Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

Discussions on all aspects of the Japanese Empire, from the capture of Taiwan until the end of the Second World War.
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tigre
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Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#1

Post by tigre » 08 Jun 2008, 15:01

Hello to all :D; just a short view on this interesting topic.........................................

Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

THE first part of the war in the Far East was characterized by the speed and extension of the Japanese conquests in Southeast Asia. In less than four months they occupied an area of about three milion square kilometers, inhabited by 730 million people, thanks to an audacious strategy tying closely the sea transport f relatively reduced ground forces—11 divisions-with an air offensive performed by 1,200 planes. Due to the limitations in technical development of air transport at that time, Japanese airborne operations were only a very minor contribution. Nevertheless, it is of historical interest to have an accurate, although general, idea of these little-known enterprises. They can provide useful lessons for the future.

The Japanese armed forces began organizing and training airborne units at the end of 1940 with the aid of German specialists. The army and navy were interested, but the small number and reduced load capability of transport planes limited the possibilities of combat employment. Maneuvers were held in June 1941 at which time three types of actions were tested. Two sabotage platoons were dropped in enemy rear areas; parachute landings were executed by a small company, supported by fighter planes, to clear an airstrip for an air-landed battalion; and a reinforced company was dropped to seize an important geographical feature.

Task Forces Organization.

At the end of 1941 two different types of organizations were set up. One, organized by the army, was a paratrooper brigade consisting ,of a paratrooper regiment of three rifle and one machinegun companies, one organic regiment of Mitsubishi 112 transport planes, and command, signal, and engineer platoons. The other, organized by the navy, was a “special naval landing force,” constituted by a paratrooper battalion of three rifle companies. Armament was very rich in automatic weapons and radio sets. The rifle company of 190 men was equipped with 90 automatic rifles, 18 antitank rifles, 12 machineguns, and 19 radio sets. Collapsible bicycles, also dropped by parachute, constituted a simple and sturdy means of transportation.

Japanese Strategic Plan.

The basic aim of the Japanese strategy was to conquer rapidly the economically and demographically important areas of Southeast Asia in order to have the Allies accept the fact or, eventually, to be able to defend these areas against Allied attack. To achieve that objective it was necessary first to eliminate the American Fleet in Hawaii by a surprise attack. Then the subordinate elements of Army Group South would, by closely coordinated amphibious operations, take over their assigned zone objectives as follows:

• The Philippines—the 14th Army with two and one-half divisions from Taiwan
and the Ryukyu Islands.

• Thailand and Burma—the 15th Army with two divisions from Indochina.

• Malaya—the 25th Army with four divisions from Indochina, Hainan, and Canton.


• The Dutch Indies—the 16th Army with two and one-half divisions from Taiwan and the Palau Islands.

The execution of such a complicated plan was favored by various factors including six million tons of Japanese commercial shipping; the clever and well executed cooperation of army, navy, and air force in the advance from airbase to airbase, assuring continuous air protection and support for the sea transports and ground operations; the specialization of army units in amphibious landings and jungle warfare; and the drive of aggressive tactics insisting on infiltration and surrounding the enemy.

In this general frame of events, the airborne units were put at the disposal of the 16th Army for the capture of important airbases in the Dutch East Indies ( Figure 1).

In December 1941 the Dutch garrison in the East Indies comprised about 85,000 men, with the bulk deployed in the island of Java. The weak sea and air forces were reinforced by British, American, and Australian units, the entire Allied organization constituting the American, British, Dutch, Australian Command (ABDA COM ) under General Archibald P. Wavell. The mission was to hold the Malaya barrier: Malaya—Sumatra—Java—North Australia.

The Japanese offensive against tbe East Indies was launched on 11 January, aimed concurrently at Borneo and the Celebes, In the latter area amphibious landings were conducted on the beaches of Manado and Kema. At 1000 on 11 January, 334 paratroopers of the 1st Yokosuka special naval landing force jumped from 28 transport planes on the airdrome south of Manado. That first airborne attack caught the Dutch garrison of about 1,500 men by surprise and endangered the rear of, the coast defenses. In a short time the paratroopers secured the airdrome. On 12 January, 185 additional paratroopers reinforced the attacking force on the ground and in the evening the entire area was under Japanese control. Japanese fighter planes started using the airstrip immediately, increasing their radius of action 250 miles to the south.

Source: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II
Lieutenant Colonel Albert Merglen, French Army, Liaison Officer, US Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia. Military Review. July 1960.

