss of power. The destroyer then broached and began breaking up in the surf; Comdr. William G. Pogue, the destroyer's commanding officer, ordered abandon ship; and, as he was directing that effort, was swept overboard into the wintry seas by a heavy wave that broke over the ship. Pogue was among the fortunate ones, however, because he was hauled, unconscious, out of the sea. Fourteen of the crew drowned.
Once on the ground the island was cleared and found to be empty of Japanese military. During the first night ashore a "willowaw" (a violent squall) smashed many of the landing boats and swept a troop transport aground. On the second day a blizzard wracked the island with snow, sleet, and biting wind. Lasting for nearly two weeks, the blizzard finally subsided enough to reveal to a Japanese scout plane from Kiska the American beachhead on Amchitka. Harassed by bombing and strafing attacks from Kiska, engineers continued work on an airfield on Amchitka completing it in mid-February. Japanese attacks on the island then sharply declined. By February 16, the fighter strip was ready for limited operation. On that day eight P-40's arrived on Amchitka, and within a week they were running patrols over Kiska.
The stage was now set for the next phase of operations, amphibious attacks to eject the Japanese from their Aleutian footholds.


Battle of the Java Sea

The Battle of the Java Sea (, ) was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II.
Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat at the hand of the Imperial Japanese Navy, on 27 February 1942, and in secondary actions over successive days. The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) Strike Force commander— Dutch Rear-Admiral Karel Doorman—was killed. The aftermath of the battle included several smaller actions around Java, including the smaller but also significant Battle of Sunda Strait. These defeats led to Japanese occupation of the entire Dutch East Indies.
Background.
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. 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. 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. Hart.
On 23 January 1942, a force of four American destroyers attacked a Japanese invasion convoy in Makassar Strait as it approached Balikpapan in Borneo. On 13 February, the Allies fought unsuccessfully—in the Battle of Palembang—to prevent the Japanese from capturing the major oil port in eastern Sumatra. On the night of 19/20 February, an Allied force attacked the Eastern Invasion Force off Bali in the Battle of Badung Strait. 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. The destruction of Darwin rendered it useless as a supply and naval base to support operations in the East Indies.
Battle.
The Japanese amphibious forces gathered to strike at Java, and on 27 February 1942, the main Allied naval force, under Doorman, sailed northeast from Surabaya to intercept a convoy of the Eastern Invasion Force approaching from the Makassar Strait. The Eastern Strike Force, as it was known, consisted of two heavy cruisers ( and ), three light cruisers (Doorman's flagship , , ), and nine destroyers (, , , , , , , , and ).
The Japanese task force protecting the convoy, commanded by Rear-Admiral Takeo Takagi, consisted of two heavy ( and ) and two light cruisers ( and ) and 14 destroyers (, , , , , , , , , , , , , and ) including the 4th Destroyer Squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Shoji Nishimura. The Japanese heavy cruisers were much more powerful, armed with ten 8-inch (203 mm) guns each, and superb torpedoes. By comparison, "Exeter" was armed only with six 8-inch guns and only six of "Houston"s nine 8-inch guns remained operable after her aft turret had been knocked out in an earlier air attack.
The Allied force engaged the Japanese in the Java Sea, and the battle raged intermittently from mid-afternoon to midnight as the Allies tried to reach and attack the troop transports of the Java invasion fleet, but they were repulsed by superior firepower. The Allies had local air superiority during the daylight hours, because Japanese air power could not reach the fleet in the bad weather. The weather also hindered communications, making cooperation between the many Allied parties involved—in reconnaissance, air cover and fleet headquarters—even worse than it already was. The Japanese also jammed the radio frequencies. "Exeter" was the only ship in the battle equipped with radar, an emerging technology at the time.
The battle consisted of a series of attempts over a seven-hour period by Doorman's Combined Striking Force to reach and attack the invasion convoy; each was rebuffed by the escort force with heavy losses being inflicted on the Allies.
The fleets sighted each other at about 16:00 on 27 February and closed to firing range, opening fire at 16:16. Both sides exhibited poor gunnery and torpedo skills during this phase of the battle. Despite her recent refit (with the addition of modern Type 284 gunnery control radar), "Exeter"s shells did not come close to the Japanese ships, while "Houston" only managed to achieve a straddle on one of the opposing cruisers. The only notable result of the initial gunnery exchange was "Exeter" being critically damaged by a hit in the boiler room from an 8-inch shell. The ship then limped away to Surabaya, escorted by "Witte de With".
The Japanese launched two huge torpedo salvoes, consisting of 92 torpedoes in all, but scored only one hit, on "Kortenaer". She was struck by a Long Lance, broke in two and sank rapidly after the hit.
"Electra"—covering "Exeter"—engaged in a duel with "Jintsū" and "Asagumo", scoring several hits but suffering severe damage to her superstructure. After a serious fire started on "Electra" and her remaining turret ran out of ammunition, abandon ship was ordered. On the Japanese side, only "Asagumo" was forced to retire because of damage.
The Allied fleet broke off and turned away around 18:00, covered by a smoke screen laid by the four destroyers of U.S Destroyer Division 58 (DesDiv 58). They also launched a torpedo attack but at too long a range to be effective. Doorman's force turned south toward the Java coast, then west and north as night fell in an attempt to evade the Japanese escort group and fall on the convoy. It was at this point the ships of DesDiv 58—their torpedoes expended—left on their own initiative to return to Surabaya.
Shortly after, at 21:25, "Jupiter" ran onto a mine and was sunk, while about 20 minutes later, the fleet passed where "Kortenaer" had sunk earlier, and "Encounter" was detached to pick up survivors.
Doorman's command, now reduced to four cruisers, again encountered the Japanese escort group at 23:00; both columns exchanged fire in the darkness at long range, until "De Ruyter" and "Java" were sunk by one devastating torpedo salvo. Doorman and most of his crew went down with "De Ruyter"; only 111 were saved from both ships.
Only the cruisers "Perth" and "Houston" remained; low on fuel and ammunition, and following Doorman's last instructions, the two ships retired, arriving at Tanjung Priok on 28 February.
