Borneo campaign (1945) order of battle

An Allied estimate of Japanese units in Borneo at the end of April 1945
A map showing the progress of the Borneo campaign
Opposing theatre commanders
Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Count Hisaichi Terauchi
Allied ground force commanders on Borneo
Lieut-Gen Leslie Morshead
Major-Gen Edward Milford
Major-Gen George Wootten

This is the complete order of battle of Allied and Japanese forces during the Borneo campaign of 1945. As the campaign was fought in three geographically separate areas and the same air and naval units supported more than one of these battles the order of battle is split into the three areas.

As it turned out these operations were different from those that had gone before. The minefields were heavier and, for the first time in any Pacific campaign, man-made obstacles had been laid off the beaches.

— Daniel E. Barbey (USN, ret.), MacArthur's Amphibious Navy (1969), p. 314

Summary order of battle

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Allied forces

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General Headquarters South West Pacific Area
General Douglas MacArthur

Ground Forces
Australian I Corps (Lieutenant-Gen Leslie Morshead)
Australian 7th Division (Major-Gen Edward Milford)
Australian 9th Division (Major-Gen George Wootten)
Air Forces
Advanced RAAF Command
Australian First Tactical Air Force
United States Thirteenth Air Force
Naval Forces
US Seventh Fleet (Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid)
Amphibious Force (Vice Admiral Daniel E. Barbey)

Japanese forces

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Southern Expeditionary Army Group (HQ at Saigon)
Count Hisaichi Terauchi

Seventh Area Army[a]
Thirty-Seventh Army[b]
Lieutenant General Masao Baba
North
Army-Navy Headquarters Tarakan
56th Independent Mixed Brigade (Brunei)
25th Independent Mixed Regiment (North Borneo)
553rd Independent Infantry Battalion (Miri)
554th Independent Infantry Battalion (Sandakan)
774th Independent Infantry Battalion (Tenom)
South
71st Independent Mixed Brigade (Kuching)
455th Independent Infantry Battalion (Balikpapan)
22nd Special Naval Base Force (Balikpapan)
Third Air Army (Singapore)
Japanese 10th Independent Flying Brigade
83rd Flying Regiment

Tarakan (May - June 1945)

[edit]
Main article: Battle of Tarakan (1945)

"The savagery of war was not limited to one side. About 20,000 Japanese ... were marched, unarmed, toward the small port of Beaufort... Without proper protection en route, they were attacked by native tribesmen and all but a few hundred were massacred."

– Barbey, MacArthur's Amphibious Navy, p. 316

Allied units ("Oboe One Force")

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Ground forces

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26th Brigade Group[c][1]
Brigadier David Whitehead
Approx. 18,100 troops[2]
2/23rd Infantry Battalion
2/24th Infantry Battalion
2/48th Infantry Battalion
2/3rd Pioneer Battalion (fought as infantry)
2/4th Cavalry Commando Squadron
C Squadron, 2/9th Armoured Regiment (Matilda II tanks)
D Company, 2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion
2/7th Field Regiment (25 pounder guns)
53rd Composite Anti-Aircraft Regiment
2/13th Field Company
2nd Field Company
2/12th Field Ambulance
2 Beach Group
2/2nd Pioneer Battalion
Other units
2/11th Field Company
2 Beach Workshop
'B' Royal Australian Navy Commando
2nd Australian Army Medical Corps Company

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army

2nd Company, 1st Battalion Netherlands East Indies Army[3]

United States Army

Composite Company, 727th Amphibian Tractor Battalion
Company, 593rd Engineer Boat and Shore Battalion

Air units

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Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk
Bristol Beaufighter

