Following the completion of the fighting in Syria, the 2/2nd Pioneers undertook training and garrison duties moving between several locations including Damour, Tripoli, Fort Legout, and then Qatana. In 1942, following Japan's entry into the war, the 2/2nd was ordered to return to Australia, embarking upon the troopship "Orcades". En route, they were diverted, however, along with other elements of the 7th Division to defend Java against the Japanese, landing there in late February 1942 and joining "Blackforce" under the command of Brigadier Arthur Blackburn. There, during the Netherlands East Indies campaign, the 2/2nd Pioneers took part in a brief, but bitter engagement before being ordered to surrender; a large number of the 2/2nd's personnel were captured – over 800 men – of whom 258 later died in captivity. Dispatched across south-east Asia, the men were used as forced labour on the Burma–Thailand railway, and in camps on Java and Borneo.