Borneo 1945

The Last Major Allied Campaign in the South-West Pacific

Angus Konstam, Edouard A. Groult

• Publisher: Osprey Publishing
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9781472862242
• eBook ISBN: 9781472862211
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Australian & Oceanian History
• Index: History

A fascinating account of the last major Allied operation in the South-West Pacific, and the largest Australian military operation of World War II. A week after Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Japanese troops landed near Brunei on the South-East Asian island of Borneo. Within eight weeks, the entire island had been overrun, and its Dutch and British Indian defenders had been ejected. By early April 1942, the entire Dutch East Indies were in Japanese hands, and remained under Japanese occupation for a further three years. The late-1944 US landings in the Philippines effectively cut oil- and resource-rich Borneo off from Japan. Now that it was considered a worthy strategic prize for the Allies, General Douglas MacArthur, commanding the South-West Pacific Theater, began planning for the recapture of the key island. This compelling work explores the planning and execution of Operation Oboe, which was spearheaded by Australian troops but involved naval and special forces from the United States, Britain and the Netherlands. Detailed maps explore the six separate stages, each of which involved amphibious landings. Battlescene artworks and photographs bring to life notable events such as the capture of Tarakan, Labuan, Brunei and Sarawak. Also covered are the Allied special forces guerrilla campaigns and Australian 7th Infantry Division's landing at Balikapan – which proved to be the turning point of this hard-fought campaign.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Chronology
• Origins of the Campaign
• Opposing Commanders
• Opposing Forces
• Opposing Plans
• The Campaign
• Aftermath
• The Battlefield Today
• Further Reading
• About the Author
• eCopyright