Battle of Palembang The Battle of Palembang was a battle of the Pacific theatre of World War II . It occurred near Palembang , on Sumatra , on 13 – 15 February 1942 . The Royal Dutch Shell oil refineries at nearby Pladju ( or Pladjoe ) were the major objectives for the Empire of Japan in the Pacific War , because of an oil embargo imposed on Japan by the United States , the Netherlands , and the United Kingdom . With the area ' s abundant fuel supply and airfield , Palembang offered significant potential as a military base to both the Allies and the Japanese . Prelude . In January , the American - British - Dutch - Australian Command ( ABDACOM ) decided to concentrate Allied air forces in Sumatra at two airfields near Palembang : Pangkalan Benteng , also known as " P1 " and a secret air base at Prabumulih ( Praboemoelih ) , or " P2 " . The British Royal Air Force created No . 225 ( Bomber ) Group at Palembang . It included two Royal Australian Air Force squadrons and a large number of Australians serving with British squadrons . The group could only muster 40 Bristol Blenheim bombers and 35 Lockheed Hudson light bombers . The Blenheims had flown from the Middle East and Egypt , where they were considered too old to cope with newer German and Italian fighters . ( A handful of United States Far East Air Force B - 17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers also operated out of Palembang briefly in January , but these were withdrawn to Java and Australia before the battle commenced . ) No . 226 ( Fighter ) Group RAF also arrived at Palembang in early February : two squadrons of Hawker Hurricane s transported to Sumatra by the aircraft carrier . They were joined by the remnants of British , Australian and Royal New Zealand Air Force Hurricane and Brewster Buffalo squadrons , which had both inflicted and suffered heavy losses in intense air battles over the Malayan and Singapore campaigns . The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( KNIL ) South Sumatra Island Territorial Command , its command in the Palembang area , consisted of about 2 , 000 troops under Lieutenant Colonel L . N . W . Vogelesang : the South Sumatra Garrison Battalion and a " Stadswacht " / " Landstorm " ( " home guard / reserve " ) infantry company in Palembang , a " Stadswacht " / " Landstorm " infantry company in Jambi ( Djambi ) , as well as various artillery and machine gun units . ( KNIL units in other parts of Sumatra lacked mobility and played no part in the fighting . ) The Royal Netherlands Navy was represented by the minelayer " Pro Patria " and the patrol boats " P - 38 " and " P - 40 " on the Musi river . Battle . Airborne attack . While the Allied planes attacked the Japanese ships on 13 February , Kawasaki Ki - 56 transport planes of the 1st , 2nd and 3rd " Chutai " , Imperial Japanese Army Air Force ( IJAAF ) , dropped " Teishin Shudan " ( Raiding Group ) paratrooper s over Pangkalan Benteng airfield . At the same time Mitsubishi Ki - 21 bombers from the 98th " Sentai " dropped supplies for paratroopers . The formation was escorted by a large force of Nakajima Ki - 43 fighters from the 59th and 64th " Sentai " . As many as 180 men from the Japanese 2nd Parachute Regiment , under Colonel Seiichi Kume , dropped between Palembang and Pangkalan Benteng , and more than 90 men came down west of the refineries at Pladjoe . Although the Japanese paratroopers failed to capture the Pangkalan Benteng airfield , at the Pladjoe oil refinery they managed to gain possession of the entire complex , which was undamaged . A makeshift counter - attack by " Landstorm " troops and anti - aircraft gunners from Praboemoelih managed to retake the complex but took heavy losses . The planned demolition failed to do any serious damage to the refinery , but the oil stores were set ablaze . Two hours after the first drop , another 60 Japanese paratroopers were dropped near Pangkalan Benteng airfield . On 14 February , the surviving Japanese paratroopers advanced to the Musi , Salang and Telang rivers , near Palembang . Amphibious assault . The main Japanese invasion force , an amphibious assault fleet under Vice - Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa of the Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ) , was on its way from Cam Ranh Bay in French Indochina . It was made up of the Imperial Japanese Army ' s 229th Infantry Regiment and one battalion from the 230th Infantry Regiment . A small advance party set out eight transports escorted by the light cruiser " Sendai " and four destroyers . The main force followed in 14 transports , escorted by the heavy cruiser " Chokai " and four destroyers . The covering force included the aircraft carrier " Ryujo " , four heavy cruisers , one light cruiser and three destroyers . Additional air cover was provided by land - based IJN planes and the IJAAF 3rd Air Division . On the morning of 13 February , a river boat commandeered by the British Royal Navy , HMS " Li Wo " — under Lieutenant Thomas Wilkinson — ferrying personnel and equipment between Singapore and the Dutch East Indies , ran into the Japanese fleet . Although " Li Wo " was armed only with a 4 - inch ( 100 mm ) gun and two machineguns , its crew fired at the Japanese troop transport ships , setting one on fire and damaging several others , while under fire from the Japanese cruisers . This action continued for 90 minutes until the " Li Wo " ran out of ammunition . Wilkinson then ordered the ramming of the nearest transport , before his ship was destroyed by Japanese fire . Wilkinson received a posthumous Victoria Cross ( VC ) , the highest award for gallantry in the British Commonwealth , and the only VC awarded in the Dutch East Indies campaign . On 15 February , an ABDA naval force of five cruisers , HNLMS " De Ruyter " , HNLMS " Java " and HNLMS " Tromp " , , HMAS " Hobart " and 10 destroyers , under Admiral Karel Doorman , made an abortive attempt to intercept the Japanese force . Planes from " Ryujo " and land - based aircraft made a series of attacks on the Allied ships , forcing them to withdraw to the south of Sumatra . As the Japanese landing force approached Sumatra . The remaining Allied aircraft attacked it , and the Japanese transport ship " Otawa Maru " was sunk . Hurricanes flew up the rivers , machine - gunning Japanese landing craft . However , on the afternoon of 15 February , all Allied aircraft were ordered to Java , where a major Japanese attack was anticipated , and the Allied air units had withdrawn from southern Sumatra by the evening of 16 February 1942 . Other personnel were evacuated via Oosthaven ( now Bandar Lampung ) by ships to Java or India . References .