Battle of Tjiater Pass

Battle of Tjiater Pass
Part of Battle of Java in the Dutch East Indies campaign
A Dutch pillbox at Tjiater pass
Date 5–7 March 1942 Location Tjiater Pass, West Java Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
Netherlands  Dutch East Indies  United Kingdom	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Jacob Pesman  W.J. de Veer †	Toshinari Shōji
Units involved
KNIL Royal Air Force	16th Army 3rd Air Division
Strength
9,000 27 aircraft	3,000 39 aircraft

The Battle of Tjiater Pass occurred between 5 and 7 March 1942 during the Dutch East Indies campaign between invading Japanese forces and the Dutch colonial forces, supported by warplanes from the Royal Air Force. It was fought over control of the Tjiater Pass (now Ciater, part of Subang Regency), as part of an attempted defense of the city of Bandung.

Following Dutch withdrawal from most urban centers in Java in the aftermath of Japanese landings and the loss of the Kalijati airfield, remaining units of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) established a defensive perimeter in the mountain passes around Bandung in the hopes of regrouping with retreating KNIL and Australian units abandoning Batavia and Buitenzorg. Despite the Japanese forces, led by Colonel Toshinari Shōji, being numerically inferior, they opted to launch an attack on the spread-out Dutch forces in order to prevent a possible counterattack.

Benefiting from air superiority and better training than their KNIL counterparts, Japanese soldiers successfully stormed and captured the undermanned defensive positions guarding the pass after three days of fighting, securing their path to Bandung after capturing the town of Lembang. Dutch forces, on the other hand, were demoralized by constant air raids and the intensive fighting. Wishing to avoid combat in Bandung, Dutch forces surrendered shortly after the battle. This led to the eventual capitulation of the entirety of the Dutch East Indies to Japan.