Recaps

General Seishiro Itagaki organized the Island Nation's Southern Army to attack the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, Indochina, and Australia, with the United States permitting passage through the Philippines. The chapter ended with General Hitoshi Anami appointed Southern Army Commander as preparations advanced.

• Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe told General Seishiro Itagaki to prepare an offensive within a week, and Itagaki promised to send troops into the Philippines before attacking the Dutch East Indies.
• Itagaki told Prince Kan'in Kotohito, Yoshizō Yamada, and Hideki Tojo that the United States had agreed to let the army pass through the Philippine Islands, and ordered them to form the Southern Army.
• Prince Kan'in Kotohito submitted a plan assigning the Southern Army five field armies, four Infantry Corps, two Air Forces, and additional units totaling thirty-eight Infantry Divisions and other forces.
• Itagaki and Prince Kan'in Kotohito agreed that General Hitoshi Anami should command the Southern Army, and Anami took office after receiving his appointment from Fumimaro Konoe.

General Hitoshi Anami and Lieutenant General Shigeharu Matsumori prepared the Philippine Area Army for an invasion staged with American cooperation. The force landed unopposed in Luzon and occupied the Philippines in three days, clearing the way for its planned advance toward the South Seas and Australia.

• Prince Kan'in Kotohito ordered General Hitoshi Anami and Lieutenant General Shigeharu Matsumori to launch the Philippine operation in three days, with the Army Air Corps providing support.
• Lieutenant General Shigeharu Matsumori returned to Takao to oversee the Philippine Area Army, consisting of the 14th Infantry Division and the Independent Mixed 49th and 53rd Brigades.
• On February 16, more than thirty thousand Island Nation troops sailed from Takao for Luzon under protection from the Island Nation's Army Air Corps.
• The Philippine Area Army landed at Bangui on February 17 without German interference, as American forces handed over their defensive zone and supplies.
• The Island Nation government declared war on the Philippines, while the United States remained silent and the Filipino population offered little resistance.
• With American assistance, the Philippine Area Army captured the entire Philippine Islands in three days.

Qin Tian and Germany’s leaders assessed the Island Nation’s rapid occupation of the Philippine Islands and suspected American collusion. Qin Tian ordered German forces in the South Seas and Australia to prepare for battle while keeping the destruction of Buru as the main military objective.

• Qin Tian convened Germany’s leaders after the Island Nation occupied the Philippine Islands, and the Intelligence Bureau director admitted that he had failed to detect the plan.
• Ribbentrop reported that the US Ambassador denied American involvement, while Wachth cited evidence that American troops had surrendered and supplied the Island Nation with equipment.
• Raeder and Manstein warned that the Philippine Islands could serve as a base for attacks on the Dutch East Indies and that German forces in the region were too few.
• Qin Tian ordered German forces in the South Seas and Australia to prepare for battle and authorized possible reinforcements from the homeland.
• Manstein proposed placing Dutch forces in Indonesia under German command, and Qin Tian agreed to contact the Dutch while allowing for a possible withdrawal to Indochina and Australia.
• Qin Tian reaffirmed that Germany’s main objective for 1940 was to destroy Buru, after which Germany could redeploy its forces to other fronts.

General Kluck and Lieutenant General William Adam discussed the threatened Island Nation attack on Borneo and planned to defend key positions with naval and air support. In Manila, General Hitoshi Anami inspected the Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army as it prepared to attack the Dutch East Indies.

• Lieutenant General William Adam warned General Kluck that Island Nation's Army threatened Borneo, and they agreed that German forces might have to abandon territory and hold strategic strongpoints.
• General Kluck said he would direct the 5th Air Group to support Borneo, while Lieutenant General William Adam requested help from the navy and air force.
• Lieutenant General William Adam rejected using Dutch forces, judging them too weak to help the German defense.
• General Hitoshi Anami moved Southern Army Headquarters to Manila after Island Nation's Army occupied the Philippine Islands with American and Philippine Government cooperation.
• General Hitoshi Anami prioritized transporting the Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army to the Philippines so it could prepare to attack the Dutch East Indies.
• General Hitoshi Anami inspected the expeditionary army on Mindanao with Lieutenant General Kawabe Masazō and was encouraged by its morale and confidence.