Although the Allied fleet did not reach the invasion fleet, the battle did give the defenders of Java a one-day respite.
Aftermath.
Battle of Sunda Strait.
"Perth" and "Houston" were at Tanjung Priok on 28 February when they received orders to sail through Sunda Strait to Tjilatjap. Material was running short in Java, and neither was able to rearm or fully refuel. Departing at 19:00 on 28 February for the Sunda Strait, by chance they encountered the main Japanese invasion fleet for West Java in Bantam Bay. The Allied ships were engaged by at least three cruisers and several destroyers.
In a ferocious night action that ended after midnight on 1 March, "Perth" and "Houston" were sunk. A Japanese minesweeper and a troop transport were sunk by friendly fire, while three other transports were damaged and had to be beached.
The Dutch destroyer HNLMS "Evertsen" had been scheduled to depart Tanjung Priok with the cruisers, but was delayed, and she followed them about two hours later. Her crew sighted the gunfire of the main action, and her captain managed to evade the Japanese main force. However, "Evertsen" was then engaged by two Japanese destroyers in the Strait, and on fire and in a sinking condition, grounded herself on a reef near Sebuku Island. The surviving crew abandoned ship just as the aft magazine exploded.
Second Java Sea.
After emergency repairs the badly-damaged "Exeter" left Surabaya for Ceylon; she departed at dusk on 28 February and limped toward Sunda Strait, escorted by the destroyers and . However, all three ships were intercepted by the Japanese heavy cruisers "Nachi", "Haguro", "Myōkō" and "Ashigara"—and their attendant destroyers—on the morning of 1 March. "Exeter" and "Encounter" were sunk together around noon, while "Pope" escaped only to be sunk several hours later by aerial attack.
Bali Strait.
The four U.S destroyers of DesDiv 58—"John D. Edwards", "John D. Ford", "Alden", and "Paul Jones"—were also at Surabaya; they left for Australia via the harbor's shallow eastern entrance at nightfall on 28 February. After a brief encounter with Japanese destroyers in the Bali Strait, which they were able to evade, they reached Fremantle safely on 4 March.
Consequences.
Another Dutch destroyer (HNLMS "Witte de With") and three American ships (destroyers USS "Pillsbury" and USS "Edsall", along with the gunboat USS "Asheville") were either scuttled or sunk as they attempted to escape to Australia. The main ABDA naval force had been almost totally destroyed: 10 ships and approximately 2,173 sailors had been lost. The Battle of the Java Sea ended significant Allied naval operations in Southeast Asia in 1942, and Japanese land forces invaded Java on 28 February. The Dutch surface fleet was practically eradicated from Asian waters and the Netherlands would never reclaim full control of its colony. The Japanese now controlled one of the most important food-producing regions (Java), and by conquering the Dutch East Indies, Japan also controlled the fourth-largest oil producing area in the world in 1940.
The U.S. and Royal Air Force retreated to Australia. Dutch troops, aided by British remnants, fought fiercely for a week. In the campaign the Japanese executed many Allied POWs and sympathizing Indonesians. Eventually, the Japanese won this decisive battle of attrition and ABDA forces surrendered on 9 March.
Wrecks.
As of 2002 the location of the wreck of only one of the eight ships sunk during the two so-called Java Sea Battles, HMS "Jupiter", was known and plotted on an Admiralty chart. However, given her location in very shallow water so close to shore she had already been heavily salvaged.
In December 2002 the wrecks of Hr. Ms. "Java" and Hr. Ms. "De Ruyter" were discovered by a specialist wreck diving group aboard the dive vessel MV "Empress". "Empress" then went on to discover the wrecks of HMS "Electra" in August 2003; Hr. Ms. "Kortenaer" in August 2004; and HMS "Exeter" and HMS "Encounter" in February 2007. When discovered these wreck were all in a very well-preserved state, save for battle damage. In late 2008, "Empress" discovered remnants of the last wreck, USS "Pope", which had already been largely removed by illegal salvage diving operations.
Although the MV "Empress" team kept the locations of their discoveries secret, by 2017 all eight ships had been reduced to remnants or even entirely removed by illegal commercial salvage operations.'


Kurram Valley Field Force

The Kurram Valley Field Force were the only British troops in Afghanistan when the second phase of the Second Afghan War was set in motion by the murder of Cavagnari and his staff at Kabul on September 3, 1879. They were speedily reinforced by new units and ordered to advance on Kabul with the objective of restoring Abdur Rahman Khan to the throne.
Sir Frederick Roberts led the Kabul Field Force over the Shutargardan Pass into central Afghanistan with twenty field guns and 7,500 men, including infantry, cavalry, artillery, and sappers and miners. Roberts's force moved up the Kurram Valley, winning various skirmishes and receiving envoys from Ayub Khan denying responsibility for the murders.
By the beginning of October the force was at Char Asiab, twelve miles from Kabul, where 8,000 Afghans were dug in. The Afghan Army was defeated at Char Asiab on 6 October 1879. The subsequent capture of Kabul on 13 October was described by Howard Hensman, correspondent of the Daily News of London.
On 11 November, a fall of snow caused the death of some of the force's elephants. By mid-November, the Force was divided into two Divisions, the first at and around Kabul, the 2nd on the Khyber line. The 1st Division contained 100 British Army officers and 2,783 other ranks, plus 71 Indian Army officers and 5,060 other ranks; while the 2nd Division contained 90 British Army officers and 2,385 other ranks, plus 118 Indian Army officers and 8,590 other ranks.
In December 1879, 10,000 Afghans rose against the invaders, but Roberts was well prepared and was victorious at the Battle of Sherpur. In an action at Killa Kazi on 11 December 1879, James Adams, a chaplain to the Force, rescued some men of the 9th Lancers from a ditch while under enemy fire, for which he was later awarded the Victoria Cross.
The Kabul Field Force was succeeded by the Kabul-Kandahar Field Force, formed in August 1880 for the march on Kandahar.


