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Osprey Campaign #364
The Netherlands East Indies Campaign 1941–42: Japan's Quest for Oil
At the end of 1941, Imperial Japan targeted The East Indies in an attempt to secure access to precious oil resources. The Netherlands East Indies Campaign featured complex Japanese and Allied operations, and included the first use of airborne troops in the war. This highly illustrated study is one of the less well-known campaigns of the Pacific War.
Imperial Japan's campaigns of conquest in late 1941/early 1942 were launched in order to achieve self-sufficiency for the Japanese people, chiefly in the precious commodity of oil. The Netherlands (or Dutch) East Indies formed one of Japan's primary targets, on account of its abundant rubber plantations and oilfields--the latter, in particular, was highly prized, given that the colony was the fourth-largest exporter of oil in the world. Japan itself lacked any form of domestic production.
The Japanese dispatched an enormous naval task force to support the amphibious landings over the vast terrain of the Netherlands East Indies. The combined-arms offensive was divided into three western, center and eastern. Borneo was struck first in mid-December 1941, and assaults on Celebes, Amboin, Timor, Java, Sumatra, Ambon, and Dutch New Guinea followed. Allied forces in the NEI comprised British, Australian, Dutch, and American personnel. A combined theater headquarters (ABDACOM) was established on January 15 1942 in an effort to counter the Japanese offensives. The isolated airfields and oilfields were, however, picked off one by one by the Japanese, in the rush to secure the major islands before major Allied reinforcements arrived.
This superbly illustrated title describes the operational plans and conduct of the fighting by the major parties involved, and assesses the performance of the opposing forces on the battlefield, bringing to life an often-overlooked campaign of the Pacific War.
Imperial Japan's campaigns of conquest in late 1941/early 1942 were launched in order to achieve self-sufficiency for the Japanese people, chiefly in the precious commodity of oil. The Netherlands (or Dutch) East Indies formed one of Japan's primary targets, on account of its abundant rubber plantations and oilfields--the latter, in particular, was highly prized, given that the colony was the fourth-largest exporter of oil in the world. Japan itself lacked any form of domestic production.
The Japanese dispatched an enormous naval task force to support the amphibious landings over the vast terrain of the Netherlands East Indies. The combined-arms offensive was divided into three western, center and eastern. Borneo was struck first in mid-December 1941, and assaults on Celebes, Amboin, Timor, Java, Sumatra, Ambon, and Dutch New Guinea followed. Allied forces in the NEI comprised British, Australian, Dutch, and American personnel. A combined theater headquarters (ABDACOM) was established on January 15 1942 in an effort to counter the Japanese offensives. The isolated airfields and oilfields were, however, picked off one by one by the Japanese, in the rush to secure the major islands before major Allied reinforcements arrived.
This superbly illustrated title describes the operational plans and conduct of the fighting by the major parties involved, and assesses the performance of the opposing forces on the battlefield, bringing to life an often-overlooked campaign of the Pacific War.
96 pages, Paperback
Published July 27, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 16, 2022
THE NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES CAMPAIGN 1941-42 told the story of Japan's attempt to take by conquest the oil that was denied her by politics. Most who have read about WWII know the reasons behind the need for the oil and why it was denied them, but what they may not know is that although the Netherlands declared war on Japan after December 7th that the Japanese held off reciprocating until January 11th. Being as Germany, Japan's ally, had conquered Holland, they tried to obtain the oil by political means, such as their occupation of French Indo-China, by working through Switzerland.
The story of the campaign was interesting though it was pretty much a continuation of the fall of Malay and Singapore. The Japanese were very efficient and flexible in their operations, in spite of the infighting between the army and navy. Their air force was not a separate branch, as the army and navy each had their own air arm. The Japanese made most of their amphibious landings in darkness, attacked in the worst weather, and spearheaded their advance with tanks.
What hindered the Netherland East Indies (NEI) forces was poor communications, lack of coordination with other allies, being viewed as a lost cause by their allies, obsolete equipment, and naturally, the fact that they were viewed as oppressors by the local population. On the other hand, I was surprised to hear of the successes of the NEI small and obsolete submarine force, while the US submarines were hindered by faulty torpedoes. And on rare occasions the native troops in the NEI army fought well instead of deserting in mass.
For the reasons stated above, the Japanese were successful in their endeavors, though they marred this achievement by the repeated mass execution of prisoners. Like other Japanese conquered territories in Asia, the fall of the colonial powers paved the way for the eventual fights for independence.
As with other books in this series, there are plenty of photos and color plates. The maps are colorful, but like my usual complaint, the best ones have the spine of the book hiding details. I would rather the maps were on one page or a foldout. A lot of information is included on this rather obscure period of the war. A chronology is included and fortunately the orders of battle are in small print as they still took up three pages.
I think this book deserves 5 stars.
The story of the campaign was interesting though it was pretty much a continuation of the fall of Malay and Singapore. The Japanese were very efficient and flexible in their operations, in spite of the infighting between the army and navy. Their air force was not a separate branch, as the army and navy each had their own air arm. The Japanese made most of their amphibious landings in darkness, attacked in the worst weather, and spearheaded their advance with tanks.
