Commando News Australia Edition 14 2018

THE BATTLE OF TIMOR
FEBRUARY 1942 – FEBRUARY 1943
2 nd /2 nd & 2 nd /4 th Independent Commando Company’s
The Battle of Timor occurred in Portuguese
Timor and Dutch Timor during the Second
World War. Japanese forces invaded the
island on 20 February 1942 and were resisted by a
small, under-equipped force of Allied military
personnel—known as Sparrow Force—predominantly
from Australia, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands
East Indies. Following a brief but stout resistance, the
Japanese succeeded in forcing the surrender of the
bulk of the Allied force after three days of fighting,
although several hundred Australian commandos from
the 2 nd /2 nd Independent Commando Company (2/2)
continued to wage an unconventional raiding cam -
paign. They were resupplied by aircraft and vessels,
based mostly in Darwin, Australia, about 650 km (400
mi) to the southeast, across the Timor Sea. During the
subsequent fighting the Japanese suffered heavy
casualties, but they were eventually able to contain the
Australians.
The campaign lasted until 10 February 1943, when
the final remaining Australians were evacuated, making
them the last Allied land forces to leave South East Asia
following the Japanese offensives of 1941–42. As a
result, an entire Japanese division was tied up on Timor
for more than six months, preventing its deployment
elsewhere. Although Portugal was not a combatant,
many East Timorese civilians and Portuguese European
colonists fought with the Allies, or provided them with
food, shelter and other assistance. Some Timorese
continued a resistance campaign following the
Australian withdrawal. For this, they paid a heavy price
and tens of thousands of Timorese civilians died as a
result of the Japanese occupation, which lasted until
the end of the war in 1945.
Background
By late-1941, the island of Timor was divided
politically between two colonial powers: the Portu -
guese in the east with a capital at Dili, and the Dutch in
the west with an administrative centre at Kupang. A
Portuguese enclave at Ocussi was also within the Dutch
area. The Dutch defence included a force of 500 troops
centered on Kupang, while the Portuguese force at Dili
numbered just 150. In February, the Australian and
Dutch governments had agreed that in the event
Japan entered the Second World War on the Axis side,
Australia would provide aircraft and troops to reinforce
Dutch Timor. Portugal—under pressure from Japan—
maintained its neutrality. As such, following the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a small Australian
force—known as Sparrow Force—arrived at Kupang on
12 December 1941. Meanwhile, two similar forces,
known as Gull Force and Lark Force, were sent by the
Australians to reinforce Ambon and Rabaul.
Sparrow Force was initially commanded by
Lieutenant Colonel William Leggatt, and included the
2/40 th Battalion, a Commando unit the 2/2 under Major
Alexander Spence, and a battery of coastal artillery.
There were in total around 1,400 men. The force
reinforced Royal Netherlands East Indies Army troops
under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nico van
Straten, including the Timor and Dependencies Gar -
rison Battalion, a company from the VIII Infantry
Battalion, a reserve infantry company, a machine-gun
platoon from the XIII Infantry Battalion and an artillery
battery. Air support consisted of 12 Lockheed Hudson
light bombers of No. 2 Squadron, Royal Australian Air
Force (RAAF). Sparrow Force was initially deployed
around Kupang, and the strategic airfield of Penfui in
the south-west corner of the island, although other
units were based at Klapalima, Usapa Besar and Babau,
while a supply base was also established further east at
Champlong.
Up to this point, the government of Portugal had
declined to co-operate with the Allies, relying on its
claim of neutrality and plans to send an 800-strong
force from Mozambique to defend the territory in the
event of any Japanese invasion. However, this refusal
left the Allied flank severely exposed, and a 400-man
combined Dutch-Australian force subsequently
occupied Portuguese Timor on 17 December. In
response, the Portuguese Prime-Minister, António de
Oliveira Salazar, protested to the Allied governments,
while the governor of Portuguese Timor declared
himself a prisoner in order to preserve the appearance
of neutrality. No resistance was offered by the small
Portuguese garrison; however, and the local authorities
tacitly co-operated, while the population itself
generally welcomed the Allied force. Most of the Dutch
troops and the whole of the 2/2 were subsequently
transferred to Portuguese Timor and distributed in
small detachments around the territory.
The Portuguese and the British governments
reached an agreement that established the withdrawal
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