page_title: Battle of Balikpapan (1945)
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Balikpapan (1945) / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: Infantrymen of the 2/10th Aust Infantry Battalion advancing behind a Matilda Frog Flamethrower tank alongn a jungle track at Battle of Balikpapan Français&#160;: Des fantassins du 2 / 10ème bataillon d'infanterie Aust avancent derrière un char de lance-flammes Matilda Frog le long d'une piste de la jungle à la bataille de Balikpapan
context_page_description: The Battle of Balikpapan was the concluding stage of Operation Oboe, the campaign to liberate Japanese-held British and Dutch Borneo. The landings took place on 1 July 1945. The Australian 7th Division, composed of the 18th, 21st and 25th Infantry Brigades, with a small number of Netherlands East Indies KNIL troops, made an amphibious landing, codenamed Operation Oboe Two, a few miles north of Balikpapan. The Allied invasion fleet consisted of around 100 ships. The landing had been preceded by heavy bombing and shelling by Australian and US air and naval forces. The Allied force totalled 33,000 personnel and was commanded by Major General Edward Milford, while the Japanese force, commanded by Rear Admiral Michiaki Kamada, numbered between 8,400 and 10,000, of which between 3,100 and 3,900 were combatants. After the initial landing, the Allies secured the town and its port, and then advanced along the coast and into the hinterland, capturing the two Japanese airfields. Major combat operations concluded around 21 July, but were followed by mopping-up operations, which lasted until the end of the war in mid-August. Australian troops remained in the area until early 1946.
context_section_description: The Allied fleet, consisting of over 100 mainly US and Australian ships began forming around Morotai Island on 17 June. After landing rehearsals were conducted, the fleet departed the area in the afternoon of 26 June, traversing the Strait of Macassar. On 29 June, the faster naval ships that were to carry out the pre-landing bombardment detached themselves from the convoy. Meanwhile, US underwater demolition teams worked create gaps in the off shore obstacles; this work was carried out under heavy fire. Several of the supporting Allied vessels were damaged and the operations were concluded without completely clearing the obstacles from the central landing beach, which was designated Yellow Beach. In total about 3,300 feet (1,000 m) of the landing beach was cleared, while 2,460 feet (750 m) of neighbouring beaches were also cleared as part of deception operations. Early on 1 July, the convoy reached the assembly area about 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Klandasan, after which a heavy naval and aerial bombardment concentrated on the beaches around Klandasan; a total of 63 Liberator bombers as well as five cruisers and 14 destroyers were committed to this action. A total of 17,250 shells were expended by the naval bombardment group in this effort.
  Meanwhile, the assault troops aboard nine tank landing ships (LSTs) made for the transport area where they were transferred to smaller landing craft, including Alligator tracked landing vehicles (LVTs), DUKWs and LCVPs. These craft were crewed by US personnel, mainly from the 672nd and 727th Amphibian Tractor Battalions and the 593rd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment. Under the cover of the bombardment they began their run to the shore in several waves. When they were 1,300 yards (1,200 m) from the shore, the naval bombardment ceased. The ramps came down on the landing craft as they hit the beaches just before 9:00 am. The landing was carried out on a two-brigade front. The 18th Brigade's 2/10th and 2/12th Battalions landed on the left at Red and Yellow Beaches, while the 21st Brigade's 2/27th Battalion landed on the right at Green Beach. The division's third brigade remained embarked initially to act as a floating reserve. The assaulting troops were landed at the wrong place due to obscuration of key features ashore as a result of the pre-landing bombardment, and a failure to clear all of the beach obstacles. As a result two of the three assault battalions landed too far left, and troops from each battalion became mixed up with others, causing some confusion. Despite this, the landing was opposed only by a small volume of fire, and within 15 to 20 minutes the assault troops had established a beachhead. The landing force suffered no casualties during this first part of the operation.
  After the beach maintenance area was secured, the 18th Brigade was tasked with capturing the high features north of Klandasan, which blocked the advance towards Balikpapan town, while the 21st Brigade was tasked with advancing along the coast road to capture the airfields at Sepinggang and Manggar. During the fighting around Klandasan, the 2/10th Battalion attacked a feature dubbed Parramatta Ridge, which was strongly fortified with pillboxes, tunnels, land mines and booby traps. Due to a last minute diversion and communications issues, the battalion's fire support was unavailable, and the tanks that had been assigned to support them broke down, nevertheless the battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Daly, pressed home the attack despite likely heavy casualties. The initial infantry assault on Hill 87 was launched throughout the morning, and stalled as Japanese resistance grew; the Australians became pinned below the summit and just before noon, two supporting tanks from the 1st Armoured Regiment came forward, suppressing Japanese fire and assisting the infantry to capture the position by 12:40 pm. After this, the indirect fire support, except for the divisional machine guns, was restored. Japanese fire from neighbouring positions was suppressed, enabling a company assault on the final o
caption: Advance by a Matilda Frog (flame-thrower) tank of the Australian 4th Armoured Brigade in support of soldiers of the Australian 2/10th Infantry Battalion[68]
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