Actions in Nordland

The Actions in Nordland were part of the 1940 Norwegian Campaign of World War II. They were a subsidiary part of the Allied attempt to recapture Narvik.
When the Germans achieved victory in the Campaigns in Central Norway, they began advancing north through Nordland to relieve the German forces isolated in Narvik. To prevent the Germans either relieving Narvik or capturing airfields within easy range, some small British and French units were deployed to the southern part of Nordland county early in May. A more powerful force (mainly British, but with some local Norwegian units) was detached from the expeditionary force besieging Narvik to northern and central Nordland in the middle of May. This force's arrival was disrupted by German air attacks on the ships carrying its units.
German mountain troops forced the Allies back to within a few miles of their base at Bodø. The Allies had already decided to evacuate Norway at this point, and the force at Bodø was withdrawn without incident, with the last units departing by 1 June 1940.
Background.
When the Germans launched Operation Weserübung, an invasion of Denmark and Norway on 9 April 1940, one of their principal objectives was the port of Narvik in Northern Norway, through which iron ore was exported to Germany during the winter months. Part of the German 3rd Mountain Division commanded by "Generalleutnant" Eduard Dietl occupied the port, but were isolated when the destroyers and ships which had transported them and much of their supplies were destroyed in the First and Second naval battles of Narvik.
The recovery of Narvik became one of the principal Allied objectives. Partly because of disagreements between the naval commander (Admiral of the Fleet Lord Cork) and the designated land commander (Major General Pierse Joseph Mackesy), the Allies did not make a direct frontal assault on Narvik. Instead, they established a base at Harstad on Hinnøya Island on 14 April, and began encircling the German position.
Between 14 April and 2 May, Allied forces which had landed at Åndalsnes and Namsos in Central Norway were forced to evacuate. The Norwegian forces in Central Norway either capitulated or were disbanded by 5 May and the Germans were free to advance north to relieve Dietl's force.
Allied decisions.
As the force at Namsos was evacuated, Lieutenant General Hugh Massy, the commander of the British forces in Central Norway, recommended that a detachment of French ski troops defend Grong, to block the road and the uncompleted railway line running north from Namsos to Mosjøen. The commanders of the forces at Namsos objected, claiming that these routes were impassable even though Norwegian units had been moving easily between Grong and Mosjøen.
However, the commanders at Narvik were anxious about the area around Bodø, where an airstrip was being constructed. They were concerned that even if German land forces did not link up with the Germans besieged at Narvik, the Allied position there could be made untenable if the Germans built or seized air bases within range. As early as 29 April, a company of 1st Battalion the Scots Guards was dispatched from Harstad to Bodø, while the French ski detachment and two British light anti-aircraft guns were transported by sea from Namsos to Mosjøen, arriving on 2 May aboard the transport Ulster Prince escorted by the destroyer HMS "Veteran".
When the Germans had attacked Norway, MI(R), a branch of the War Office in Britain which specialised in irregular warfare, had formed ten Independent Companies for raiding purposes, organised by Lieutenant Colonel Colin Gubbins. Even though official authorisation to form these units was issued only on 20 April, the first of them sailed for Norway on 27 April. On 2 May, Gubbins was ordered to form four of these companies into "Scissorsforce" and secure Bodø, Mo i Rana and Mosjøen.
This area of Norway was mountainous and sparsely populated. There was very little cover against air attack, nor could much use be made of night for cover given the long daylight hours in late spring and summer in the high latitudes.
Mosjøen.
The Germans began advancing north from Grong on 5 May. To oppose them were a Norwegian battalion (numbering about 400), which was falling back to Mosjøen while carrying out ineffective demolitions, and another weak Norwegian reserve battalion. Nos. 4 and 5 Independent Companies landed at Mosjøen on the night of 8/9 May, replacing the small French detachment. No. 1 Independent Company meanwhile secured Mo i Rana and No. 3 Independent Company went to Bodø.
On 9 May, the Germans drove the Norwegian defenders from Fellingfors, south of Mosjøen. No. 5 Independent Company and two Norwegian companies occupied a position from Mosjøen, where the road from the south ran between the Bjørnaa river and steep hillsides. Early in the morning of 10 May, the leading German troops (from the 181st Infantry Division) advanced incautiously by bicycle up the road and were ambushed and destroyed by a platoon commanded by Captain John Prendergast, one of eight Indian Army officers attached to the Independent Companies, losing some fifty casualties.
Later in the morning, the German main body drove the British and Norwegians from this position, while Austrian ski troops outflanked the defenders. Gubbins, who was present, agreed with the Norwegian commander that there was no other suitable defensive position closer to Mosjøen. The two Independent Companies and the British light anti-aircraft detachment (which had to abandon its anti-aircraft guns) were evacuated in the early hours of 11 May aboard the Norwegian steamer "Erling Jarl", which Gubbins had chartered for 5000 krone, escorted by two destroyers. The Norwegians withdrew up the road to the north.
However, on 10 May, in a daring move, the Germans had commandeered a coaster, , manned it with a crew detached from German destroyers and embarked 300 infantry from the 138th Mountain Regiment and two mountain guns. "Nordnorge" sailed from Trondheimsfjord and entered the Ranfjord, at the end of which lay Mo i Rana. The Germans landed at Hemnesberget about halfway along the fjord. Two Dornier seaplanes also landed 40 infantry and mortars. A platoon of No. 1 Independent Company and some Norwegian reservists were outnumbered and forced to escape by boat after a stiff resistance.
Two British warships, the anti-aircraft cruiser HMS "Calcutta" and the destroyer HMS "Zulu", had tried too late to intercept "Nordnorge". They sank "Nordnorge" about an hour and a half after the Germans disembarked, but then had to leave the fjord. A shuttle of seaplanes reinforced and resupplied the Germans at Hemnesberget. Counter-attacks the next day by No. 1 Independent Company and Norwegian troops failed to dislodge them.
The Norwegian troops withdrawing from Mosjøen had intended to proceed by a ferry which normally docked at Hemnesberget. They had to proceed by road instead and were forced to abandon much of their equipment.
Deployment of 24th Guards Brigade.