General Hitoshi Anami ordered the Island Nation's forces to begin an offensive against Borneo before all reinforcements had arrived, with the landing scheduled for three days later. German radar detected the Island Nation's aircraft approaching, and German FW-190 fighters took off to intercept them.

• General Hitoshi Anami ordered Lieutenant General Kawabe Masazō's Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army to prepare to land on Borneo and told Lieutenant General Masaharu Honma to assemble the 14th Area Army.
• General Hitoshi Anami instructed Lieutenant General Michiharu Sugawara to seize air superiority, and Sugawara agreed to begin attacks the next day.
• General Hitoshi Anami set the Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army's landing operation for three days later.
• At Sennah Port on February 24, German radar detected more than a hundred Island Nation's aircraft approaching from the eastern Sulu Sea.
• Thirty-six FW-190 fighters from the 511th Fighter Group took off to intercept the approaching aircraft.

German Air Force FW-190s intercepted an Island Nation Army Air Corps formation over the central Sulu Sea and devastated it before the surviving fighters fled. The German fighters returned after pursuing them until their fuel ran low.

• The 511th Fighter Group’s FW-190s and the 52nd Fighter Wing’s BF-109s scrambled to intercept more than a hundred Island Nation aircraft.
• Colonel Hans ordered the FW-190s to attack the bombers, and German fighters shot down the Island Nation’s bombers as its fighters failed to catch them.
• Major Isao Sato’s pilots lost more aircraft in the ensuing fight, while German fighters outmaneuvered and destroyed their pursuers.
• After nearly all the bombers were lost and more German fighters arrived, Major Isao Sato ordered the surviving fighters to retreat.
• German fighters pursued the fleeing aircraft until their fuel ran low, leaving only a small number of the Island Nation’s force alive.

The Island Nation's Army Air Corps suffered devastating aircraft losses against the German Air Force and failed to gain air superiority, prompting General Hitoshi Anami to demand reinforcements. In Borneo, Lieutenant General William Adam praised the German 5th Air Group while anticipating another enemy attack.

• Lieutenant General Hideyoshi Obata reported that the 5th Flying Division had lost forty-two fighters and thirty-four bombers, and Lieutenant General Michiharu Sugawara ordered the offensive to continue.
• On February 25, the Island Nation's Army Air Corps sent more than a hundred aircraft, including the 55th Flying Division, into another attack and suffered heavy losses without gaining air superiority.
• On February 26, General Hitoshi Anami reprimanded Lieutenant General Michiharu Sugawara, who explained that inferior aircraft had doomed the attacks and requested reinforcements and the 4th Air Force.
• General Hitoshi Anami promised to seek reinforcements and hurry the 4th Air Force to the battlefield.
• Major General Erwin Villo reported that the German 5th Air Group had shot down more than 150 Island Nation aircraft, and Lieutenant General William Adam praised the group while expecting another attack.

Hitoshi Anami ordered a forced landing in eastern Borneo to counter German air superiority, despite expecting heavy losses. The Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army prepared to depart from Zamboanga under naval escort, with its commanders charged with making the landing succeed.

• Hitoshi Anami announced that the Island Nation's Army would use a forced landing in eastern Borneo, supported by the 3rd Air Force, 4th Air Force, and Navy.
• Tadaichi Tsukada said the Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army would lead the landing and that the 14th Area Army would join if necessary.
• On the night of March 2, the Island Nation Navy sent two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and ten destroyers into the Sulu Sea.
• At Zamboanga, Buryō Isomura reported that the landing troops had boarded their ships and were ready to depart.
• Kawabe Masazō met Sakurai Shōzō and Honda Masanori, who promised to do everything they could to make the landing succeed.

The Island Nation's Army sent a massive transport fleet toward eastern Borneo, while German forces prepared to intercept it. German submarines moved to surround the convoy before the German Air Force and Army could attack at dawn.

