Battle of Timor information

Battle of Timor
	Part of the Dutch East Indies campaign
	; An Australian commando, possibly Sergeant Bill Tomasetti of the 2/2nd Independent Company, in typical mountain terrain on Timor, on 12 December 1942.; (Photograph by Damien Parer.)
Date	19 February 1942 – 10 February 1943; (11 months, 3 weeks and 1 day)
Location	Timor
Result	Japanese victory and occupation of Dutch Timor and Portuguese Timor
Belligerents
Allies; Netherlands Dutch East Indies; United Kingdom; Australia; United States Portuguese Timor	Japan; Timorese and Javanese volunteers (Black Columns);
Commanders and leaders
William Leggatt; William Veale; Alexander Spence; Bernard Callinan; Douglas MacArthur; Nico van Straten Dom Aleixo ; Manuel de Jesus Pires;	Sadashichi Doi; (invasion); Yuitsu Tsuchihashi ; (later campaign);
Strength
~ 2,050 strong garrison; (peak February 1942); ~ 1,000 commandos; (peak October 1942)	~ 12,000 (peak late 1942)
Casualties and losses
Netherlands:; ~ 300 dead; Australia:; 151 dead (Sparrow Force); Portuguese Timor:; ~ 75 dead; United Kingdom:; 5 dead (The Sparrows)	~ 4,000 dead ; (West & East Timor)
	40,000–70,000 civilian dead

The Battle of Timor occurred in Portuguese Timor and Dutch Timor during the Second World War. Japanese forces invaded the island on 19 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 Dutch 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 continued to wage an unconventional raiding campaign. 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 Southeast Asia following the Japanese offensives of 1941–1942. 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 Timorese and European Portuguese civilians 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.

^ ^a ^b "A Short History of East Timor". Department of Defence. 2002. Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 3 January 2007.

[ASNCE-1] "A Short History of East Timor". Department of Defence. 2002. Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 3 January 2007.

Battle of Timor information

and 23 Related for: Battle of Timor information

Battle of Timor

Timor

Battle of Timor order of battle

East Timor

Indonesian invasion of East Timor

Portuguese Timor

Flag of East Timor

West Timor

Timor Sea

Australia and the Indonesian occupation of East Timor

List of military engagements of World War II

Active Time Battle

Indonesian occupation of East Timor

Dili

List of World War II battles

History of East Timor

Battles in Time

Operation Astute

Politics of East Timor

East Timor national football team

Pacific Ocean theater of World War II

Battle of Sekigahara

List of Japanese battles