Royal Australian Air Force

No. 77 (Attack) Wing Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)
No. 76 Squadron RAAF (Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk) (from 15 May)
No. 22 Squadron RAAF (Bristol Beaufighter) (from 4 June)
No. 30 Squadron RAAF (Bristol Beaufighter) (from 4 June)
No. 31 Squadron RAAF (Bristol Beaufighter)
No. 78 (Fighter) Wing RAAF
No. 75 Squadron RAAF (Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk)
No. 78 Squadron RAAF (Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk)
No. 80 Squadron RAAF (Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk)
No. 452 Squadron RAAF (Supermarine Spitfire)
No. 82 (Bomber) Wing RAAF
No. 21 Squadron RAAF (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
No. 23 Squadron RAAF (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
No. 24 Squadron RAAF (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
RAAF ground units on Tarakan during the campaign
No. 16 Air Observation Post Flight (4 Auster light aircraft)
No. 61 Operational Base Unit
No. 61 Airfield Construction Wing
No. 1 Airfield Construction Squadron
No. 8 Airfield Construction Squadron
No. 2 Aerodrome Security Squadron
No. 114 Mobile Fighter Control Unit
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
North American B-25 Mitchell
Consolidated B-24 Liberator

United States Army Air Forces

18th Fighter Group USAAF (Mindoro Island, Zamboanga from 4 May)
12th Fighter Squadron (Lockheed P-38 Lightning)
44th Fighter Squadron (Lockheed P-38 Lightning)
70th Fighter Squadron (Lockheed P-38 Lightning)
347th Fighter Group USAAF (Palawan Island)
67th Fighter Squadron (Lockheed P-38 Lightning)
68th Fighter Squadron (Lockheed P-38 Lightning)
339th Fighter Squadron (Lockheed P-38 Lightning)
42d Bombardment Group USAAF (Palawan Island)
69th Bombardment Squadron (North American B-25 Mitchell)
70th Bombardment Squadron (North American B-25 Mitchell)
75th Bombardment Squadron (North American B-25 Mitchell)
100th Bombardment Squadron (North American B-25 Mitchell)
390th Bombardment Squadron (North American B-25 Mitchell)
5th Bombardment Group USAAF (Samar Island)
23d Bombardment Squadron (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
31st Bombardment Squadron (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
72d Bombardment Squadron (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
394th Bombardment Squadron (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
307th Bombardment Group USAAF (Morotai Island)
370th Bombardment Squadron (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
371st Bombardment Squadron (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
372nd Bombardment Squadron (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
424th Bombardment Squadron (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
868th Bombardment Squadron USAAF (LA Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
Fleet Air Wing 17 US Navy (Palawan Island)
Patrol Bombing Squadron 128 (VPB-128) (PV-1 Ventura)
Patrol Bombing Squadron 106 (VPB-106) (PB4Y-2 Privateer) (from 3 May)
Patrol Bombing Squadron 111 (VPB-111) (PB4Y-2 Privateer)
Patrol Bombing Squadron 109 (VPB-109) (PB4Y-2 Privateer with Bat Bombs) (until 6 May)
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Rear Admiral Forrest B. Royal, USN[d]

Covering Group 74.3
3 light cruisers
2 Brooklyn-class (15 × 6-in. main battery): Phoenix, Boise
1 Leander-class (8 × 6-in. main battery): HMAS Hobart
6 destroyers
5 Fletcher-class (5 × 5-in. main battery): Fletcher, Jenkins, Nicholas, O'Bannon, Taylor
1 Tribal-class (3 × 4.7-in. main battery): HMAS Warramunga
Attack Group 78.1
Amphibious command ship Rocky Mount
1 amphibious command ship: Rocky Mount
2 LSI: HMAS Manoora, HMAS Westralia
1 attack cargo: Titania
1 LSD: Rushmore
21 LST, 12 LCI, 4 LSM, 12 LCT
Support
6 LCS, 4 LCI(R), 2 LCI(M), 2 LCI(D) with four demolition units
Screen
7 destroyers
2 Fletcher-class (5 × 5-in. main battery): Waller, Philip
2 Mahan-class (4 × 5-in. main battery): Drayton, Smith
3 Benson-class (4 × 5-in. main battery): Bailey, Bancroft, Caldwell
2 John C. Butler-class destroyer escorts (2 × 5-in. main battery): Formoe, Charles E. Brannon
3 frigates
HMAS Burdekin, HMAS Barcoo, HMAS Hawkesbury
1 motor torpedo boat (MTB) tender: Wachapreague, 21 MTBs
Landing craft control unit: 1 PC, 1 LCI(L), 2 LCS
Minesweeping unit: 1 APD, 11 YMS
Service unit: 1 AGS, 1 AN, 1 ATR, 1 ATO, 4 LCI(L) equipped for fire fighting and salvage