• Lieutenant General Kawabe Masazō watched the transport fleet leave Zamboanga and ordered the remaining troops to prepare to reinforce the landing.
• The convoy rendezvoused with fourteen Island Nation warships as twelve German submarines waited in the Sulu Sea.
• Major Hansen learned from Submarine No. 448 that a large transport fleet was nearby and ordered U-441 to intercept it.
• Lieutenant General William Adam placed the 23rd Army Group on combat readiness, and the German Air Force 4th Air Group prepared to attack at dawn.
• Twelve German submarines rushed to form an encirclement ahead of the slow-moving transport fleet.

German submarines ambushed the Island Nation convoy in the Sulu Sea, sinking and damaging transport and merchant ships before the convoy could reach Borneo. Rear Admiral Ryūzaki Ryūkichi ordered the destroyers to fight back as U-441 launched another salvo.

• Rear Admiral Ryūzaki Ryūkichi and Colonel Ōnishi Shinzō worried that their weak fleet could not protect the convoy if German forces attacked.
• At 3:00 a.m. on March 3, ten German submarines took positions along the convoy’s route, and destroyer Naganami detected a suspicious underwater target.
• Hansen aboard U-441 ordered four torpedoes fired at the Island Nation transport and merchant ships.
• Explosions spread through the convoy as German submarines struck multiple vessels, sending ships and soldiers into the sea.
• Rear Admiral Ryūzaki Ryūkichi ordered all destroyers to attack the submarines, while Hansen fired another salvo from U-441.

German submarines ambushed the Island Nation convoy bound for eastern Borneo, sinking several ships before escaping the navy’s pursuit. Afterward, the army commanders confronted Rear Admiral Ryūzaki Ryūkichi, who promised naval support for the landing despite warning that his forces were weak.

• Lieutenant Generals Sakurai Shōzō and Honda Masanori learned that German submarines were sinking the convoy’s transport ships and merchant vessels before it reached eastern Borneo.
• Major Hansen’s U-441 attacked the convoy, then dived to evade the approaching destroyer Takanami and its depth charges.
• The Island Nation destroyers failed to sink a German submarine, while all ten German submarines withdrew safely after inflicting heavy losses.
• Rear Admiral Ryūzaki Ryūkichi met Sakurai Shōzō and Honda Masanori aboard the heavy cruiser Tone and apologized for the convoy’s losses.
• Honda Masanori asked the navy to support the landing, and Ryūzaki Ryūkichi promised the fleet’s help while warning that its forces were weak.

After German submarines sank nearly thirty Island Nation transport ships and merchant vessels, Lieutenant Generals Sakurai Shōzō and Honda Masanori ordered the battered fleet to race toward Borneo. Lieutenant General William Adam prepared the 23rd Army Group and 5th Air Group to attack the landing force at dawn.

• German submarines sank nearly thirty ships in the Island Nation fleet, leaving more than ten thousand soldiers missing and substantial equipment lost.
• Lieutenant Generals Sakurai Shōzō and Honda Masanori discussed the heavy losses and the high command’s plan to seize Borneo despite the cost in lives.
• Sakurai Shōzō ordered the transport fleet to sail at maximum speed and reach eastern Borneo by dawn.
• Major General Erwin Vilo reported the submarine attack’s results to Lieutenant General William Adam at the 23rd Army Group headquarters in Brunei City.
• William Adam ordered preparations for the dawn assault, and Erwin Vilo confirmed that the 5th Air Group’s dive bombers and ground-attack aircraft were ready.

The Island Nation fleet bombarded Sennah Port and Lahad Datu before the 28th Army began landing at Sennah Port. As German defenders opened fire and the German Air Force scrambled aircraft, the landing craft approached the shore under heavy attack.

• The Island Nation convoy split into two forces, with the 28th Army and its naval escorts heading for Sennah Port and the 33rd Army heading for Lahad Datu.
• Rear Admiral Ryūzaki Ryūkichi ordered the fleet to bombard the coast, and Island Nation warships shelled German defenses at both ports.
• Lieutenant General Wilhelm Adam ordered the 225th and 228th Infantry Divisions to hold their positions and sent the 23rd Heavy Artillery Brigade to reinforce them.
• Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō ordered the landing to begin, and Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi sent nearly fifteen thousand soldiers of the 2nd Division toward Sennah Port in more than a thousand landing craft.
• The German 225th Infantry Division opened fire with its artillery and other weapons, while aircraft from the German Air Force's 5th Air Group scrambled from nearby airfields.

