Battle of Borneo

For campaigns on eastern Borneo, see Battle of Tarakan (1942) and Battle of Balikpapan (1942). The Battle of Borneo was a successful campaign by Japanese Imperial forces for control of Borneo island and concentrated mainly with the subjugation of Kingdom of Sarawak, North Borneo and western part of Kalimantan occupied by Dutch East Indies. The Japanese main unit for this mission was the 35th Infantry Brigade led by Major-General Kiyotake Kawaguch... more

For campaigns on eastern Borneo, see Battle of Tarakan (1942) and Battle of Balikpapan (1942). The Battle of Borneo was a successful campaign by Japanese Imperial forces for control of Borneo island and concentrated mainly with the subjugation of Kingdom of Sarawak, North Borneo and western part of Kalimantan occupied by Dutch East Indies. The Japanese main unit for this mission was the 35th Infantry Brigade led by Major-General Kiyotake Kawaguchi. In 1941, Borneo was divided between the Dutch East Indies and British protectorates (North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei) and crown colonies (Labuan). The so-called "White Rajahs", the Brooke family, had ruled Sarawak, on the northwest of Borneo, for over a century, first as Rajahs under the Sultanate of Brunei (a tiny but once powerful state entirely enclosed within the borders of Sarawak), and from 1888 as a protectorate of the British Empire. The Northeast of the island comprised North Borneo, since 1882 another British protectorate under... less