Evening star., 1942-02-16
Jops Take Sumotro Oil Center:
Allied Planes Blast ? Cruisers,
5 Transports in Bang ko Strait
Dutch Apply Torch
Vast Fields
And installations

By the Associated Press.
BATAVIA, Netherlands Indies,
Feb. 16.-Savagely battered jap
anese troops captured Palem-
bang, rich oil center of Southern
Sumatra, today, but Allied planes
inflicted great devastation" on
the thousands of invaders, who
swept aside strong Dutch re-
SiStance.
Two Japanese cruisers and five
crowded transports were blasted
with direct bomb hits by American,
Dutch and British planes striking
in the Bangka Straits. One of the
cruisers was set afire.
The Japanese, following a para
chute invasion, continued to land
in force today.
Bombers and fighters OF the
United Nations took strong action
against Japanese ships on the Musi
River, where a beachhead was
established yesterday.
Torch Applied to Oil.
Anticipating the invasion of the
1000 mile long island, the Dutch
applied the torch yesterday to the
vast oil fields and installations
which supply half the East Indies
oil.
A black pail of smoke from fam
ing tanks of petroleum, reflneries,
docks and other buildings hung over
the battle areas. The damage, said
to be the greatest ever deliberately
inflicted by man on his own prop
erty, probably exceeded $100,000,000
and represented the overnight
destruction of decades of patient
building by the colonists.
The main force of the sea-borne
Japanese invasion seemed directed
from the huge squat island of
Borneo which lies to the northeast.
Borneo's rim has been occupied
almost completely by the japanese.
1t appeared possible that some
troops might also have been re-
leased from the battle of Singapore,
which fell to the japanese yesterday.
japanese planes far to the east
bombed a small place in New
Guinea for an hour, killing four
civilians and wounding five others. |
buildings and houses |
suffered great damage. Other |
enemy planes famed out on recon-
naissance and light bombardments |
of other sections of the equatorial |
islands.
Severe Fighting in Celebes.
Severe fighting continued un-
abated in Southern Celebes, the oc-
topus-like island to the east Of
Borneo.
In the narrow Celebes Peninsula
on which the major port of Macas-
sar was destroyed, japanese unit
was ambushed and lost two officers
and 80 to 40 men. The Dutch had
no casualties.
The seizure of Palembang pointed
another grave threat at the final
citadel of Java-richest island in
the 3,20O-mile- long archipelago and
seat of the supreme United Nations
command. Palembang is but 269
miles from the Indies capital, Ba-
tavia. and only 20 miles of water
the Strait of Sunda-separates Su-
matra from Java.
The occupation likewise imperiled
forces in Central and Northern
Sumatra. which was believed to be
fairly we'll garrisoned. The Japa-
nese apparently were striking for
control of two railways in the south
ern half of Sumatra, one across the
island to Lubocklingau and the
other south to Telok Betong,
jumping-of place for the drive on
Java.
But the greatest objective was the
vast oil fields, and the prompt de-
Struction by the Dutch thwarted |
the enemy, for six months at least, |
of the fuel needed to feed her fleet |
and planes. Sumatra also supplied
the United Nations with much OF |
this oil.
Allied Planes Aid Dutch.
Allied planes gave "an possible
to the grimly fighting
Dutch land forces, the United Ma
tions supreme command said. Trans
ports and barges used in landing on
the marshy waterfront and man
grove swamps were under continu- |
Gus bombardment and strafing.
Hurricane fighters and Blendheim
bombers of the r. A. F. made re-
peated low level attacks on the
barges. Some of the eight gun Hur-
ricanes made six separate attacks, |
only to refuel and reload |
their gun clips. They folded their
wings only when it was no longer
possible to land on the local air.
port-presumbaly occupied or de-
stroyed by the invaders.
Sumatra and Java form the final
island barrier screening the Indian
Ocean and the shores OF India,
Burma, Iran and the east coast OF
Africa. Control of the large island
of Sumatra would give the powerful
japanese fleet free access to that
ocean, where it's submarines already
have been active.
The bulk of the well-equipped
Dutch forces are centered in Java, |
(See INDIES, Page AID