75th ANNIVERSARY of the
1945 BALIKPAPAN CAMPAIGN
BALIKPAPAN, BORNEO, 1945-07-01. MEMBERS OF 2/14 INFANTRY BATTALION TAKING PART IN THE OBOE 2 OPERATION, WADING THROUGH THE SURF AFTER DISEMBARKING FROM LANDING CRAFT, INFANTRY 999, AT YELLOW BEACH
BALIKPAPAN, BORNEO. 1 JULY 1945. Members of the 2/14th Battalion disembarking from their LST during OBOE 2 operation at green beach.
On 1 July, 2020, the Last Post Ceremony at the Australian War Memorial will commemorate the landings at Balikpapan that took place 75 years ago. The live stream of the ceremony will be broadcast on the AWM YouTube channel
ttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKmio2JTTLpxC3gniK1f2IA
and Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AWMemorial/ from 4.55 pm AEST.
On that date in 1945, the 2/14 Battalion took part in the capture of Balikpapan, the concluding stage of the Borneo campaign, and the last action in which the Battalion was involved. The Australian 7th Division, comprised of the 18th, 21st and 25th Infantry Brigades, with support troops, made an amphibious landing, code named Operation Oboe Two, near the oil refinery and port town of Balikpapan on the island of Borneo (now Kalimantan).
On 1 July, 2020, the Last Post Ceremony at the Australian War Memorial will commemorate the landings at Balikpapan that took place 75 years ago. The live stream of the ceremony will be broadcast on the AWM YouTube channel
ttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKmio2JTTLpxC3gniK1f2IA
and Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AWMemorial/ from 4.55 pm AEST.
On that date in 1945, the 2/14 Battalion took part in the capture of Balikpapan, the concluding stage of the Borneo campaign, and the last action in which the Battalion was involved. The Australian 7th Division, comprised of the 18th, 21st and 25th Infantry Brigades, with support troops, made an amphibious landing, code named Operation Oboe Two, near the oil refinery and port town of Balikpapan on the island of Borneo (now Kalimantan).
8 JULY 1945. Members of 18 Platoon section 7 D Company beside the heavy coastal defense guns taken on the 6th July & held against 4 enemy counter attacks. The feature on which the guns were captured was named Waites Knoll.
The landings were preceded and supported by heavy bombing and shelling by Australian and US air and naval forces. The Japanese were totally outnumbered and outgunned but as in the other battles of the Pacific War, many of them fought to the death. 2/14 Battalion were involved in the initial landings at Yellow Beach, and the captures of Sepinggang and Manggar airstrips, including silencing the 155 mm (6 inch) Coastal Defence guns at Waites’ Knoll.
Balikpapan. Waite's Knoll. A drawing by Private S. Bennett, Intelligence Section, 2/14th Infantry Battalion. This was the scene of attack and capture of a heavily defended Japanese position during the Balikpapan campaign by 7th Division. So called after Lance Corporal H. A. Waites, 2/14th Battalion, who was killed in the assault on 6 July 1945.
By 21 July, major operations had ceased, though Australian troops continued to patrol the surrounding jungle for stragglers.
While the 7th Division's casualties were significantly lower than they had suffered in previous campaigns, 21 members of the 2/14 Battalion lost their lives during the campaign.
This operation was one of the last to occur in World War II, beginning a few weeks before the Japanese surrender on 15 August that followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
2/14th Battalion.
While the 7th Division's casualties were significantly lower than they had suffered in previous campaigns, 21 members of the 2/14 Battalion lost their lives during the campaign.
This operation was one of the last to occur in World War II, beginning a few weeks before the Japanese surrender on 15 August that followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
2/14th Battalion.
The History of the 2/14 Australian Infantry Battalion by W.B. Russell MA, BEd was first published in 1948 and at the time, as it was the first history of a WW2 battalion, it was recommended as a guide to all other battalion histories which followed. This current edition was issued in 2011 following unprecedented demand by family members and others interested in WW2 history.
The Association recommends this book as a must read.
Please go to the Merchandise page to order your copy.
The Association recommends this book as a must read.
Please go to the Merchandise page to order your copy.
2/16th Infantry Battalion Association
|
2/27th Infantry Battalion
|
39th Infantry Battalion Association
|
