At the end of January 1942, Japanese forces had conquered the north and west coast of Borneo and large parts of Maluku (Moluccas). On Borneo's east coast, Japanese forces occupied the oil facilities and ports of Balikpapan and Tarakan, and on Celebes the cities of Menado and Kendari had also fallen. The next Japanese targets were the cities of Makassar and Banjarmasin. To achieve this a further invasion convoy moved south. The following is a fictional naval encounter nominally set in early February 1942 as the Allies attempt to disrupt this invasion convoy.
The Allied strike force was organised in two squadrons. The American squadron comprised the heavy cruiser USS Houston with the the elderly light cruiser USS Marblehead. They were supported by three destroyers, USS John D. Edwards, USS Alden and USS Paul Jones, the destroyers being elderly Clemson class vessels. The second squadron comprised vessels drawn from Dutch and Royal Navy. It comprised the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter and the light cruisers HNLMS De Ruyter and HNLMS Tromp as well as three Dutch destroyers, HNLMS Eversten, Van Ghent and Banckert. Rear-Admiral Doorman would have been in overall command but due to a sudden bout of ill-health command was transferred to Rear-Admiral Glassford with his flag aboard the heavy cruiser USS Houston.
Above, USS Marblehead an Omaha light cruiser which was historically to suffer heavy damage in air attacks at the Battle of Makassar Strait. She is shown here in 1935. Close inspection will show her unusual forward armament with several of her 6" guns in casements. Below, USS Houston a powerful ship with nine 8" guns. Her lack of radar was a significant disability in this engagement.
Early on the 4th of February reconnaissance aircraft alerted the Japanese to the advancing Allied naval strike force. Elements of the Japanese covering force were ordered to intercept.
Like the allied force the Japanese were formed in two squadrons. The stronger of the two comprised the heavy cruiser Haguro reinforced by the light cruiser Sendai, and the destroyers Murasame and Yudachi. Moving from their patrol area to the west the light cruiser Jintsu and the supporting destroyers of Amatsukaze, Yukikaze and Tokitsukaze would add much needed support. Despite this reinforcement the Japanese were outnumbered in heavy cruisers, light cruisers and destroyers.
Rather than converge and operate together the two Allied squadrons diverged - for reasons that remain unclear. Specifically, Glassford ordered USS Houston, with Marblehead astern, to set a course that would increase the distance between his cruisers and the Dutch squadron. Further, the manoeuvre did not close the range with the Japanese. In contrast the Dutch squadron, led by HNLMS De Ruyter with HNLMS Tromp astern and behind both HMS Exeter, moved to close the range with the Japanese at speed. Ahead were the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro and her destroyer escort.
The Japanese manoeuvres are easier to interpret. The heavy cruiser Haguro and light cruiser Sendai approached from the east and moved to westerly bearing clearly determined to engage the Dutch cruisers. The attending destroyers Murasame and Yudachi broke off and moved in a southerly direction with the clear intent of closing the range more quickly. The second Japanese squadron, approaching from the west, would hold an easterly course and would pass north of the main Japanese squadron before moving swinging south to reinforce the destroyers Murasame and Yudachi. It seemed a sensible plan, but one that failed to consider the time it would take to execute.
Rain squalls had initially limited the ability of the heavy cruisers to engage at long ranges but as the squalls subsided the forces engaged. The cruisers Haguro, Sendai and Jintsu quickly found the range of De Ruyter who suffered a series of hits including some which caused rudder damage and would force her out of line. Initially De Ruyter's return fire was limited due to her bearing, perhaps more importantly the fire from USS Houston was at extreme range and therefore inaccurate.
Above, HNLMS De Ruyter under fire with HNLMS Tromp and HMS Exeter astern. In the background are Dutch destroyers. Below, both Haguro and Sendai are engaged.
By a stroke of luck 15 Nakajima Kate torpedo bombers now appeared overhead and immediately targeted HMS Exeter. Determined anti-aircraft fire by Exeter, supplemented by fire from several other ships, disrupted the torpedo attack with the result that all the torpedoes failed to find their target. Below, Exeter is attacked by the Kates.
The surface action continued as the Dutch squadron closed the range. The heavy cruiser Haguro managed several more hits on De Ruyter. The captain of De Ruyter, Commander Lacomble, believing his 5.9" guns would be ineffective against the Haguro, engaged the Japanese light cruiser Sendai which was supplemented by fire from HNLMS Tromp. Lacomble's decision would pay dividends and while De Ruyter would be lost so too was Sendai. Below, De Ruyter is under heavy fire.
With De Ruyter sinking Rear-Admiral Takagi ordered Haguro to move her fire to the light cruiser Tromp. She was quickly overwhelmed. However, his decision had ramifications. USS Houston, which had by now changed her course, was in effective range and 8" shells soon begin to devastate Haguro. But in a surprise move Houston continued east, having changed her course yet again. Soon she would engage the elderly light cruiser Jintsu which can only be described as an uneven fight.
With Houston engaged elsewhere HMS Exeter and Haguro continued to trade 8" shells, with Exeter initially gaining advantage from her gunnery radar. Losing speed Haguro was unable to disengage and would be slowly overwhelmed by fire from Exeter which would be supplemented by fire from USS Marblehead. Below, HMS Exeter is under fire from Haguro, while three American destroyers pass astern.
While the cruiser action had been playing out the three Dutch destroyers and two Japanese destroyers were engaged in a deadly dual. Soon additional Japanese destroyers would add their weight to the melee and HNLMS Everston would be sunk, though not before the Japanese destroyers Murasame and Yudachi would be lost.
Below, the final part of the destroyer dual with the Japanese on the right and in the centre while two Dutch destroyers are on the left and one, HNLMS Everston, is visible in the lowere foreground. Everston had attempted to make a torpedo attack in the Jintsu (right), but failed.
With damage critical across several ships both commanders now attempted to disengage. The remaining Japanese destroyers would successfully cover their own withdrawal with a smoke screen. However, the light cruiser Jintsu was not so fortunate, she would soon slip beneath the waves. Elsewhere, HMS Exeter, crippled by Haguro, would also be lost, in what was a tragic blow to the Royal Navy.
As surviving forces broke-off Rear-Admiral Glassford was no doubt reflecting on the action. He could take some comfort that all American vessels were unscratched. The Dutch and British were less fortunate, having lost all their cruisers and one destroyer in the engagement. Indeed one wonders how the ramifications the of such uneven casualties would play out.
As to the Japanese, Rear-Admiral Takagi of course went down with the heavy cruiser Haguro, fighting valiantly to the end no doubt. The loss of such a powerful ship as well as two light cruisers and two destroyers was a crippling blow to the Imperial Japanese Navy, but perhaps honour had been served, even if the war effort clearly had not.
The game proved to be a most interesting encounter. I am sure that the manoeuvres of the US squadron will cause much reflection. For the Japanese their complicated plan would likewise require significant consideration, as would their poor use of their long lance torpedoes. As to mechanics, our game was resolved with the "Naval Thunder Battleship Row" rules and involved four players. The miniatures are all in 1/3000th scale and are from the excellent Navwar range. They are all from my own collection.
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