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At the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, the island of Borneo was divided into five territories: four in the north under the British - Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan (island), and British North Borneo (now Sabah); and the remainder and bulk of the island to the south under the jurisdiction of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Because of its oil resources, Borneo was a prime target for Japan, and a very poorly guarded one. Chronically short of natural resources, Japan needed an assured supply, particularly of oil, in order to achieve its long-term goal of becoming the major power in the Pacific region. In 1941, the Americans and British had placed an embargo on exports of raw materials to Japan because of its continuing aggression in China. Borneo was strategically important to Japan as it is located on the main sea routes between Java, Sumatra, Malaya and Celebes. Control of these routes were vital to securing the territory. ==Invasion== (詳細はKawaguchi Detachment. The Brigade was led by Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi and consisted of units previously stationed at Canton, southern China. On 13 December 1941, the Japanese invasion convoy left Cam Ranh Bay in French Indochina, with an escort of the cruiser (Rear-Admiral Shintaro Hashimoto), the destroyers of the 12th Destroyer Division, , , and , submarine-chaser ''Ch 7'' and the aircraft depot ship ''Kamikawa Maru''. Ten transport ships carried the Japanese 35th Infantry Brigade HQ under the command of Major-General Kiyotake Kawaguchi. The Support Force—commanded by Rear-Admiral Takeo Kurita—consisted of the cruisers and and the destroyers and . The Japanese forces intended to capture Miri and Seria, while the rest would capture Kuching and nearby airfields. The convoy proceeded without being detected and, at dawn on 16 December 1941, two landing units secured Miri and Seria with little resistance from British forces. A few hours later, Lutong was captured. After securing the oilfields, on 22 December, the main Japanese forces moved westwards to Kuching. The Japanese airforce bombed Singkawang airfield to prevent a Dutch attack. After escorts drove off a lone Dutch submarine, the Japanese task force entered the mouth of the Santubong river on 23 December. The convoy arrived off Cape Sipang, and the troops in twenty transports, commanded by Colonel Akinosuke Oka, landed at 04:00 the next morning. The 2nd Battalion of the 15th Punjab Regiment, which was stationed in Kuching, was the sole Allied infantry unit on the entire island. Although they resisted the Japanese attack on the airfield, they were soon outnumbered and retreated up the Santubong river. At about 16:40 on 25 December, Japanese troops successfully captured Kuching airfield. The Punjab Regiment retreated through the jungle to the Singkawang area. After the Japanese secured Singkawang on 29 December, the rest of the British and Dutch troops retreated further into the jungle, moving to the south to try to reach Sampit and Pangkalanbun, where a Dutch airfield was located at Kotawaringin. On 31 December 1941, a force under Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe moved northward to occupy the remainder of Brunei, and Jesselton (now called Kota Kinabalu). Jesselton was defended by the North Borneo Armed Constabulary, with only 650 men. They hardly provided any resistance to slow down the Japanese invasion, and Jesselton was taken on 9 January. On 3 January 1942, the Japanese army invaded Labuan Island. On 18 January 1942, using small fishing boats, the Japanese landed at Sandakan, the seat of government of British North Borneo. On the morning of the 19 January, Governor Charles Robert Smith surrendered British North Borneo and was interned with other staff. The occupation of British Borneo was thus completed. Southern and central Borneo were taken by the Japanese Navy, following its attacks from east and west. After ten weeks in the jungle-covered mountains, Allied troops surrendered on 1 April 1942. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Japanese occupation of British Borneo」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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