小澤治三郎
For Operation "L", the Japanese army had transported the 229th Infantry Regiment of the 38th Infantry Division from Hong Kong to Cam Ranh Bay in Indo-China. From there, eight transports departed on 9 February 1942, protected by a cruiser, four destroyers, five minesweepers and two submarine hunters under the command of Rear Admiral Shintarō Hashimoto to invade Bangka and Palembang. The next day Rear Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa followed with the Western Covering Fleet, consisting of the flagship cruiser with five other cruisers and three destroyers and an Air Group under the command of Rear Admiral Kakaji Kakuta consisting of the aircraft carrier and one destroyer. The bulk of the invasion force followed on 11 February in thirteen transports which were accompanied by a heavy cruiser, a frigate, four destroyers and a submarine hunter.