Japanese units

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Army-Navy Headquarters
455th Independent Infantry Battalion
1 Company
2 Company
3 Company
4 Company
Machine Gun Company
2nd Naval Guard Force
1 Company
2 Company
Air Defence Unit

Balikpapan (July 1945)

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Main article: Battle of Balikpapan (1945)

Allied units ("Oboe Two Force")

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Ground forces

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Australian 7th Division[4]
Major General Edward Milford
Approx 33,000 troops[5]
Divisional Units
2/7 Cavalry (Commando) Regiment
2/1 Pioneer Battalion
2/1 Machine Gun Battalion
B Company 2/1 Guard Regiment (4 platoons)
Divisional Artillery
2/4 Field Regiment (Ordnance QF 25 pounder gun-howitzers)
2/5 Field Regiment (25 pounder guns)
2/6 Field Regiment (25 pounder guns)
2/2 Tank Attack Regiment
Divisional Engineers
2/4 Field Company
2/5 Field Company
2/6 Field Company
2/9 Field Company
2/25 Field Park Company
18 Infantry Brigade
2/9 Battalion
2/10 Battalion
2/12 Battalion
21 Infantry Brigade
2/14 Battalion
2/16th Battalion
2/27 Battalion
25 Infantry Brigade
2/25 Battalion
2/31 Battalion
2/33 Battalion
I Australian Corps units[e]
1st Armoured Regiment (Matilda II tanks)
Armoured Squadron (Special Equipment) (Matilda tank specialist variant)
2/1 Composite Anti-Aircraft Regiment
2 Beach Group
2/2 Pioneer Battalion
2/11 Field Company
12 Aust. Light Wireless Section
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army
1 Company, 1 NEI Battalion
United States Army
727th Amphibian Tractor Battalion (less one company)
One company, 672nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion
One boat company, Boat Battalion, 593rd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment

Air units

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Royal Australian Air Force

79 (General Reconnaissance – Bomber) Wing Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)
No. 2 Squadron RAAF (North American B-25 Mitchell)
No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron (North American B-25 Mitchell)
78 (Fighter) Wing RAAF (from June 30)
No. 75 Squadron (Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk)
No. 78 Squadron (Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk)
No. 80 Squadron (Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk)
No. 452 Squadron (Supermarine Spitfire)
82 (Bomber) Wing RAAF
No. 21 Squadron (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
No. 23 Squadron (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
No. 24 Squadron (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
Detachment, 83 (Army Co-Operation) Wing
Detachment, No. 4 Squadron (CAC Boomerang)
Detachment, No. 16 Air Observation Post Flight
Detachment, No. 9 Local Air Supply Unit RAAF
No. 54 Squadron RAF (Supermarine Spitfire)

United States Army Air Forces

13th Air Force
42nd Bombardment Group (North American B-25 Mitchell)
69, 70, 75, 100, 390 Bombardment Squadrons (Palawan Island)
5th Bombardment Group (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
23, 31, 72, 394 Bombardment Squadrons (Samar Island)
307th Bombardment Group (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
370, 371, 372, 424 Bombardment Squadrons (Morotai Island)
868th Bombardment Squadron (Consolidated SB-24 Liberator, LAB: Low Altitude radar Bomb.) flew maritime surveillance patrols
18th Fighter Group (Lockheed P-38 Lightning)
67, 68, 339 Fighter Squadrons (Palawan Island)
419th Night Fighter Squadron (Northrop P-61 Black Widow) (Zamboanga and Palawan)
4 Reconnaissance Group (Lockheed F-5 Lightning and North American B-25 Mitchell)
17th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron Det. (Palawan Island)
5th Air Force
22nd Bombardment Group (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
38th Bombardment Group (North American B-25 Mitchell)
Attached to 42nd Bombardment Group
90th Bombardment Group (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)
380th Bombardment Group (Consolidated B-24 Liberator)