More follows. Regards. Raúl M 8-).
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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#2

Post by The_Enigma » 09 Jun 2008, 13:05

I am extremly surprised by the land captured so fast by such a small number of divisions. Was the Japanases divisions roughly the same size of a western one (in the range of 10-20k men)?


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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#3

Post by Ironmachine » 09 Jun 2008, 16:54

Well, according to the World War II Armed Forces site:
On paper, the triangular (three infantry regiment) Infantry Division had about 19,000 to 21,000 men. But the divisions were seldom as neat and tidy as this diagram. Elements were consistently being attached or detached, so that some divisions had as few as 14,000 men and some as others as many as 28,000.
The square (four infantry regiment) infantry division was being gradually phased out by late 1941. On paper, this type of division had about 25,000 men. But the divisions were seldom as neat and tidy as the diagram above. Elements were consistently being attached or detached, so that some divisions had as few as 17,000 men and some as others as many as 32,000.

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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#4

Post by Kotik » 09 Jun 2008, 17:16

I remember that there was some stories on a site about dutch eastindies during WW2, unfortunatly this site has disappered. If I remember correctly one story was a eyewitness account.

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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#5

Post by Ironmachine » 09 Jun 2008, 18:29


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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#6

Post by Hoss » 09 Jun 2008, 21:27

The_Enigma wrote:I am extremly surprised by the land captured so fast by such a small number of divisions. Was the Japanases divisions roughly the same size of a western one (in the range of 10-20k men)?
It is important to keep in mind the unpreparedness of the Allies. The Malay Peninsula was the best defended Japanese objective, and the biggest Japanese achievement in terms of sucess against a powerful opponent (albeit one still not fully ready for the outbreak of war). The NEI were completely underdefended, the native Indonesians were mostly hostile to their colonial overlords. The Phillipines were miserably defended, by sea, land and air. The US was in the process of reinforcing the islands but the process was going slowly. The indigenous Phillipine army was poorly trained and short of nearly every kind of materiel.

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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#7

Post by robdab » 11 Jun 2008, 07:24

Gents,

Do you have any interest in providing feedback on a "what if" Japanese airborne operation that I have been wondering about ?

Definitely not a historical event but I wonder why it couldn't have been done ?

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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#8

Post by cstunts » 11 Jun 2008, 20:10

Hello,

It is misleading to imagine that the Dutch fought very hard for the NEI on land. They did not. Their navy & air force did sacrifice themselves, but the ground forces (KNIL) performance was miserable. On the biggest & most important island, Java, a great deal of fighting was conducted by the 'shock troops' of Black Force, which was American, Australia, & British. Needless to say they weren't too shocking...and the US units of the 2nd Bn/131st FA were only about 550 men. In southeastern Celebes the CSNLF which numbered several thousand men was opposed by less than 400 KNIL, few of whom wanted to fight at all. A number deserted in mid-January following a minor air attack. But the failure of Dutch combat forces on Java was by far the worst and most troubling.

I think the airborne troops in Celebes would have been Navy units; those on Sumatra, Imperial Army.

It is a sad episode in WWII history to contemplate, but it is true.

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tigre
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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#9

Post by tigre » 15 Jun 2008, 14:00

Hello to all :D; more follows............................

Invasion Rolls on.

In the west the Japanese offensive progressed along the coast of Borneo and in the east through the Molucca Sea. The Allied static defenses collapsed, one after the other, under the hard-hitting amphibious air-supported blows.

The invasion of Sumatra began on 14 February 1942. The initial blow was to be an airborne assault at dawn with the dual mission of seizing by surprise the airports of the capital city of Palembang, 70 miles inland, and preventing the destruction of the oil installations of that city (Figure 2). On 15 February the 38th Infantry Division would land on the coast north of Palembang and, using assault boats, go up to the Telang, Moesi, and Saleh Rivers to link up with the paratroopers.

The defenses of the two airports at Palembang consisted of about 1,000 Dutch, British, and Australian troops under a Dutch colonel. They had antiaircraft guns, heavy machineguns, and trucks—for mobility. The oil refineries were defended by about 600 men with guns and automatic weapons.

The attacking airborne force, the 1st Paratrooper Brigade, had been organized in Japan on 01 December 1941 under the command of Colonel Kume, and included the 2d Paratrooper Regiment and a transport plane regiment.

The 1st Brigade took off from airfields in southern Malaya and at 1100 parachute-landed simultaneously in two task forces, after the preparatory air attacks of three fighter regiments. The task forces were composed as follows:

1st Task Force: brigade staff; 2d Company, 2d Paratrooper Regiment; one machinegun platoon; one engineer platoon; and a signal detachment comprising approximately 460 men; This task force dropped on each side of Airport P1.

