page_title: Battle of Tarakan (1945)
section_title: Mopping up
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Tarakan (1945) / Battle / Mopping up
caption_attribution_description: English: AWM Caption: Tarakan, Borneo. 1945. Disembarking on a remote section of Tarakan's coastline, one of many Indonesian patrols prepare to reconnoitre inland to clear the nearby country of Japanese stragglers. This patrol is part of the first combined AIF and Royal Netherlands Indies Army Forces attack on the Netherlands Indies.
context_page_description: The Battle of Tarakan was the first stage in the Borneo campaign of 1945. It began with an amphibious landing by Allied forces on 1 May, code-named Operation Oboe One; the Allied ground forces were drawn mainly from the Australian 26th Brigade, but included a small element of Netherlands East Indies personnel. The main objective of the landing was capture of the island's airfield. While the battle ended with success for the Allied forces over the Japanese defenders, this victory is generally regarded as having not justified its costs. The airfield was so heavily damaged that it ultimately could not be repaired in time to make it operational for other phases of the Allied campaign in Borneo.
context_section_description: Following the end of organised resistance the surviving Japanese on Tarakan split into small parties which headed to the north and east of the island. The 26th Brigade Group's main combat units were allocated sections of Tarakan which they swept for Japanese. Many Japanese attempted to cross the strait separating Tarakan from the mainland but were intercepted by Allied naval patrols. Allied troops also searched for Japanese on Bunyu Island, fifteen miles north-east of Tarakan.
  From the first week of July the surviving Japanese became short of food and attempted to return to their old positions in the centre of the island and raid Australian positions in search of food. As their hunger increased more Japanese surrendered. The Australian units continued to patrol in search of Japanese until the end of the war, with several Japanese being killed or surrendering each day. These operations cost the 26th Brigade Group a further 36 casualties between June 21 and August 15. Approximately 300 Japanese soldiers evaded the Allied patrols, and surrendered at the end of the war in mid-August.
caption: A joint Australian-NEI patrol in a remote part of Tarakan
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