United States Marine Corps

VMB-611 (North American PBJ Mitchell) flying from Zamboanga
Marine Air Group 2 (flying from the USN escort carriers)
Marine Escort Carrier Group 1 (MCVEG-1) on USS Block Island (CVE-106)
VMF-511 (Goodyear FG-1D Corsair & Grumman F6F-5N Hellcat)
VMTB-233 (Grumman TBM-3 Avenger)
Marine Escort Carrier Group 2 (MCVEG-2) on carrier USS Gilbert Islands (CVE-107)
VMF-512 (Goodyear FG-1D Corsair)
VMTB-143 (Grumman TBM-3 Avenger)

United States Navy

Fleet Air Wing 17 (Palawan Island)
Patrol Bombing Squadron 128 (VPB-128) (Lockheed PV-1 Ventura)
Patrol Bombing Squadron 106 (VPB-106) (Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer)
Patrol Bombing Squadron 111 (VPB-111) (Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer)
Navy Escort Carrier Group 40 (CVEG-40) on carrier USS Suwannee (CVE-27)
Fighter Squadron 40 (VF-40) (Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat)
Torpedo Squadron 40 (VT-40) (Grumman TBM-3 Avenger)
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Rear Admiral Albert G. Noble, USN

Attack Group (Task Group 78.2)
Amphibious command ship Wasatch
Transports
1 amphibious command ship: Wasatch
1 Coast Guard cutter
3 LSI: HMAS Manoora, HMAS Westralia, HMAS Kanimbla
1 attack cargo: Titania
1 LSD: Carter Hall
5 APD: Newman, Liddle, Kephart, Lloyd, Diachenko
Landing craft: 1 LCF(F), 22 LSM, 35 LST, 16 LCI(L),19 LCT
5 submarine chasers: 2 PC, 3 SC
Close Support
10 LCS(L): Nos. 8, 27, 28, 29, 30, 41, 43, 44, 48, 50
8 LCI(R): Nos. 31, 34, 73, 226, 230, 331, 337, 338
6 LCI(G): Nos. 21, 22, 24, 61, 66, 67
3 LCI(M)
Screen
10 destroyers
4 Fletcher-class (5 × 5-in. main battery): Saufley, Waller, Philip, Robinson
4 Mahan-class (4 × 5-in. main battery): Drayton, Flusser, Conyngham, Smith
2 Benson-class (4 × 5-in. main battery): Bailey, Frazier
5 destroyer escorts
4 John C. Butler-class (2 × 5-in. main battery): Leland E. Thomas, Edwin A. Howard, Jesse Rutherford, Key
1 Rudderow-class (2 × 5-in. main battery): Chaffee
1 frigate: HMAS Gascoyne
Minesweeping Group
1 high-speed transport: Cofer
3 Admirable-class minesweepers: Sentry, Scout, Scuffle
39 YMS
1 LSM
Service, salvage and miscellaneous units
3 tugs: Cable, ATR-61, Pinto
4 oilers: Chepachet, Sakatonchee, Gualala, Banshee
1 cargo: Poinsett
1 repair ship: Creon
Covering Force (Task Force 74)
Covering Group 74.1
1 heavy cruiser: HMAS Shropshire (from 27 June)
1 light cruiser: HMAS Hobart (from 27 June)
2 Fletcher-class destroyers (5 × 5-in. main battery): Hart, Metcalf
Covering Group 74.2
5 light cruisers
4 Cleveland-class (12 × 6-in. main battery): Montpelier (from 15 June), Denver (from 15 June), Columbia (from 23 June), Cleveland (30 June – 1? July)
1 Tromp-class (6 × 5.9-in. main battery): HNLMS Tromp (from 19 June)
7 destroyers
6 Fletcher-class (5 × 5-in. main battery): Stevens, Conway, Cony, Eaton, Killen, Albert W. Grant
1 Tribal-class (3 × 4.7-in. main battery): HMAS Arunta
Covering Group 74.3
2 Brooklyn-class light cruisers (15 × 6-in. main battery): Phoenix (4–6 July), Nashville (4–6 July)
4 Fletcher-class destroyers (5 × 5-in. main battery): Charrette, Conner, Bell, Burns
Destroyers: 4 from 15 June, 7 from 27 June.
2 high speed transports: Schmitt, Kline (from 23 June)
Escort Carrier Group (Task Group 78.4): (from 1 to 3 July)
3 escort carriers
1 Sangamon-class (25-32 aircraft): Suwannee
2 Commencement Bay-class (34 aircraft): Block Island, Gilbert Islands
1 Bagley-class destroyer (4 × 5-in. main battery): Helm
5 destroyer escorts
3 Evarts-class (3 × 3-in. main battery): Mitchell, Donaldson, Cloues
2 Cannon-class (3 × 3-in. main battery): Lamons, Kyne
8 USN PT boats arrived with the tender Mobjack on 27 June, and this force was expanded to two PT boat squadrons (10 and 27) on 6 July.