2d Task Force: 1st ,Company, and one machinegun platoon for a total of about 160 men. This force dropped near the oil refineries.

A regiment of bomber planes dropped the heavy weapons and equipment for the 1st Task Force.

Hard and confused fighting developed immediately. Allied fighter planes managed to take off from the jungle Airfield P1 while the Japanese surrounded it. At the end of the day the paratroopers controlled P1 and the Allied troops were withdrawing to Palembang.

Meanwhile, the 2d Task Force, despite the landing of half its strength in a deep swamp, had occupied the oil installations and successfully repulsed a counterattack.

In spite of the initial successes, the two Japanese task forces, located north and south of Palembang and separated by almost 15 miles, were in a difficult situation for the Allies still had fighter planes operating from Airport P2. But the news of a Japanese amphibious landing on the coast, the enemy air superiority, and the confusion created by the surprise attack did not allow the defenders to mount an effective counterattack. A third Japanese task force of 100 paratroopers from the 3d Company jumped on P1 at 1300 as reinforcement. The 1st Task Force, now motorized with Dutch trucks, advanced to Palembang in the evening and occupied that town of 50,000 inhabitants. During the night the Allied units withdrew to the southwest.

On the morning of 16 February the paratroopers were joined by the advance guard of the 38th Division. They had fulfilled their missions, staying alone for over 40 hours deep in enemy areas, fighting hard and skillfully.

The action at Palembang was a brilliant success of an audacious plan executed with energy and initiative by a well-trained, aggressive Outfit. The results—seizing airports and the preservation of industrial f acilities—were of a tactical nature. However, they also were strategic consequences. Because of the surprise thrust in the heart of their territory, the defenders lost spirit, resulting in the quick loss of Sumatra.

The German airborne offensive in the heart of the Dutch defenses in the Netherlands on 10 May 1940, throwing out of balance the Dutch armed forces, had been a similar type of military enterprise. The lesson had not been learned by the Dutch Command in the East Indies. They were surprised in the same way in February 1942 near Palembang.

Source: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II
Lieutenant Colonel Albert Merglen, French Army, Liaison Officer, US Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia. Military Review. July 1960.

More follows. Regards. Raúl M 8-).
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James A Pratt III
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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#10

Post by James A Pratt III » 16 Jun 2008, 21:01

The Japanes did a Nov 1944 battalion sized parachute drop on Leyte. Then there is the Apr? 1945 raid on Okinawa. There is an Osprey book that deals with Japanese airborne ops ect in WW II.

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tigre
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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#11

Post by tigre » 29 Jun 2008, 15:38

Hello to all :D; the end follows............................

Airborne-Amphibious Assault.

On 20 February 1942 the island of Timor, defended by a few Dutch and Australian companies, was attacked by Japanese forces (Figure 3). At dawn two Japanese battalions made an amphibious landing with a few light tanks 18 miles southeast of the town of Kupang. At 1000 the same day 310 paratroopers of the 3d Yokosuka special naval landing force jumped on Penfoei Airport, 18 miles east of the town. On 21 February, 350 additional paratroopers jumped on the same spot.

The linkup of airborne and sea-landed units took place at noon, 22 February. The weak Dutch-Australian units attempted to escape to the interior of the island, but the main road was cut by the paratroopers who captured most of the defenders.

The seizure of Penfoei Airport completely sealed off the air route of 1,600 miles between Australia and Java. The eastern flank of the Malaya barrier was crushed and Australia directly endangered.

The Dutch East Indies surrendered on 8 March 1942. Americans and British were then geographically separated. It was a heavy defeat. The Allies lost more than 250,000 men; the Japanese not one-tenth of that number. Thanks to air superiority, strategic mobility of sea transport, and tactical skill of ground troops in amphibious landings and jungle warfare, a great victory was achieved. Surprise, courage, and speed played important roles.

Allies Rally.

Nevertheless, contrary to the political expectations of the Japanese, the facts did not discourage the Allies. In spite of the initial defeats they accepted the fight, and by mid-1942 they had initiated the first local counterstroke. The Japanese defense of that overextended area in Southeast Asia was to occupy the years 1942-45.

The last Japanese airborne operation was performed in that defense in December 1944 in the Philippines. On 20 October 1944, American forces landed on the island of Leyte, taking the first step in the liberation of the Philippines. A violent battle raged between General Krueger’s 6th US Army and the 35th Japanese Army. Slowly, the Japanese were driven into the hostile, unhealthy mountains of the interior of Leyte. The US 1lth Airborne Division ‘played a vital role in that slow-moving but steady attack. Headquarters, supply dumps, and bases of that division were around three airfields in the vicinity of Burauen ( Figure 4). In order to stop the advance, the Japanese High Command decided on a heavy counterblow.