Alarmed by Gubbins's first reports, on 9 May Major General Mackesy had ordered that the entire British component of the Allied force attacking Narvik (24th Guards Brigade plus some supporting arms detachments), was to be diverted to the south to defend Bodø and Mo i Rana. Gubbins's force was attached to the brigade. 1st Battalion, the Scots Guards, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Byrnand Trappes-Lomax, took over the defence of Mo i Rana.
It had originally been intended to deploy 1st Battalion, the Irish Guards and the Brigade HQ to Mo i Rana also, but the brigade's commander, Brigadier William Fraser, was uneasy about the position. Mo i Rana lay at the end of the long and narrow Ranfjord, with the Germans occupying Hemnesberget, and ships using it to supply the forces at Mo i Rana would be very vulnerable to air attack. The only alternative line of communication, the road from Mo i Rana to Rognan on the south side of Skjerstad Fjord, was believed incorrectly to be snowbound for several miles. The Irish Guards and the Brigade HQ were ordered to Bodø instead.
Several setbacks and disasters at sea hampered the deployment of 24th Guards Brigade. On 14 May, Brigadier Fraser embarked aboard the destroyer to proceed to Mo i Rana to brief Trappes-Lomax on the new situation. "Somali" was attacked by German bombers and so badly damaged that it had to proceed directly to Scapa Flow for emergency repairs, carrying the brigadier with it. Gubbins, with the acting rank of Colonel, was the next senior officer in the force and assumed command.
On 15 May, the Polish troopship "Chrobry", with the Irish Guards and Brigade HQ embarked, was attacked by German bombers off the southern Lofoten Islands. Bombs exploding amidships killed all the senior officers of the Irish Guards and set the ship ablaze. The destroyer HMS "Wolverine" and the sloop HMS "Stork" rescued over 700 survivors. The stoic behaviour of the Irish Guards, mustered on the foredeck of the blazing liner, was compared by the captain of "Wolverine" to the "Birkenhead drill". The Irish Guards were sent back to Harstad to be reformed and re-equipped before setting out for Bodø again. Also lost aboard "Chrobry" were three light tanks of the 3rd The King's Own Hussars, the only British tanks in Norway.
On 17 May, the cruiser HMS "Effingham", carrying some of the personnel and most of the equipment of the 2nd Battalion, the South Wales Borderers, struck a rock about from Bodø. To avoid air attack, the cruiser had been taking an unusual route and had been proceeding at 23 knots. The South Wales Borderers also had to return to Harstad to be re-equipped, although No.2 Independent Company, which had recently arrived at Bodø, later salvaged some Bren Carriers and other equipment from the wreck. "Effingam" was finally dispatched by a torpedo on 21 May.
Mo i Rana.
The German attack against the Allied positions at Stien, about west of Mo i Rana, began on 17 May. The German force around Mosjøen was composed of five battalions and three "troops" of mountain artillery from the 2nd Mountain Division, commanded by "Generalleutnant" Valentin Feurstein. The defending force was "Trappescol", made up of the 1st Scots Guards (less C Company at Bodø), No.1 Independent Company, a troop of 203 Battery, 51st Field Regiment Royal Artillery with four 25-pounder guns, a troop of Bofors 40 mm guns of the 55th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA, with other small detachments, and a Norwegian contingent. The German frontal attack by the 2nd battalion of the 137th Mountain Regiment along the road alongside the Ranfjord was halted, but a German outflanking force (which had commandeered skis from local farms as they advanced) fought its way down the Dalselva River (using "Schmeisser" machine-pistols effectively) and forced the defenders to withdraw. Other German ski troops (thought at the time to be paratroops dropped on a bare hillside) attacked the Scots Guards' transport near Mo i Rana to threaten Trappes-Lomax's rear.
On 18 May, Gubbins arrived, bringing orders from Lieutenant General Claude Auchinleck, the recently appointed commander of the North Western Expeditionary Force, that Mo i Rana was to be firmly defended. Trappes-Lomax however insisted that the position was untenable. Since no reinforcements were available, Gubbins reluctantly concurred. "Trappescol" withdrew "precipitately" in Gubbins's words, abandoning most stores and equipment intact. B Company of the Scots Guards and No. 1 Independent Company were left behind but succeeded in rejoining the force the next day. (B Company had been guided by an unofficially attached Swedish officer, Captain Count Erik Lewenhaupt.)
On 20 May, Gubbins and Auchinleck were dismayed to find that Trappes-Lomax had continued to retreat despite having broken contact with the Germans, and was proposing to fall back across the "snow belt" north of his new position at the village of Krokstrand. Gubbins was also alarmed by the large numbers of stragglers he found north of the "snow belt", including the troop of 203 Battery RA, who had lost their communications equipment at Mo i Rana. He ordered No. 1 Independent Company to set up a control point at the ferry terminus at Rognan. He then gave Trappes-Lomax orders that there was to be no further retreat without authorisation.
Pothus.
From the northern edge of the "snow belt", the road to Rognan followed the narrow valley of the Saltdal River. As reinforcements landed at Bodø and were moved forward by any improvised means available, Gubbins intended to man a defensive position at Storjord, south of Rognan. However, late on 22 May, Gubbins was informed that Trappes-Lomax was pulling back across the "snow belt" that night, and had retained some requisitioned buses to do so. No. 3 Independent Company, who were to have used these to move forward to reinforce the Scots Guards, had to march instead and arrived late and tired. Trappes-Lomax's withdrawal had made it impossible for the Storjord position to be prepared or manned in time.
The Scots Guards occupied a rearguard position north of the Viskisnoia River on 23 May. Gubbins relieved Trappes-Lomax of command in the afternoon. The Germans occupied a hill which No.3 Independent Company had arrived too late to defend and which dominated the west flank of the position, and Gubbins ordered the exhausted Scots Guards to be withdrawn to Bodø.
