Java was the administrative and
economic center of the Netherlands
East Indies and virtually a
second homeland to the Dutch.
It is a
large island, about 600 miles long and 100 miles wide, with a
chain of
active volcanoes running east to west. The tallest of these is Mount
Semeru at 12,060 feet (3676 meters).
The island had been settled by Indians by the 7th century. By the 13th century Islam had been introduced, and the island was dominated by the Muslim state of Mataram from the 16th century onwards. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore this area, but the Dutch established a post at Batavia in 1619 and gradually absorbed the native kingdoms. Dutch rule was harsh until the Diponegoro uprising of 1825-1830, after which a more humane approach was attempted. Dutch administration from 1830 to 1940 went from brutal to ham-fisted, and a strong nationalist movement was active when the Japanese invaded in February of 1942.
With a total population of at least 41 million in 1945, Java had a much higher population density than any other of the Netherlands East Indies, and it had valuable resources. Batavia was the most important port in the area. The rich volcanic soil produced rice, rubber, and quinine in quantity, and there was a valuable oil field near Surabaya that produced a million barrels in 1940. This oil was particularly rich in light fractions, and the Dutch build two refineries to exploit it.
Java was the ultimate objective of Japan's Strike South, and its conquest was carefully planned and executed. From their bases in Formosa, French Indochina, and the Palaus, Japanese forces proceeded in a series of leaps from airfield to airfield, each leap given air cover from the airfields seized in the previous leap. Thus, Japanese forces from the Palaus first seized Davao with carrier air support, then advanced successively to Menado (11 January 1941), Kendari (24 January), Makassar (9 February), and Bali (19 February) to constitute the eastern prong of a pincers assault. The western prong advanced from Kuching (23 December 1941) to Palembang (13 February 1942.) In the meanwhile, another force had leapfrogged from Jolo to Tarakan (10 January) to Balikpapan (24 January). Balikpapan had an airfield within striking distance of Surabaya, and on 3 February the Allied air units in that area were smashed by the Zeros of Tainan Air Group in a tremendous air battle.
With the destruction of the Allied naval squadron at the Battle of the Java Sea, Java was doomed. Japanese forces landed at Merak, Eretan Wetan, and Kragan on March 1, 1942, and rapidly fanned out across the island. Batavia fell the next day. The island was surrendered to the Japanese on 8 March 1942, and remained in Japanese hands for the remainder of the war.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2006-2007, 2009-2010 by Kent G. Budge. Index
