1941 1942 1942 The Invasion of Sumatra was the assault by Imperial Japanese forces on the Dutch East Indies that took place from 14 February to 28 March 1942.

However, these plans were revised on the 27 December, with airfields P1 (Pangkalanbenteng) and P2 (Praboemoelih) near Palembang selected as locations of the new headquarters to station an operational bomber relay.

As a countermove, the Allies began night raids against the Japanese lines on the Malay peninsula and provided air protection for refugee convoys from Singapore.

From there, eight transports departed on 9 February 1942, protected by a cruiser, four destroyers, five minesweepers and two submarine hunters under the command of Rear Admiral Shintarō Hashimoto to invade Bangka and Palembang.

The bulk of the invasion force followed on 11 February in thirteen transports which were accompanied by a heavy cruiser, a frigate, four destroyers and a submarine hunter.

The transports reached Singapore, and subsequently Allied refugee freighters which were on the move in the direction of Java and Sumatra were attacked by Japanese airplanes from the Ryūjō.

At 8 o'clock in the morning on 14 February the air-raid wardens warned Palembang of a big Japanese attack wave which was in flight to the town.

While the Japanese piled up vehicles to make road blocks small gun battles broke out with the defenders and some landed airplanes succeeded in refuelling.

After a false report of other Japanese parachute landings at about 25 kilometres of distance spread the British commander, H. G. Maguire, decided to evacuate the airfield and the town.

After a violent fight which continued the whole day, the defenders forced back the Japanese, but the refinery was heavily damaged by machine gun fire and was aflame.

Meanwhile, the escort fleet had sortied under Vice Admiral Ozawa to the north of Bangka to form a far-reaching cover screen for the Japanese landings which took place shortly afterward.

At this time Japanese reconnaissance planes sighted the ABDA fleet, under Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, at Gasperstrasse, aka Gaspar Strait, on a northerly course.

They sortied from there on 14 February hoping to intercept the Japanese invasion fleet north of Bangka Island after first having passed through the Gaspar Strait.

In the morning fog the Allied fighter aircraft made violent attacks against the Japanese who had just begun their landing at the mouth of the Musi.

On the night of 15 February Japanese units, which had survived the air raid at the Musi mouth, reached Palembang and relieved the paratroopers landed at P1 and the refinery.Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell was the Supreme Commander of ABDA.

[10] In the morning of 15 February Wavell arranged a regular retreat to the embarkation of his troops at Oosthaven where several small ships lay in the harbour.

Because the Japanese did not advance for the time being to Oosthaven, a task force went ashore there once again on 20 February to save airplane spare parts as well as to destroy the other usable facilities.

The Allied units remaining on Sumatra, primarily from the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL), withdrew into the middle and northern provinces of the island.

Dutch reinforcements from Padangpandjang were able to move up when heavy rains made the rivers all but impassable by running 27 feet over their flood gauges.

West Sumatra had to be left to the Japanese and only a small part of the north would be held with the available forces as long as possible, until a sea evacuation could be organised.

They withdrew into defensive positions at the south entrance of the Alice (Alas) valley where they planned to detain the Japanese as long as possible.

Yoshida Detachment had landed south of Idi with a single infantry battalion with orders to seize the Lantja and Pangkalan Brandan oilfields.