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Plaju refinery, Palembang, 14th February 1942

Japan’s conquest of the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) depended heavily on securing the vast natural resources of the archipelago. Near Palembang, capital of South Sumatra, was an Allied airfield (‘P1’) as well as two oil refineries – Plaju and Sungei Gerong – which processed a third of all oil production in the Indies. Each…

Road ambush at Bakri, 18th January 1942

By mid-January 1942, the relentless Japanese advance across Malaya had forced British and Commonwealth forces to withdraw to Johore in the south of the country. It was here that one of the few local victories against the Japanese came on 18th January. At dawn, the Imperial Guards Division advanced down the road towards the town…

Air attack on Repulse, 10th December 1941

In early-December 1941, Force Z arrived in Singapore to reinforce the British position in the Far East and deter Japanese aggression. Commanded by Admiral Tom Phillips, it consisted of two capital ships (HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse) and four destroyers. Small and unbalanced, Force Z failed to deter the invasion of British Malaya on…

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