The Japanese 26th Infantry Division was to infiltrate through the American frontlines to assemble in their rear areas where a paratrooper task force would be dropped.

At about 1800 on 6 December, 350 paratroopers of the “Katori Shimpei” task force jumped on the San Pablo Airfield, and three transport planes loaded with sabotage troops landed on an open field nearby. Violent fighting raged throughout the night between American and Japanese paratroopers. Planes and dumps were destroyed. On the morning of 7 December a few hundred men of the 26th Division joined the battle, but the majority had been held up by terrain and frontline units.

The fighting lasted for a week in the region of Burauen. The surprise attack from the sky had caused some American losses and slowed down supply operations. However, the enterprise was a resounding Japanese defeat due ,mainly to the failure of the infiltrating troops.

This last airborne operation of the Japanese paratroopers had no more success than the last action of the German paratroopers, executed about the same time-16 December 1944—when Task Force Von Der Heydte jumped by night in the Ardennes, opening the Battle of the Bulge.

Source: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II. Lieutenant Colonel Albert Merglen, French Army, Liaison Officer, US Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia. Military Review. July 1960.

It's all folks. Raúl M 8-).
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Graham B
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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#12

Post by Graham B » 02 Oct 2010, 08:44

This is an interesting blog Tigre. I hope it's not too old to add comment.
I'm interested that you list Australian and British troops among the defending force at Palembang on Sumatra. You may be right, but I haven't seen any previous reference to Australians on Sumatra, except for Air Force of course and there were a number of them after they'd moved from Singapore. But I thought that the Australian army was confined to Java and Timor. Controvesy surrounds them as they had been withdrawn from the Middle East and Australia didn't want them to go ashore in the NEI (they wanted them home). Only a portion of the Division withdrawn from the Middle East went ashore, for airfield defence and were poorly equipped and not trained for that task. There could have been some British troops on Sumatra, but predominantly I think it was Dutch Indonesian troops guarding the refineries. Possibly British in small numbers at P1.
The Blackforce that cstunts refers to above were organised under the Australian Colonel Black, but my reading is that it had pretty much no equipment and would have been a bit of a rag tag band. I think they were going to head for the hills and conduct insurgency type operations but I would need to check a few authoriative references to confirm. I wasn't aware there were any American ground troops on Java, but certainly there were some US aircraft.
I'd be interested if you've seen much detail on the composition of some of the Japanese airborne forces. I notice above that the 1st Task Force dropped into Sumatra for Palembang P1 had a signals detachment of 450 men. That's strange - given the size of the force (regiment plus). I've read a couple of rather vague references that indicate the Japanese included airfield troops in their P1 assault, so they could start to use the P1 airfield almost immediately. I've read similar vague references to airfield troops being included in some of the Japanese amphibious landings in Malaya.
Good blog though - hope it can be rejuvenated.

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Peter H
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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#13

Post by Peter H » 02 Oct 2010, 10:24

Refer here as well:

Japanese Parachute Troops
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=78035

The kamikaze Japanese paras in Yontan
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=20476

Japanese Paratroop Operations in CBI Theatre
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=77948

Japanese elite army!
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=48600

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Peter H
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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#14

Post by Peter H » 02 Oct 2010, 10:39

Major Komura(left),2nd Raiding Rgt,at Palembang
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Re: Japanese Airborne Operations in World War II.

#15

Post by Fatboy Coxy » 02 Oct 2010, 11:54

Graham B wrote:This is an interesting blog Tigre. I hope it's not too old to add comment.
Your quite right Graham B, I don't know how i've missed this one, its a great subject.
Graham B wrote:I've read similar vague references to airfield troops being included in some of the Japanese amphibious landings in Malaya.
I think this is a bit lost in translation. Japan had airfield troops, but these were either the aircraft gound staff, or troops used to develop and maintain the airfields. They weren't combat troops.

Following the fall of Crete in the May of 1941, the British were acutely aware of the dangers of Airborne assault. In Malaya the main operational airfields were defended by companies of Indian State troops. It wasn't ideal defence but its all they could do with the troops they had. Additionally the Indian III Corps maintained a line of communications brigade, of locally raised troops. Finally before the disaster at Jitra, a Gurkha battalion from the 28th Indian Brigade had been held back specifically to combat airborne operations.

Steve
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Fatboy Coxy

Currently writing https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/ ... if.521982/

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