Battle of Balikpapan ( 1942 ) " This article concerns the naval and land battles of Balikpapan in 1942 . For information on the 1945 landings by Australian forces in the same area , see Second Battle of Balikpapan . " The First Battle of Balikpapan took place on 23 – 24 January 1942 , off the major oil producing town and port of Balikpapan , on Borneo , in the Netherlands East Indies . After capturing the destroyed oilfield at Tarakan from the Allies in the Battle of Tarakan , the Japanese force — the Sakaguchi Detachment ( named for its commander , Major General Shizuo Sakaguchi ) - moved on to Balikpapan with the hope that the oilfields there had not been destroyed . Battle . Land engagement . The Dutch army in Balikpapan numbered approximately 1 , 100 troops , under the command of KNIL Lieutenant Colonel Cornelis van den Hoogenband . The city itself was protected by coast , anti - aircraft , and field batteries . The entrance of the harbor was protected by a minefield laid by the minelayer " Soemenep " under the command of Lt . T . Jellema . On the 18th , the Dutch commander ordered the destruction of oil installations in Balikpapan and started to evacuate his staff to Samarinda . However , the destruction was not complete ; the only serious damage was to tanks , pipes and special quays in the harbor area . On 22 January , the Japanese fleet was sighted moving south , and on the 24th formations of Dutch bombers attacked the convoy . Despite this , the Japanese unit successfully landed approximately southeast of Balikpapan airfield on the evening of the 24th . The assault unit landed without meeting enemy resistance and , by dawn , had occupied the airfield . The southward advance moved slowly as the bridges had been destroyed , and the unit reached the northern outskirts of Balikpapan City on the night of 25 January . The Dutch garrison troops had been withdrawn and the Japanese entered the city without a fight . A portion of the Sakaguchi Detachment called the Surprise Attack Unit proceeded up the river in camouflaged landing craft , evaded detection , and landed just south of the reservoir at 04 : 30 on the 25th . It proceeded to the village of Banoeabaroe , arriving there at 14 : 40 , thus cutting off the Dutch line of retreat . While the unit was advancing along the road to Balikpapan City , it ran into a Dutch military column , commanded by Lieutenant Colonel C . van den Hoogenband , attempting to escape from Balikpapan . After defeating this Dutch column , the Surprise Attack Unit proceeded to Balikpapan City . After Balikpapan was occupied , a new detachment was formed led by Lt . Col . Kume . He was ordered to secure and protect the oil fields . The main force moved forward along the Balikpapan City - Samboaja - Sangasanga - Samarinda - Road , mopping up the remaining Dutch troops in the vicinity of Samarinda . Naval Engagement . In the afternoon of 23 January , nine Dutch Martin B - 10 bombers — escorted by 20 Brewster Buffaloes from 2 - VLG - V and 3 - VLG - V — attacked the Japanese convoy . The transport ship " Tatsugami Maru " was damaged and " Nana Maru " sank . Near Balikpapan , the Dutch submarine under Lieutenant Commander van Well Groeneveld , attacked and sank the transport " Tsuruga Maru " and reportedly damaged the patrol boat " P - 37 " by midnight . While the Japanese invasion force was landing at Balikpapan , on the early morning of 24 January , at around 02 : 45 , the 59th U . S . Navy Destroyer Division under Rear Admiral William A . Glassford and Commander Paul H . Talbot attacked the Japanese navy escort led by Rear Admiral Shoji Nishimura for about four hours . The U . S . Destroyer Division composed of , , and attacked the 12 transport ships and three patrol boats escorting them . The Japanese destroyer escorts were undertaking a search for a Dutch submarine which had been sighted earlier . At least four transport ships — " Kuretake Maru " , " Nana Maru " , " Sumanoura Maru " and " Tatsukami Maru " — and patrol boat " P - 37 " were sunk in torpedo attacks . Two other transports were damaged by gunfire or torpedoes . The battle was the first surface engagement in southeast Asia that the U . S . Navy had participated in since the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 . The American destroyers expended all of their torpedoes with only a few hits , mostly because the as yet unrealized problems with the Mark 15 torpedo running too deep . Because the landing had taken place around 21 : 30 , the raid was too late to stop the capture of Balikpapan . Aftermath . The attack on Banjarmasin was done by concentrating the land force under Colonel Kyohei Yamamoto with a sea borne force under Captain Yoshibumi Okamoto from the 146th Infantry Regiment . The land force started to move on 30 January while the sea force had sailed on 27 January . Although the land force had to cross the dense jungle and faced tropical heat and rain , they quickly occupied the small towns of Moera Oeja , Bongkang , Tandjoeng , Amoentai , Barabai , Kandangan and Rantau . The sea force moved only at night and launched a surprise attack at Kotabaru on Laut island . After occupying Martapura airfield , on 10 February , Banjarmasin was captured without a fight . The Dutch unit under the command of Lt . Col . Henry Halkema had retreated to defend Kotawaringin airfield in central Borneo . Balikpapan remained under Japanese control until July 1945 , when the Japanese force was defeated by Australian troops in the 1945 Battle of Balikpapan .