Unable to hold Storjord, Gubbins instead proposed to establish a final position running east from Finneid on the north side of Skjerstad Fjord, some east of Bodø, via a chain of lakes which formed a natural defensive line, to the Blaamannsis glacier. To allow time for all units of the brigade to arrive and prepare this position, he ordered Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Stockwell (promoted from command of No. 2 Independent Company) to occupy a delaying position at Pothus south of Rognan where the Saltdal valley widened. Stockwell's force consisted of 1st Battalion, the Irish Guards (whose senior officer after the "Chrobry" disaster on 15 May was a Captain), Nos. 2 and 3 Independent Companies, the troop of 203 Battery RA firing their 25-pounders over open sights and a Norwegian machine-gun company reinforced by two mortars and some patrol troops. They occupied positions on both sides of the Saltdal, covering a partly demolished girder bridge which carried the main road across the river and a foot bridge across a tributary lower down.
The German force advancing down the Saltdal consisted of two battalions of mountain troops, two companies of cyclists and a mountain artillery battery. Early on 25 May, the Germans began attacking the positions on the east side of the river and forced some of the defenders to fall back across it, in one case by a holding onto a line of linked rifle slings. However, some of Stockwell's reserves crossed to the east bank lower down and halted the German advance.
During the night of 25/26 May, the Germans had built a temporary bridge higher up the Saltdal and transferred the main weight of their attack to the west bank, threatening to surround Stockwell's position.
Earlier on 25 May, Gubbins had been informed that following the Allied disasters after the opening of the Battle of France, the force at Bodø was to be evacuated. At noon on 26 May, he ordered Stockwell to fall back to Rognan and across the fjord. Stockwell's force began to withdraw in the mid-afternoon under heavy pressure. He was aided by two Gloster Gladiator fighters (one of them flown by Rhodesian ace Caesar Hull) operating from the newly completed airstrip at Bodø. (A third had crashed on takeoff from the rough strip.) They claimed two German aircraft shot down and two damaged, challenging the German air supremacy for the first time.
The Irish Guards and other troops made a fighting withdrawal to Rognan, mostly down the west side of the Saltdal, removing or destroying stores and ammunition as they fell back. From Rognan, they were evacuated by a large ferry and ten smaller "puffers". The ferry broke down and had to be towed, and the troops aboard came under fire from the leading German cyclists and were showered with burning timber from the final demolitions. One company of the Irish Guards was unable to cross the river to be evacuated with the rest of the force, but extricated itself by a march of across country to a point further along the shore of the fjord.
Allied evacuation.
In the evening of 27 May Bodø was bombed and strafed by the "Luftwaffe". The improvised airstrip, the radio station and 420 of the town's 760 buildings were destroyed. Twelve people were killed and a further 5,000 were made homeless.
The British force was pulled back from Finneid to Fauske, closer to Bodø, to allow for an easier evacuation. A Norwegian battalion (1st battalion, 15th Regiment) had recently arrived from Bardufoss to hold the northern part of the Finneid position. They were not immediately informed of the British withdrawal, and a company was unable to escape. During three consecutive nights starting on the night of 29/30 May, the British force at Bodø was evacuated by destroyers. To avoid alerting the Germans, no noisy demolitions were carried out but vehicles and items of equipment which could not be removed were disabled and thrown into the sea. All military and civilian petrol stocks in the area were removed or destroyed. There was no serious pressure from the German troops, and low cloud prevented the "Luftwaffe" interfering. Gubbins left on the last destroyer on the night of 31 May/1 June. The Norwegian 1st battalion, 15th Regiment, was also evacuated, by small boats, to the Lofoten Islands.
Aftermath.
The North Western Expeditionary Force evacuated Narvik and Harstad by 8 June. The first German ski patrols from their forces in Nordland made contact with General Dietl's troops near Narvik on 14 June.
In his report on the campaign, Auchinleck complimented Gubbins, who was awarded the DSO. Although he was recommended for the command of a division, he rejoined MI(R) and was appointed to organise the Auxiliary Units, a stay-behind force which would act against a German invasion of Britain. Later in 1940, Gubbins was appointed Director of Operations of the Special Operations Executive, and in 1943 became its Director.
Although the Scots Guards had not performed well during the campaign, Trappes-Lomax argued that they were not equipped or trained for the conditions they encountered (having been employed on Public duties immediately before being deployed to Norway) and were exhausted by continual air attack. Trappes-Lomax was eventually promoted to Brigadier and served as a staff officer in Southern Command in India.
The Independent Companies were disbanded after the Norwegian Campaign, though some of their personnel transferred to the commandos. Lieutenant Colonel Stockwell, who was also awarded the DSO, ran a Commando Training Centre at Lochailort before being appointed to command a brigade and eventually a division.


Fourth Air Force

The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California.
4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Reservists. If called to active duty, 4 AF's ready reserve units would be assigned to Air Mobility Command, Air Education and Training Command, and Pacific Air Forces.
One of the four original pre–World War II numbered air forces, 4 AF was activated on 18 December 1940, at March Field, California with a mission of air defense of the Southwestern United States and Lower Midwest regions. During the war, its primary mission became the organization and training of combat units prior to their deployment to the overseas combat air forces.
4 AF is commanded by Major General Randall A. Ogden
Units.
Fourth Air Force flying units include one unit-equipped air mobility and two unit-equipped airlift wings, five unit-equipped air refueling wings, three associate air mobility wings, two associate airlift wings and one associate air refueling wing.
History.
One of the four original numbered air forces, Fourth Air Force was activated as the Southwest Air District of the GHQ Air Force on 18 December 1940, at March Field, California. It was redesignated Fourth Air Force on 26 March 1941 with a mission for the defense of the Southwest and Lower Midwest regions of the United States.
World War II.
During World War II Fourth Air Force was the primary air defense command for the West Coast. The command also flew antisubmarine patrols along coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico from after Pearl Harbor until October 1942. One of its primary fighter units was the 10th Fighter Wing at Hamilton Field, California.
On 29 September 1942, Rice Municipal Airport located in the Desert Training Center was acquired by the IV Air Support Command, and was operational by 26 October 1942. Re-designated Rice AAF it was used to train pilots and crews of aircraft whose mission it was to support ground troops.
