Battle of Christmas Island
| Battle of Christmas Island | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Indian Ocean theatre and Pacific Theatre of World War II | |||||||||
 Christmas Island | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
.svg.png){kind=small} United States United Kingdom India |
.svg.png){kind=small} Japan | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| unknown |
 Shōji Nishimura | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
Land: 32 infantry Sea: 1 submarine |
Land: 850 infantry Sea: 3 light cruisers 8 destroyers 1 oiler 2 troop transports Air: unknown aircraft | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 27 captured | 1 light cruiser damaged | ||||||||
| |||||||||
The Battle of Christmas Island was a small engagement which began on 31 March 1942, during World War II. Because of a mutiny by Indian soldiers against their British officers, Japanese troops were able to occupy Christmas Island without any resistance. The United States Navy submarine Seawolf caused severe damage to the Japanese cruiser Naka.
Background
At the time, Christmas Island was a British possession under administrative control of the Straits Settlement, situated 161 nmi (185 mi; 298 km) south of Java. It was important for two reasons: it was a perfect control post for the east Indian Ocean and it was an important source of phosphates,[1] which were needed by Japanese industry.
After the occupation of Java, Japanese Imperial General Headquarters issued orders for "Operation X" (the invasion and occupation of Christmas Island) on 14 March 1942.[1]
Rear Admiral Shōji Nishimura was assigned to command the Second Southern Expeditionary Fleet's Occupation Force, with the light cruiser Naka as his flagship. The fleet also consisted of the light cruisers Nagara and Natori, and destroyers Minegumo, Natsugumo, Amatsukaze, Hatsukaze, Satsuki, Minazuki, Fumizuki and Nagatsuki, oiler Akebono Maru and transports Kimishima Maru and Kumagawa Maru, with 850 men of the 21st and 24th special base forces and the 102nd Construction Unit.[1]
Opposing this invasion force was a 6 in (150 mm) gun that had been built in 1900 and had been mounted on Christmas Island in 1940. The British garrison—a detachment of the Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery—numbered 32 troops. They were led by a British officer, Captain L. W. T. Williams. Williams' force consisted of an Indian officer, Subadar Muzaffar Khan; 27 Punjabi Indian gunners and NCOs; and four British NCOs.[2]
A group of Punjabi troops, apparently believing Japanese propaganda concerning the liberation of India from British rule, and probably acting with the tacit support of some or all of the local Sikh police officers, mutinied. On 11 March, they shot and killed Williams and the four British NCOs and tossed their bodies into the sea.[2] They then locked up the district officer and the few other European inhabitants of the island pending an execution that apparently was thwarted by the Japanese occupation.[1][3]
Battle
At dawn on 31 March 1942, a dozen Japanese bombers launched the attack, destroying the radio station, which stood roughly where the post office is today. Fragments of bombs dropped were still being found into the 1980s in the Post Office Padang. Because of the mutiny, the Japanese expeditionary corps was able to disembark at Flying Fish Cove without opposition.
At 09:49 the same morning, the American submarine USS Seawolf fired four torpedoes at the Naka; all missed. Seawolf attacked again at 06:50 the following morning, firing three torpedoes at Natori, missing again. That evening, with her final two torpedoes, from 1,100 yd (1,000 m),[4] Seawolf managed to hit Naka on her starboard side, near her No.1 boiler.[5] The damage was severe enough that Naka had to be towed back to Singapore by Natori, and eventually was forced to return to Japan for a year of repairs. Following the hit, the other Japanese vessels depth charged the American submarine for over nine hours but it escaped.[6]
Natori returned to Christmas Island and withdrew all elements of the occupation force, with the exception of a 20-man garrison detachment, to Banten Bay, Indonesia, on 3 April 1942. The Japanese gained phosphate rock which was loaded on the transport ships.[1]
Aftermath
After the war, seven Punjabi mutineers were traced and court-martialled in Singapore. The first six to be identified and tried were convicted on 13 March 1947. Five were sentenced to death, and one was sentenced to two years' imprisonment and discharge with ignominy. King George VI confirmed the death sentences on 13 August 1947. British rule in India ended shortly afterward, with India gaining independence and Pakistan being created before the executions could be carried out, and thus diplomatic issues had to be taken into account. In October 1947, a seventh mutineer was identified. He was also court-martialled and sentenced to death. An eighth soldier was identified as a participant in the mutiny but was never caught. On 8 December 1947, the death sentences were commuted to penal servitude for life after the governments of India and Pakistan made representations. After further arguments between Britain and Pakistan over where the sentences should be served, with the British demanding they serve nine years, the six prisoners were transferred to Pakistan in June 1955, after which the British government ended its interest in the case.[1][2]
See also
References
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Klemen, L (1999–2000). "The Mystery of Christmas Island, March 1942". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942.
- 1 2 3 A Tale of Two Mutinies
- ↑ Woodmore, Christmas Island Explorer's Guide
- ↑ Blair Clay Jr. (1976). 'Silent Victory: The U. S. Submarine War Against Japan. New York: Bantam. pp. 190–191. ISBN 9780553010503.
- ↑ Parshall,
- ↑ Tameichi Hara; Roger Pineau (14 June 2013). Fred Saito, ed. Japanese Destroyer Captain. Naval Institute Press. p. 191. ISBN 9781612513744.
Books
- Gill, G. Hermon (1968). Volume II – Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 20 November 2006. "On 31st March an enemy force comprising three light cruisers, four destroyers and two transports made an unopposed landing at Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island."
- Woodmore, F.P. (1996). Christmas Island Explorer's Guide. Christmas Island: Lone Island Publications. ISBN 0-646-24998-3.- See pp. 28–29, and 111. A traveler's guide to the island, with notes about the island's history (and directions to the old 6" gun position where a memorial to the slain soldiers exists).
- Hara, Tameichi (1961). Japanese Destroyer Captain. New York & Toronto: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-27894-1.- Brief, first-hand account of the battle by the captain of the Japanese destroyer Amatsukaze. He personally witnessed the torpedo hit the Naka.
Coordinates: 10°29′S 105°38′E / 10.483°S 105.633°E