Word: tarakan
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...invasion in the Pacific have headed inevitably (if sometimes deviously) toward Japan. Last week, at the bottom of the Allied line of attack, Australians jabbed a small but significant arrow away from Japan and straight toward the Japs' stolen empire. Landing on the swampy, oil-rich island of Tarakan off Borneo's northeast coast, Aussie troops drove the Japanese off an airstrip. Soon Allied planes would be using it to work over the South China Sea, Borneo and The Netherlands East Indies...
First the Japanese sent paratroops. They hoped to seize Palembang's oil before Dutch demolitionists could lay everything waste, as they had at Tarakan and Balikpapan. The paratroops died by hundreds, failed in their mission. Seaborne invaders followed. They landed at the mouth of the Musi River, swarmed overland through swamps and marshes. Outnumbered, outgunned, Dutch and native defenders killed hundreds, but the thousands overwhelmed them...
...down three landing parties on the northern handle of Celebes, from which he may well establish some sort of control over sea traffic in the Straits of Macassar and Molucca Strait to the east and west of Celebes. He has also grabbed the little Dutch island of Tarakan (off Borneo), where the oil flows from the wells so pure that it can be pumped into the fuel bunkers of ships without refining...
...Tarakan, the Dutch preparation for the Jap's coming was good as could be made. Tarakan was reportedly garrisoned by around 1,000 crack Dutch colonials. Hopelessly outnumbered by the Jap landing party, they fought hard, while behind them other Dutchmen blew up the wells and pipelines, did a thorough job of demolition. The Jap had to pay well. He took hits on a cruiser, two destroyers, four transports, suffered some sinkings. But Tarakan was overwhelmed, nevertheless. The Jap brought drilling equipment with him. The Dutch feared that in a few months he would be getting...
...week's end he had made four landings in the Dutch archipelago. His troops got ashore at Tarakan (see map), an island off the oil-rich northeast coast of Borneo, the Indies' richest oil center. He pushed in under cruiser protection during the night, was met by the local defense force and by Indies Army bombers...