Beginning in May 1942, the mission of Fourth Air Force became operational training of units and crews, and the replacement training of individuals for bombardment, fighter, and reconnaissance operations. It received graduates of Army Air Forces Training Command flight schools; navigator training; flexible gunnery schools and various technical schools, organized them into newly activated combat groups and squadrons, and provided operational unit training (OTU) and replacement training (RTU) to prepare groups and replacements for deployment overseas to combat theaters. The Fourth Air Force became predominantly a fighter OTU and RTU organization. Most P-51 Mustang and P-38 Lightning groups were trained by Fourth Air Force primarily due to the proximity of their manufacturing plants in Southern California. By 1944, most of the Operational Training of groups ended, with the command concentrating on RTU training of individual replacements using Army Air Force Base Units (AAFBU) as training organizations at the airfields controlled by Fourth Air Force.
Air Defense Wings were also organized for the major metropolitan areas along the West Coast, using training units attached to the Wings. By 1944 the likelihood of a full-scale air attack along the West Coast since the bombing of Dutch Harbor two years earlier was remote, and these air defense wings were reduced to paper units.
On 13 December 1944, First, Second, Third and Fourth Air Force were all were placed under the unified command of the Continental Air Forces.
Air Defense Command.
In March 1946, USAAF Chief General Carl Spaatz had undertaken a major re-organization of the postwar USAAF that had included the establishment of Major Commands (MAJCOM), who would report directly to HQ United States Army Air Forces. Continental Air Forces was inactivated, and Fourth Air Force was assigned to the postwar Air Defense Command in March 1946 and subsequently to Continental Air Command (ConAC) in December 1948 being primarily concerned with air defense.
The command was headquartered at Hamilton AFB, California and originally assigned the region of the CONUS west of the Rocky Mountains, roughly from the Pacific Ocean coast east to the eastern borders of, and . It was also responsible for training Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard personnel throughout the region.
By 1949 with the establishment of the Western Air Defense Force (WADF), the air defense mission of the command was transferred to WADF, leaving Fourth AF free to focus on its reserve training tasks, which it did for the next decade. On 1 September 1960, Air Defense Command inactivated Fourth Air Force, transferring its reserve training mission to the Sixth Air Force Reserve Region.
Fourth Air Force was re-activated on 20 January 1966 again at Hamilton AFB, as part of Air Defense Command with the inactivation of its organization of Air Defense Sectors. Its area of responsibility was essentially unchanged from its 1948 region. Subordinate organizations assigned by ADC were the 25th 26th and 27th Air Divisions.
On 16 January 1968 Air Defense Command was re-designated Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM) as part of a restructuring of USAF air defense forces. Fourth Air Force's second period of service was short lived, however, and the command was again inactivated as the result of a major ADCOM reorganization on 31 December 1969 of the First Fourth, Tenth Air Forces and several Air Divisions. This reorganization was the result of the need to eliminate intermediate levels of command in ADCOM driven by budget reductions and a perceived lessening of the need for continental air defense against attacking Soviet aircraft.
ADCOM reassigned the units under the inactivated Fourth Air Force were reassigned primarily to the 25th and 26th Air Divisions.
Air Force Reserve.
The command remained inactive until 8 October 1976, when it was activated as Fourth Air Force (Reserve) at McClellan Air Force Base, CA, and assigned to the Air Force Reserve. Fourth Air Force has been a key component of the Air Force reserve ever since.
Fourth Air Force personnel supported operations in Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) and Panama (Operation Just Cause). More than 8,000 Air Force Reservists assigned to Fourth Air Force units served in the United States, Europe, and the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. This included more than 2,878 medical personnel assigned to Fourth Air Force units.
Since the end of the Cold War, Fourth Air Force has supported humanitarian missions such as Provide Promise in the Balkans and Provide Relief and Restore Hope in Somalia. Units rushed to provide aid and rescue service to the residents of Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the Caribbean in the aftermath of the traumatic and prolonged 1995 hurricane season. It supported immediate assistance to aid victims and disaster officials following the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building. Fourth Air Force units provided assistance for several natural disasters, including the 1994 Northridge earthquake in the Los Angeles area, and the catastrophic midwest floods and the California wildfires in 1993.
Fourth Air Force units routinely support United Nations and Department of State missions. Fourth Air Force people were on the first teams into Haiti for Operation Uphold Democracy, and supported Vigilant Warrior and Desert Thunder deployments to Southwest Asia. The men and women of Fourth Air Force continue to perform international peacekeeping and humanitarian missions on an almost daily basis. Headquarters Fourth Air Force officially returned to its original home, now March Air Reserve Base, in Riverside, CA, in April, 1998.
In 2003 Fourth Air Force became an intermediate echelon responsible primarily for all Air Mobility Command (AMC) gained AFRC air refueling units in the United States and AMC gained AFRC strategic airlift units in the western United States. Today the sixty person staff consists of Traditional Reservists, Air Reserve Technicians and civilian employees. They direct the activities and supervise the equipping and training of more than 30,000 Air Force reservists in unit programs located across the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. Reservists from 4 AF units were routinely deployed to Air Expeditionary units in combat areas of Afghanistan and Iraq as part of the "war on terror".


Battle of Banjarmasin

The Battle of Banjarmasin (31 January – 10 February 1942) took place as part of the Japanese offensive to capture the Dutch East Indies. The Japanese conducted a pincer attack from sea and land to capture a strategic airfield in Banjarmasin (old spelling: Bandjarmasin or Bandjermasin) in preparation for the capture of Java Island.
Background.
Prior to 1941, Banjarmasin was the administrative centre for East and South-East Borneo, and seat of the governor of Dutch Borneo. Oelin (Ulin) Airfield that was located 25 kilometers outside the town ranged only 420 kilometers from Surabaya, making it a key target in the Japanese plan to destroy Allied air power in Java prior to their offensive. The Dutch established another airfield at Kotawaringin, 350 kilometers to the west.
Dutch Plans.