What hindered the Netherland East Indies (NEI) forces was poor communications, lack of coordination with other allies, being viewed as a lost cause by their allies, obsolete equipment, and naturally, the fact that they were viewed as oppressors by the local population. On the other hand, I was surprised to hear of the successes of the NEI small and obsolete submarine force, while the US submarines were hindered by faulty torpedoes. And on rare occasions the native troops in the NEI army fought well instead of deserting in mass.
For the reasons stated above, the Japanese were successful in their endeavors, though they marred this achievement by the repeated mass execution of prisoners. Like other Japanese conquered territories in Asia, the fall of the colonial powers paved the way for the eventual fights for independence.
As with other books in this series, there are plenty of photos and color plates. The maps are colorful, but like my usual complaint, the best ones have the spine of the book hiding details. I would rather the maps were on one page or a foldout. A lot of information is included on this rather obscure period of the war. A chronology is included and fortunately the orders of battle are in small print as they still took up three pages.
I think this book deserves 5 stars.
September 1, 2023
Having enjoyed the author's Osprey booklet on the Dutch colonial military in the Far East, I had high expectations for this number, and Lohnstein did a good job of meeting them. The main point to appreciate is that while the Netherlands East Indies Army looked effective on paper, the reality is that the colonial military hierarchy was simply not intellectually ready to fight a modern war against a Japanese army that was at its operational zenith. Of course, the shoe would ultimately be on the other foot for Imperial Japan, with the irony being that Tokyo really didn't have the logistical infrastructure to exploit the oil wealth of the Dutch colonial holdings.
June 3, 2024
Lesser known theater of WW2.
As usual for an Osprey book, very informative and interesting.
As usual for an Osprey book, very informative and interesting.
August 11, 2021
Excellent entry to series
Great book that tells a little known story. Great entry to campaign series. Wonderfully done, and a bargain to boot.
Great book that tells a little known story. Great entry to campaign series. Wonderfully done, and a bargain to boot.
December 19, 2024
The Netherlands East-Indies (modern Indonesia) was an important site for Japanese territorial interests. Having been cut off from American oil, they were included in the Japanese Empire’s Southern Offensive plan in 1941/1942 with the goal of acquiring its many oil wells and refineries which they could use to extract petroleum and high-octane oil.
The defence of the archipelago by the Dutch colonial military was poor. As a country that did not participate in WW1 or any subsequent conflicts, none of its soldiers or commanders had practical experience. This was a major problem against Japan, who had a lot of combat experience in China or in other parts of the Southern Offensive. Their commanders were forward-thinking enough and wanted a robust defence of the island but neither had the quality nor quantity of men and materiel to realize these ambitions.
The role of the Indonesians themselves are mixed. They deserted at times, but so did most of the European army under constant retreat and massive pressure to defend untenable positions. Lieutenant Bakkers, a Native to the archipelago, played an important role in organizing the military forces when General Der Poorten in charge of overall command was sick. Indonesian soldiers pushed back Japanese forces at the oil refineries in South Sumatra as well. The Japanese were first welcomed as liberators but would come to be hated as millions died from famine and others were forced into labour, ironically helping to spark the Indonesian independence movement after WW2.
The book explains the military situation well like most Osprey books, which is why I’m giving it a 4.
The defence of the archipelago by the Dutch colonial military was poor. As a country that did not participate in WW1 or any subsequent conflicts, none of its soldiers or commanders had practical experience. This was a major problem against Japan, who had a lot of combat experience in China or in other parts of the Southern Offensive. Their commanders were forward-thinking enough and wanted a robust defence of the island but neither had the quality nor quantity of men and materiel to realize these ambitions.
The role of the Indonesians themselves are mixed. They deserted at times, but so did most of the European army under constant retreat and massive pressure to defend untenable positions. Lieutenant Bakkers, a Native to the archipelago, played an important role in organizing the military forces when General Der Poorten in charge of overall command was sick. Indonesian soldiers pushed back Japanese forces at the oil refineries in South Sumatra as well. The Japanese were first welcomed as liberators but would come to be hated as millions died from famine and others were forced into labour, ironically helping to spark the Indonesian independence movement after WW2.
The book explains the military situation well like most Osprey books, which is why I’m giving it a 4.
December 25, 2022
History of the Japanese invasion of what after the war would become Indonesia. Remarkable in its speed and marred by its cruelty towards captives, the Imperial Japanese Army's campaign to capture the oil of the East Indies was swift and effective - it took the Allies the better part of four years to reverse what the Japanese captured in six months.
Well illustrated, it follows the events on the ground step by step.
Well illustrated, it follows the events on the ground step by step.
July 12, 2024
This book and the others of this series are an excellent choice if you don't like to wrestle through the works of David Thomas, Jeffrey Cox, Morisons, John Toland etc. The clear advantage are the computerized detailed drawings of the islands and the battles. This is the complete picture in 96 pages. Well done.
August 3, 2021
Overall good, but many factual errors. He places the Australian 6th and 7th Divisions in Burma; The British wanted them in Burma, but they went on to Australia and fought in New Guinea.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews