The Battle of Kalijati was a battle which occurred between 1 and 3 March 1942 during the Dutch East Indies campaign between invading Japanese forces and the Dutch colonial forces. It was fought over control of the Kalijati Airfield in Subang.
Following their unexpected landing, Japanese forces commanded by Toshinari Shōji moved rapidly and seized the airfield on the same day it landed before the Dutch command could deploy reinforcements. The following day, Dutch forces launched a counterattack in an attempt to retake the airfield, which nearly succeeded but eventually failed. The second, larger Dutch counterattack on 3 March was intercepted by Japanese air support which successfully prevented the majority of the Dutch units from launching the assault, forcing a Dutch retreat back to Bandung.
Prelude
During the Dutch East Indies campaign, following the Japanese capture of cities and islands outside Java (e.g. Tarakan, Balikpapan and Palembang), the Japanese command began preparations for the invasion of Java, which would involve the Sixteenth Army. As part of the Japanese planning, a key objective was determined: the Kalijati Airfield close to Java's north coast, which was to be taken despite of risks involved. Part of Java's invasion force (the 2nd Division and elements of the 38th Division) were assembled at Cam Ranh Bay to land in West Java, while the 48th Division was designated to land in East Java after moving through the Makassar Strait.
On 27 February 1942, the Allies attempted to intercept the Japanese invasion fleet using the available naval assets in the region, but failed and suffered heavy losses.
Forces and landings
Early on 1 March, at around 2 AM, Japanese forces numbering around 23,500 in total began landing on multiple locations on Java, including one force assigned to Eretan Wetan (today in Indramayu Regency). The landing at Eretan Wetan, commanded by Colonel Toshinari Shōji, was directly targeted at Bandung, which housed the military and political headquarters of the Dutch and Allies in Java. The Allied air force (mainly Royal Air Force warplanes) launched nighttime raids on the landing Japanese, but to little impact due to the poor weather conditions - Japanese Navy sources noted some injuries but commented that the attacks did not hinder the landings. Later on, however, another air attack around daybreak caused around 100 casualties in the Shōji detachment.
The Japanese had selected Eretan Wetan as a landing point as it was the landing point closest to roads, allowing a speedy deployment of motor vehicles for a fast assault on Kalijati. Dutch command did not station any personnel near Eretan, however, as they did not expect a landing there due to personnel shortages and seasonal high tides in the area. Coincidentally, the Shōji had not been equipped for combat during landing as they had also expected that their landings would be unopposed.
Shōji's unit was based on a core of the 230th Regiment of the 38th Division, with supporting units numbering roughly 3,000 men in total. The detachment was further subdivided into two "assault groups" and a covering group, with one of the assault groups (numbering around 1,200 men) under one Major Shichiro Wakamatsu being tasked with capturing the Kalijati Airfield. The Kalijati airfield itself, distance from Eretan Wetan, was initially defended by a single KNIL company of 180 men under Lt. Col. J.J. Zomer, and was later replaced by 170 British personnel (including Army and RAF units) which arrived at night on 28 February as the KNIL soldiers instead took up defensive positions some distance away from the airfield itself, or held in reserve. In total, including anti-air gunners already stationed at Kalidjati, there were 350 British troops there. In the morning of 1 March, once the garrison was informed of the Japanese landings, the pilots of the RAF warplanes were ordered to move to Andir airfield in Bandung.