Dutch troops in Banjarmasin were mainly tasked with defending both Oelin and Kotawaringin airfields. Despite the essence of the mission the troops came from various groups that were poorly equipped; some units were not provided with uniforms until January 1942. Many of the "Stadswacht" and "Landwacht" brigades were only set up in 1941 and had training in handling weapons or maneuvering in battle.
Upon completion of the main mission, all soldiers outside Java had to conduct guerrilla warfare. The command staff and governor would relocate to Moearatewe, in North Barito, while the administrative staff would remain behind, hoping to continue working normally after the occupation. Three storage facilities were set up along the route to Moearatewe as part of this.
Japanese Plans.
Considering that the Japanese did not have any updated intelligence on the condition of the airfields in Banjarmasin, in addition to the lengthy time it would take to set up the airfield for operation once captured, the Navy cancelled its involvement in the operation. Instead, the Army planned to conduct a two-pronged attack on the city from the sea and overland, with the latter being the main thrust.
Col. Yamamoto's Land Drive Unit that planned to attack overland will leave Balikpapan on the night of 30 January and land in Tanahgrogot at dawn on the 31st. The Unit would then traverse the jungle and mountains southward, with an element of its force advancing as vanguard to block any Dutch ambush attempts. After moving out of the jungle, it would quickly advance to the city to get ahead of any Dutch efforts to blow up the bridges while retreating. Since provisions were to be procured mostly on site, troops only carried nine days worth of rations with them.
Meanwhile, Capt. Okamoto's Sea Drive Unit, would leave a few days before Yamamoto's Unit. Using landing craft, the unit would only move at nighttime. During the day they planned to go upriver near the river mouths and hide under the forest to avoid Allied air reconnaissance. To secure passage through the channel west of Laoet (Laut) Island, Okamoto planned to conduct a night raid on Kotabaroe (Kotabaru) to gather supplies and intelligence. Upon landing at Banjarmasin, the Unit would advance and capture Oelin airfield. Opposite of the Land Drive Unit, Okamoto's troops needed to procure provisions along the advance.
The Battle.
Prelude Raids.
After the fall of Tarakan, daily Japanese air raids began to be seen over Banjarmasin. The first Japanese fighters conducted strafing runs on Oelin airfield on 20 January, but caused little damage. During the air raid on 21 January, 4 Mitsubishi Zeros and a Babs reconnaissance plane of the Tainan Air Wing destroyed a PBY Catalina from MLD's 16th Flight Group (GVT.16) that had landed on the Barito Delta. A major loss occurred on 27 January, when eight Glenn Martin bombers stopped by at Oelin en route to the Samarinda II Airfield. When the air raid came, the Lewis Guns that were stationed as AA defense were ineffective against the Japanese planes. The Japanese destroyed six of the bombers and damaged the other two, dealing a severe blow to the Dutch morale.
Land Drive Unit.
The advance party of Yamamoto's Unit left Balikpapan on the morning of 31 January and landed at Adang Bay at 20:00 on the same day. Upon being notified about the landing, Lt. Michielsen, who was in command of the defense in Tanahgrogot, withdrew with his 60 troops after destroying the town. Families of indigenous soldiers were prohibited from being evacuated, while families of European soldiers could evacuate on their own terms. Michielsen had set up a camp with food supplies 20 km east of Tanahgrogot to accommodate the evacuees, who now had joined the ranks of retreating soldiers. Many soldiers, however, deserted along the way or went back to their families, leaving Michielsen with five soldiers - two of them sick - when he reached Tandjoeng.
By 1 February at 10:30, the Japanese advance guard seized Tanahgrogot. On 2 February, the remainder of Yamamoto's Unit left Balikpapan and landed on Tanahgrogot on the 3rd. As they advanced southward to Banjarmasin, the Land Drive Unit had to contend with the lack of adequate road, which rendered their motor vehicles and 600 bicycles useless. They climbed up steep mountains and crossed makeshift log bridges over deep gorges, while fending off attacks from mosquitoes, leeches and other insects. Yamamoto reached Moeara Oeja (Muara Uya) on 4 February. Under Halkema's orders, the Landwacht brigades in Tandjoeng (Tanjung), Amoentai and Barabai scorched the city and retreated without a fight.
This order brought Halkema in clash with the Dutch Borneo governor, Bauke Jan Haga. Gov. Haga perceived the destruction to be premature, as it would disrupt the economic life in the cities along the Hoeloe Soengei (Hulu Sungei/Sungai), which refers to the line of towns and villages located east of the Barito River. In protest, Gov. Haga sent official complaint to the Dutch army commander, Heinrich ter Poorten, asking for Halkema to be replaced. In agreement, ter Poorten sent Major A. Doup to replace him.
At Dajoe, Lt. van der Poel's troops destroyed the small airfield in the town before retreating up north to Boentok (Buntok) and lost communication with the command staff. When the local population mistakenly reported that the Japanese forces are advancing on the town, many of van der Poel's indigenous soldiers and field police deserted, leaving him with five men. On 7 February, Halkema reinforced the troops at Kandangan with two brigades from Oelin (armed with a Madsen machine gun) under the command of 1st. Lt. W.K. Remmert. Remmert had to delay Yamamoto's advance along the Kandangan-Martapoera Road, before regrouping with a conscript brigade at Oelin Airfield. By 11:30, Remmert's troops arrived in Kandangan and began to take up position north of the town, before assisting Scholte in the demolition effort. Both groups then withdrew into a defensive position in Martapoera to protect Oelin Airfield.
