Battle of Tarakan (1945) 1945
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1945 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Indonesia | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Pacific War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 3.3500, 117.5667 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Tarakan was an engagement fought between Allied and Japanese forces on the island of Tarakan off Borneo during May and June 1945. It formed the first stage in the World War II Borneo campaign. The Allies' main goal in attacking Tarakan was to capture the island's airfield and develop it into a base to support further offensives in the Borneo area.
After several weeks of preparatory air and naval bombardments Allied forces comprising the Australian 26th Brigade and a small Netherlands East Indies contingent conducted an amphibious landing in south-west Tarakan on 1 May 1945. This operation was heavily supported by Australian and United States air and naval units. The Japanese garrison had expected an attack and after several days of fighting withdrew to defensive positions in the centre of the island. It took several weeks of tough fighting for the Australian troops, who continued to be supported by Australian and US air units, to secure Tarakan. Most Japanese resistance ended in mid-June.
The airfield on Tarakan which was the main objective of the invasion was so heavily damaged by the pre-invasion bombardments that it could not be brought into service until the last phase of the Borneo Campaign.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Tarakan (1945) (revision 1370590565), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Tarakan (1942) 1942 · 0 km
- Battle of Tawau · 109 km
- Battle of Beaufort (1945) 1945 · 300 km
- Battle of Labuan 1945 · 341 km
Other battles of the Pacific War
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- Battle of Saipan 1944
- Battle of Tinian 1944
- Battle of the Green Islands 1944
- Battle of the Philippine Sea 1944
- Battle of Balikpapan (1945) 1945
- Battle of Camotes Islands 1945
- Battle of Porton Plantation 1945
- Battle of Slater's Knoll 1945
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All 56 battles of the Pacific War →
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