1942: Netherlands East Indies

Territorial Losses.

After the fall of Singapore the Netherlands East Indies which had been allied with the United States against Japan since the attack on Pearl Harbor, became the chief target of Japanese aggression. In the first weeks of the war in the Pacific the Dutch navy caused heavy damage to the Japanese, sinking by Dec. 28, 1941, sixteen enemy ships and damaging five others. United States naval units cooperated with the Dutch navy in defense of the northern parts of the Netherlands East Indies archipelago. One of the great sea battles of the war took place in January, 1942 in the Macassar Straits when American and Dutch warships and aircraft engaged Japanese warships and transports for several days. It was estimated that fifteen Japanese ships were sunk and twenty-two damaged in this engagement.

Numerical superiority and a monopoly of air power made it possible however, for the Japanese to overcome the Allied defense of the Netherlands East Indies. Tarapen Island and Menado, north of the Minahassa area, were captured by the Japanese on January 11; the Minahassa Peninsula was occupied ten days later. In rapid succession followed the occupation of Rabaul and Kavieng in New Ireland; Lae, the capital of New Guinea; Kendari in Celebes and Balik Papan in Borneo; Amboina the second strongest naval base in the Netherlands East Indies; Samban and Pontianak in West Borneo. By the middle of February the Japanese captured Palembang and other key positions which produced over 50 per cent of the entire oil output of the islands.

On Feb. 11 it was announced by the U. S. Navy Department that Admiral Hart, Chief of the Allied naval forces in the Western Pacific had been relieved of his command at his own request. Vice-Admiral Helfrich, of the Royal Netherlands Navy was appointed in his place. At the end of February Java was attacked by the Japanese naval forces. The Dutch headquarters and the government of the Netherlands East Indies moved from Batavia to Bandoeng. General ter Poorten took over command of the Allied land forces in Java and Rear-Admiral van Staveren was placed in command of the naval forces.

Early in March the Japanese forces in the island of Java were estimated to be between 85,000 and 100,000 men, thoroughly equipped and mechanized, using ten-ton tanks. On March 5 the Japanese occupied Batavia. The Allied troops, lacking air support and subject to continuous dive bombing attacks, were exhausted. On March 8 the Government of the Netherlands East Indies at Bandoeng asked for an armistice, and the next day 93,000 Dutch troops and 5,000 British, Australians and Americans surrendered unconditionally to the Japanese. The main part of the Dutch fleet in the Far East had been lost in a brave but unsuccessful attempt to prevent enemy landings. Dutch military authorities stated that when they ceased fighting in Java that they did not have a single serviceable aircraft. All had been lost in resisting the invader.

Economic Losses.

Japanese conquest of the Netherlands East Indies was complete and the consequent loss of valuable raw materials was a severe blow to the United Nations. Among the many important products lost with its conquest was kapok used in the life saving equipment of airmen and seamen. The islands are the most important producer of kapok in the world. Tapioca flour from the Netherlands East Indies was used in the Lancashire cotton industry when farina could no longer be imported from Europe. Over 90 per cent of the world's supply of quinine came from the Netherlands East Indies, most of it from the island of Java. The soil and climatic conditions which are peculiarly suitable to the growth of cinchona trees from which quinine is obtained, caused the Dutch to develop vast cinchona plantations along highly scientific lines. The excellent quality cinchona trees of the Netherlands East Indies cannot be easily reproduced elsewhere as the natural conditions are lacking and it takes ten years for the trees to reach the necessary stage of maturity.

In 1938 the Netherlands East Indies produced approximately 17 per cent of the total world production of tin. Malaya, conquered before the Japanese attacked the Netherlands East Indies, was the chief tin producing section of the world, accounting for 26 per cent of the world production. In 1938 the Netherlands East Indies exported one-third of the world's shipments of rubber. Here again the Netherlands was second only to Malaya which accounted for over 41 per cent of the world's rubber exports. By conquering Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies Japan gained control of almost one-half of the world's supply of tin and three-fourths of the world's rubber supply.

The Netherlands East Indies did not produce in 1938 3 per cent of the petroleum produced in the world but her production was 72 per cent of the petroleum produced in the Far East. There were about 1,800 oil wells at the time of the Japanese invasion and most of the oil was sent to four local refineries. Plans for the destruction of both oil wells and refineries had been completed before the Japanese invasion. Special demolition squads had been trained. Before the oil wells fell into the hands of the Japanese they were made useless. They can only be used again by boring new wells to a depth of anywhere from 1,000 to 6,000 feet, and it will be necessary for the Japanese to construct new surface installations. At the time of the Dutch surrender it was estimated that if the Japanese had full equipment for the most rapid recovery of oil it would be a year before even a limited new supply could be obtained.

Most of the ore in the Netherlands East Indies is an alluvial deposit recovered by means of dredges working in an artificially constructed pond. The tin ore for the most part was smelted in Malaya which had the two largest tin smelting plants in the world. It is believed that these as well as the Dutch smelting plant were destroyed and that all the dredges with their machinery were sunk. In this case the Japanese can only obtain mined supplies of tin ore from the small output produced by natives working with primitive hand machinery. Furthermore, the crude tin ore must be transported to Japan for smelting and Japan's smelting capacity is extremely limited.

Although 'scorched earth' tactics could be easily and successfully applied to industrial plants and equipment this was not the case with the land. It is doubtful if rubber trees were extensively burned as the Japanese invasion took place at the height of the rainy season in a very humid climate and about one-half of the rubber is grown on small plots by native farmers who are dependent for their livelihood on the crop. It is not known to what extent the rubber processing machinery was demolished.

Admiral Helfrich Made Commander-in-Chief.

Remnants of the Netherlands East Indies armed forces escaped from the Japanese and continued the war side by side with the forces of the United Nations in the Far East. In April Admiral Helfrich was appointed Commander-in-Chief of all the Netherlands and Netherlands East Indies forces at sea, in the air, and on the land in the Far East.

Postwar Plans.

In full confidence that the Netherlands East Indies would be freed from the Japanese invaders the Netherlands government laid plans for a new status for the Colonies in a postwar world. Speaking before the Congress of the United States in August Queen Wilhelmina stated, 'Throughout my reign the development of democracy and progress in the Netherlands Indies has been our constant policy.' Again in an address broadcast on the eve of the first anniversary of the outbreak of the war in the Pacific Queen Wilhelmina asserted that the postwar Netherlands Commonwealth consisting of the Netherlands in Europe, Netherlands East Indies, Curaçao, and Surinam would have no room for discrimination according to race or nationality but that the policy of the government would be determined only by the ability of the individual citizen and the needs of the various groups. Statements of Eelco N van Kleffens, Foreign Minister of the Netherlands indicate that it is the intention of the Netherlands government that, once freed, the Archipelago will continue to form a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands but that the position of the Netherlands East Indies within the organic framework of the Kingdom will be changed and that the Indies will have a new constitution. He also indicated that the islands will be entrusted with the care of their own internal affairs without interference from the legislative power at The Hague. Only matters concerning the Kingdom as a whole such as foreign affairs and defense shall be left to a higher but common authority. Spokesmen of the Netherlands government state that at the end of the war a conference of prominent persons from the four parts of the Kingdom will be convened in order to advise the Crown and that a revision of the constitution will follow the conference.