Battle of Balikpapan (1942)

Battle of Balikpapan (1942)
Part of World War II, Pacific War, Dutch East Indies campaign
Japanese troops of the Sakaguchi Detachment advancing through Balikpapan's burning oilfields.
Date 23–25 January 1942 (Allied air raids continued until 30 January) Location Balikpapan, Dutch East Indies Result Japanese land victory Allied tactical naval victory
Belligerents
Netherlands  United States	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Cornelis van den Hoogenband Paul H. Talbot	Shizuo Sakaguchi Shoji Nishimura
Strength
ca. 1,100	ca. 6,600
Casualties and losses
Troops deserted or surrendered (Only 200 evacuated) 1 destroyer lightly damaged 1 submarine heavily damaged	47 infantry killed At least 121 sailors killed 5 transport ships sunk 2 transport ships damaged 1 patrol boat damaged 1 seaplane tender damaged

The First Battle of Balikpapan took place on 23–25 January 1942, off the major oil-producing town and port of Balikpapan, on Borneo, in the Netherlands East Indies. After capturing mostly-destroyed oilfields at Tarakan, Japanese forces send an ultimatum to the Dutch that they would be executed if they destroyed the oilfields there, to no avail.

After destroying the oilfields, Dutch forces retreated inland, taking up positions in and around Samarinda II Airfield, while the Japanese landed and seized the also-destroyed refineries. Shortly thereafter, an American naval task force ambushed the invasion convoy and sank multiple transport ships, but they ultimately failed to stop Japan from swiftly occupying Balikpapan.