On the night of 8 February, Dutch reports from Rantau stated that one of their ship steamed along the river towards Banjarmasin with its lights off. Not excluding the possibility that there might be Japanese troops onboard, Halkema ordered Capt. van Epen to send three brigade (one conscript and two Stadswacht, reinforced with a machine gun and a Madsen) on steam barges from Oelin to Negara to prevent the Japanese from attacking Banjarmasin via the Barito River, before pulling back again to Oelin. By 22:00, Halkema ordered for the destruction of Banjarmasin and Pelaihari. As the destruction, and with it, the vandalism began to took place, Gov. Haga was advised to leave the city, but he insisted that he will not do so until 23:30. Afterwards, Gov. Haga left for Moearatewe, before moving further up north to Poeroektjaoe (Puruk Cahu).Two days earlier, ter Poorten had commissioned Doup as a lieutenant-colonel and appointed him as Halkema's successor, citing the latter's health status (rheumatism) and mental imbalance. Doup left Surabaya on 8 February, but as his plane reached the coast of Borneo at 01:00, he saw large fires on the mouth of Barito River, where Banjarmasin would be. As the radio operator failed to make contact with the ground, the pilot, Lt. Onyx refused to land. Eventually Onyx flew Doup to Samarinda II Airfield; the failure to make contact is due to the destruction of the radio station at Oelin Airfield. Doup eventually returned to Java and serve as the Inspector of Infantry. After sending out the destruction orders, Halkema and a few staff officers drove to Oelin Airfield to hand over command to his successor. At the airfield, he saw a plane that circled above the airfield several times before leaving without making a landing attempt.
As Halkema drove to Oelin, part of his staff had begun to embark on the ships "Irene" and "Otto". Both ships were directed to steam towards Schans van Tuyl (junction of the Martapoera (Martapura) and Barito River), where they will await further instructions there. In the meantime, Banjarmasin's harbormaster ordered a steamboat to head to Takisoeng (Takisung), a coastal town south of Banjarmasin, where it would be made available for Halkema's disposal. From Schans van Tuyl, "Irene" and "Otto" eventually headed towards Java, taking Dutch refugees from Banjarmasin and part of Halkema's staff with them.
After seeing Doup's plane left, Halkema drove in the direction of Takisoeng, where he arrived on the mouth of Barito River on 9 February. In the evening, a Borsumij ("Borneo Sumatera Maatschappij"; Borneo Sumatera Company) ship appeared with the rest of the staff that didn't embark on the "Irene" and "Otto." After boarding Halkema, the ship then received a telegram from Bandung, ordering them to head west to Kotawaringin and wait for further instructions there.
The Borsumij ship steamed on at 19:00; Dutch forces onboard that managed to evacuate to Kotawaringin at the time only numbered at 75 troops. After docking at Kotawaringin on the 11th, Halkema and other non-essential personnels left by plane for Java on 12 February, while the infantrymen under Capt. W.C.A. van Beek reinforced the forces at the airfield. Back at the Oelin Airfield, Capt. Bolderhey waited until 9 February for Doup's flight to arrive, unaware that it already did the day before. By nightfall on the 9th, he decided to leave the airfield and head up north to Koeala Kapoeas (Kuala Kapuas). The hostile attitude of the local population, along with desertion made guerrilla fighting out of option. With fewer choices at hand, Bolderhey decided to make an attempt to reach Java. On 11 February, he and his troops left in a small 17-meter boat, alongside 180 other Dutch civilians (including 20 women). After sailing in the rough seas for six days, Bolderhey landed in Madura.
Yamamoto's Unit, once it came out of the jungle, tried to make pursuit of the retreating Dutch forces, but the advance had scattered the force. However, an advance company led by Capt. Kataoka competed with the engineer company to be the first to drive off the Dutch. As the Land Drive Unit advanced, they obtained bicycles, vehicles and provisions from many supportive local population. At 09:00 on 10 February, Kataoka, with the engineer company, seized the Oelin Airfield with no resistance. By nightfall, the Unit had occupied Banjarmasin.
Sea Drive Unit.
Okamoto's Sea Drive Unit left Balikpapan on the evening 30 January on four large and two small landing crafts and began to make their way along the coast southward. In accordance with the plan, the Unit concentrated their advance at rivermouths at night according to plan, with a naval officer attached to pilot the movement. At day, the landing crafts were camouflaged under mangrove forests to avoid detection. Coming through Apar Besar Bay, Pamukan Bay and Klumpang Bay, Okamoto made a night raid on Kotabaroe, encountering no opposition and capturing many supplies and provisions. On 8 February, the Sea Drive Unit landed 80 km from Banjarmasin and advanced without opposition to the Oelin Airfield. Since the Land Drive Unit had already dispersed Halkema's troops, Okamoto's troops reached Oelin Airfield without opposition on 10 February.
Aftermath.
By the end of the battle, the Land Drive Unit had advanced 400 km south from their landing point in Adang Bay to Banjarmasin, 100 km of which were done through the jungle. Base material for the 11th Air Fleet arrived at Oelin via fishing boats on 20 February, and by the 25th, an element of the 23rd Air Flotilla landed on the airfield, which was soon to be used as a base for the advance to Bali.
Casualties.
The battle had cost the Japanese 9 soldiers killed in action or died from sickness. About 80% (ca. 800) troops of the Land Drive Unit were stricken with malaria.
The Dutch casualties were unknown. However, the battle has been characterized with the high desertion rates among the local troops.
Post-Capitulation Surrenders.
After the Dutch capitulation on Java on 8 March, troops who were holding out in Borneo began to surrender as well. Michielsen's group handed themselves over to the Japanese in Tandjoeng after the capitulation announcement. After holding out in Poeroektjaoe for some time, van der Poel's group surrendered to the Japanese in Banjarmasin on 14 March. The Japanese then instructed him, along with Capt. van der Epen who had arrived at Banjarmasin on the same time, to guide the troops who will pick up Gov. Haga in Poeroektjaoe. Gov. Haga was captured on 17 March. On 14 December 1943, he died in jail after being tortured for conspiring to bring back Dutch rule into Banjarmasin through an armed uprising, in what is to be known as the "Haga Plot".
Kotawaringin Airfield.
The units that stayed behind at Kotawaringin Airfield were reinforced with the 2/15 Punjab battalion under Lt. Col. M.C. Lane that had arrived exhausted from Miri & Kuching. On 24 February, a ship carrying supplies arrived to provide additional food stocks to the defenders. It was not until late March-early April that the Japanese finally arrived in Kotawaringin and defeated the defenders.
Liberation.
Banjarmasin remained under Japanese occupation until September 1945, when it was liberated by the 2/31st Battalion of the Australian 7th Division.