Battle of Timor

Battle of Timor
Part of the Dutch East Indies campaign
An Australian commando, possibly Sergeant Bill Tomasetti of the 2/2nd Independent Company, in typical mountain terrain on Timor, on 12 December 1942. (Photograph by Damien Parer.)
Date 19 February 1942 – 10 February 1943 (11 months, 3 weeks and 1 day) Location Timor Result Japanese victory Territorial changes Occupation of Dutch Timor and Portuguese Timor
Belligerents
Allies:  Netherlands  Dutch East Indies  United Kingdom  Australia  United States  Portuguese Timor	Japan Black Columns Javanese volunteers
Commanders and leaders
William Leggatt William Veale Alexander Spence Bernard Callinan Douglas MacArthur Nico van Straten [nl] Dom Aleixo  Manuel de Jesus Pires	Sadashichi Doi (invasion) Yuitsu Tsuchihashi (later campaign)
Strength
~ 2,050 strong garrison (peak February 1942) ~ 1,000 commandos (peak October 1942)	~ 12,000 (peak late 1942)
Casualties and losses
Netherlands: ~ 300 dead Australia: 151 dead (Sparrow Force) Portuguese Timor: ~ 75 dead United Kingdom: 5 dead (The Sparrows)[1]	~ 4,000 dead (West & East Timor)
40,000–70,000 civilians dead[1]

The Battle of Timor occurred in Portuguese Timor and Dutch Timor during the Second World War. Japanese forces invaded the island on 19 February 1942 and were resisted by a small, under-equipped force of Allied military personnel—known as Sparrow Force—predominantly from Australia, United Kingdom, and the Dutch East Indies. Following a brief but stout resistance, the Japanese succeeded in forcing the surrender of the bulk of the Allied force after three days of fighting, although several hundred Australian commandos continued to wage an unconventional raiding campaign. They were resupplied by aircraft and vessels, based mostly in Darwin, Australia, about 650 km (400 mi) to the southeast, across the Timor Sea. During the subsequent fighting, the Japanese suffered heavy casualties, but they were eventually able to contain the Australians.

The campaign lasted until 10 February 1943, when the final remaining Australians were evacuated, making them the last Allied land forces to leave Southeast Asia following the Japanese offensives of 1941–1942. As a result, an entire Japanese division was tied up on Timor for more than six months, preventing its deployment elsewhere. Although Portugal was not a combatant, many Timorese and European Portuguese civilians fought with the Allies or provided them with food, shelter and other assistance. Some Timorese continued a resistance campaign following the Australian withdrawal. For this, they paid a heavy price and tens of thousands of Timorese civilians died as a result of the Japanese occupation, which lasted until the end of the war in 1945.