Japanese units

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IJA Thirty-Seventh Army[f][citation needed]
432nd,[citation needed] 454th,[6] 455th, 553rd, 554th, 774th Independent Infantry Battalions[citation needed]
20th, 22nd Independent Machine Gun Battalions
64th Independent AA Gun Company
307th, 332nd Independent Motorcar Company
103rd Field Road Unit
75th Construction Duty Unit
147th Line-of-Communication Hospital
37th Army MP
4th Signal Unit[citation needed]
IJN 22nd Special Base Force[6]
2nd Guard Unit
995th Air Unit
103rd Air Unit
6th Shinyo Unit
2nd Harbor Duty Unit[citation needed]

Notes

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  1. ^ A Japanese area army was equivalent to a Euro-American army.
  2. ^ A Japanese army was equivalent to a Euro-American corps.
  3. ^ Detached from 9th Division
  4. ^ Died of a heart attack aboard his flagship 18 June 1945
  5. ^ Attached to 7th Division for operational purposes
  6. ^ A Japanese army was equivalent to a Euro-American corps.

References

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  1. ^ Stanley, pp. 213–218
  2. ^ Barbey, p. 315
  3. ^ http://www.nederland-australie2006.nl/geschiedenis/au/html/bondgenoten_operaties4.html][permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ Long, p. 507
  5. ^ Barbey, p. 316
  6. ^ a b Long, p. 526

Bibliography

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Print

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  • ‘Japanese Monograph Number 26: Borneo Operations. 1941–1945’ in War in Asia and the Pacific. Volume 6. The Southern Area (Part I).
  • Barbey, Daniel E. (Vice Adm., USN, ret.) (1969). MacArthur's Amphibious Navy: Seventh Fleet Amphibious Force Operations 1943-1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. LCCN 69-15944.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Craven, Wesley; Cate, James (1953). The Army Air Forces in World War Two. Volume V: Matterhorn to Nagasaki. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
  • Morison, Samuel Eliot (1959). The Liberation of the Philippines: Luzon, Mindanao, the Visayas 1944–1945. History of U.S. Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. XIII. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. LCCN 47001571.
  • Royal Navy (1959). Naval Staff History Second World War: War with Japan, Volume VI; The Advance to Japan. London: British Admiralty.
  • Stanley, Peter (1997). Tarakan: An Australian Tragedy. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-278-8.

Web

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