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Reference Maps on World War II
1939-1945
Map of Europe after World War One
Map of the World after World War One
Map of Europe 1936-1939: German aggressions
prior WWII
Map of the Major Operations of WWII in
Europe
Map of the Major Operations of WWII in Asia
and the Pacific
Map of the Allied Operations in Europe and
North Africa 1942-1945
Map of the Battle of Stalingrad July 17,
1942 - February 2, 1943
Map of Europe 1944: Allied Gains
Map of Operation Overlord - 1944
Map of Allied Gains in Europe - December 15,
1944-May 7, 1945
Map of Central Europe 1945: Allied
Occupation Zones
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Map Description
History Map of WWII:
Southeast Asia 1941/42
Dutch East Indies (Netherlands East
Indies, Nederlands Oost-Indië, today's Indonesia)
Japanese Centrifugal Offensive December 1941 - April 1942
Sixteenth Army and Southern Force (Navy) Operations
Illustrating
Sumatra, Java, Madura, Dutch Borneo, Celebes, Sangihe Islands,
Talaud Islands, the Moluccas,
Lesser Sunda Islands, Netherlands New Guinea, French Indochina,
Philippine Islands
- Battle of Sunda Strait (February 28 - March 1, 1942)
- Battle of the Java Sea (February 27, 1942)
- Battle of Balikpapan (January 23-25, 1942)
- Battle of Lombok Strait (February 18-19, 1942)
The first strikes against the Philippines, Wake, and Malaysia began
December 8 followed by Guam
on December 10. Guam fell the same day and Wake held out until the
end of the month. In the Philippines,
portions of the U.S. Navy Asiatic Fleet began to evacuate to Borneo
while those American forces remaining
behind entered into a six-month, losing battle to hold the islands.
In early December, the Japanese had also
occupied the Gilbert Islands and were preparing for landings at
Rabaul, New Britain. In late January, Japan
secured Borneo after the Naval Battle of Balikpapan (January 23-25).
By February 15, Singapore had
surrendered and southern Sumatra, the Celebes, Ambon, Timor and
Rabaul were all in enemy hands.
The Battle of the Java Sea (February 27) in which Langley (CV-1) was
sunk, followed by the Battle
of Sunda Strait (February 28 - March 1) secured the surrender of
Java. Rangoon, the chief seaport
of Burma, and the Andaman Islands, 250 miles south of Rangoon, were
occupied by Japanese forces
on March 8 and March 23, respectively. As well, the Japanese had
landed at Lae and Salamaua on the
Papua Peninsula in New Guinea and were conducting air strikes
against Port Moresby, also on the Papua Peninsula,
and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. On May 6, 1942 the Philippines
finally capitulated. Thus, within the first five
months of 1942, Japan’s sphere of influence encompassed the Kuril
Islands to the north, the Marianas, Marshalls,
Gilberts, and Carolines in the Central Pacific, the Philippines,
Indochina, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Borneo,
Netherlands East Indies, and portions of China, New Guinea and the
Bismarck Archipelago.
Information
Courtesy United States Department of the Interior.
The small Allied air force could do little against greatly superior
Japanese air power. Allied naval strength in the
area consisted of only 9 cruisers, 23 destroyers, and 36 submarines.
Nevertheless, though no match for the vastly
superior Japanese Fleet, the Allied warships attacked repeatedly. In
the early dark hours of January 24, 4 Allied
destroyers attacked a large convoy off Balikpapan, Borneo. In this,
the Battle of Makassar Strait, the destroyers
escaped unharmed after sinking 4 Japanese transports and a patrol
ship and damaging other vessels. Subsequent
engagements - the Battle of Lombok Strait (February 18-19) and the
Battle of the Java Sea (February 27) were
not as successful for the Allies. In the latter losses from Japanese
air and naval attacks were so severe that the
surviving Allied warships were withdrawn from the Java Sea to
Tjilatjap (Chilachap) on the south coast of Java.
On February 28, 2 Allied cruisers, the Houston and the Perth, which
were attempting to escape southward through
Soenda (now Sunda) Strait, suddenly ran into a huge Japanese
invasion armada in the process of assaulting Batavia
(now Djakarta). The cruisers were destroyed, but only after sinking
3 loaded Japanese transports.
Information
Courtesy The Australian Army.
Credits
Courtesy of the United States
Military Academy Department of History.
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