The German Army and Air Force devastated the Island Nation's landing craft and transport convoy as they tried to reach the beach. German air attacks also struck the Tone heavy cruiser, leaving Rear Admiral Ryūzaki Ryūkichi and Colonel Ōnishi Shinzō facing a battle they could not withdraw from.

• German Army artillery bombarded the Island Nation's landing craft, inflicting heavy losses before the soldiers could reach shore.
• Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi urged the fleet to suppress the German guns, but Rear Admiral Ryūzaki Ryūkichi had few ships able to reach the artillery positions safely.
• German FW-190 and BF-109 fighters attacked the landing craft, while the Island Nation Navy opened anti-aircraft fire and shot down one BF-109.
• German dive bombers and ground-attack aircraft struck the Island Nation Navy warships, transports, and merchant vessels, setting ships ablaze.
• A heavy aerial bomb hit the Tone heavy cruiser and blasted a hole through its forward deck, as Rear Admiral Ryūzaki Ryūkichi and Colonel Ōnishi Shinzō realized they had to fight on.

The Island Nation’s Army 2nd Division’s landing force advanced toward Sennah Port under German fire while German and Island Nation air units fought overhead. The landing craft remained pinned near shore by the German Army’s superior firepower, and the assault’s outcome was still uncertain.

• Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō requested air cover as German air strikes threatened the Island Nation’s transport ships and landing troops.
• The 9th Air Group arrived, and its fighters tied down the German FW-190 and BF-109 fighters in an aerial battle.
• Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi ordered the 2nd Division to press its advance while German ground units opened fire with machine guns, mortars, and Grenade Launchers.
• German fire inflicted heavy casualties on the landing craft as the Island Nation’s soldiers struggled to reach shore.
• A German sniper shot an Island Nation’s Army second lieutenant in the forehead as he urged his men to charge.

Lieutenant General William Adam prepared German forces in Borneo for the Island Nation’s landing, while the 225th and 228th Infantry Divisions fought to hold Sennah Port and Lahad Datu. At Sennah Port, Island Nation soldiers reached the beach under devastating German fire and began a costly battle for the shore.

• Lieutenant General William Adam learned that the Island Nation’s fighters were contesting the skies and that the 23rd Heavy Artillery Brigade would not reach the battlefield until that night.
• Lieutenant General William Adam ordered General Erik Hansen and General Felix Steiner to hold off the landings and told other units to prepare for heavy fighting.
• The 225th Infantry Division and 228th Infantry Division defended Sennah Port and Lahad Datu against the Island Nation’s 2nd Division and 18th Division.
• Island Nation soldiers landed at Sennah Port, where German machine-gun fire killed many of the first troops ashore.
• The Island Nation’s soldiers exchanged fire with German troops, but German automatic weapons and mortars suppressed them and destroyed a Type 92 heavy machine gun.
• Island Nation soldiers charged toward the German defensive line and were cut down under heavy fire.

The German military’s 225th Infantry Division used overwhelming artillery and gunfire to repel repeated Island Nation’s Army landings at Sennah Port and Lahad Datu, while Major General Erik Hansen prepared for the expected night attacks. The beach remained under German control for the moment, but the Island Nation’s Army still had reinforcements at sea and another assault was expected.

• The German military’s 225th Infantry Division unleashed its artillery against nearly fifteen thousand Island Nation’s Army troops landing at Sennah Port and Lahad Datu.
• Major General Erik Hansen and Brigadier General Michael discussed the strain on the division and the danger of night attacks, and Hansen said three battalions of the Heavy Artillery Brigade would arrive that night.
• German soldiers described the heavy casualties they had inflicted as the Island Nation’s Army repeatedly charged across the blood-soaked beach.
• An Island Nation’s Army Lieutenant company commander led his remaining soldiers in another charge, but German fire cut them down.
• The Island Nation’s Army Grenade Launchers opened fire, and German mortar shells struck their position; the assaulting troops were killed and the beach fell quiet temporarily.

Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi struggled to break the German defenses in Borneo as the 2nd Division suffered heavy losses under overwhelming firepower. After Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō pressed him to force a breakthrough, Yoshimoto returned to his troops determined to continue the attack.

• Yoshimoto Teiichi and Colonel Kinoshita Takeo discussed how German automatic rifles had pinned down the 2nd Division and inflicted severe losses.
• A staff officer summoned Yoshimoto to the 28th Army headquarters, where Sakurai Shōzō demanded to know when the division could break through.
• Yoshimoto told Sakurai that the Germans' firepower had stopped the division despite its full efforts, and Sakurai urged him to act quickly while aircraft support held the enemy at bay.
• Rear Admiral Iwapachi Gōyū reported that Area Army Headquarters wanted a timeline for securing Borneo and the 3rd Air Force could not sustain its losses; Sakurai ordered both to be told to hold on.
• Yoshimoto assured Sakurai that the 2nd Division would defeat the Germans, despite the pressure and the risk to his command.

Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi ordered the 2nd Division’s commanders to launch suicidal attacks against the German defensive line, despite their severe losses. The division charged again under heavy German fire, and its casualties rapidly mounted.

• Yoshimoto summoned the four infantry Wing Commanders and told them that the 2nd Division had no way back.
• Matsuno Iwao and Miyazaki Shigesaburo reported that German firepower had inflicted grievous losses and threatened to wipe out their units.
• Yoshimoto ordered the Wing Commanders and their troops to fight to the death and lead assaults against the Germans.
• The Wing Commanders returned to the front and passed Yoshimoto’s orders down to their battalions.
• The 2nd Division launched a larger, fiercer assault, and German machine guns and rifles cut down the charging soldiers as their losses soared.

The Island Nation's Army's 2nd Division launched a desperate assault on the German 225th Infantry Division but failed to break its defensive line and suffered devastating losses. Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō decided to wait for nightfall and commit the 54th Division to a new attack.

• Major General Erik Hansen sent the German 225th Infantry Division's 3rd Regiment to reinforce the front as the Island Nation's Army pressed its assault.
• The 3rd Regiment helped hold the German defensive line, while the Island Nation's Army suffered heavy casualties and failed to break through.
• Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi ordered the battered 2nd Division to cease its attack after Colonel Matsuno Iwao was killed and Colonel Miyazaki Shigesaburo was seriously wounded.
• Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō learned that the 33rd Army had also been stopped and agreed that the Germans' firepower advantage made a daylight breakthrough unlikely.
• Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō ordered the 28th Army to wait until nightfall and directed the 54th Division to begin landing after dark.

The Island Nation's Army 2nd Division failed to break through the German defenses and prepared to commit its remaining units, while the 54th Division arrived to reinforce the assault. By nightfall, both divisions had begun landing their remaining troops for a final attack.

• The German 225th Infantry Division continued shelling the beach as the Island Nation's Army 2nd Division endured heavy losses and its soldiers' confidence faltered.
• Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi ordered the 2nd Division's Reconnaissance, Combat Engineer, and Logistics Regiments ashore for a final battle.
• Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō told Lieutenant General Akiyama Yoshimitsu to commit the 54th Division, and Akiyama promised to fight to the last soldier.
• The Island Nation's Army and German Air Force withdrew their aircraft at nightfall; the German 5th Air Group had shot down more than a hundred enemy fighters while losing only a dozen or so.
• The remaining 2nd Division troops and the 54th Division's infantry, reconnaissance, combat engineer, and logistics units began landing after dark.

The Island Nation's Army committed the 2nd and 54th Divisions to a night assault on the German defenses at Sennah Port. The German 225th Infantry Division illuminated the beach and unleashed a massive artillery barrage, including fire from 36 heavy howitzers, as the attack began.

• Akiyama Yoshimitsu ordered Kotei Chishitoki to lead the 54th Division in its first battle on Borneo, while the 2nd and 54th Divisions prepared for a night assault.
• Eric Benson ordered the exhausted 225th Infantry Division to reinforce its defenses, and Michael reported that three heavy artillery battalions had arrived.
• Sakurai Shōzō grew impatient as the divisions assembled, and the 54th Division's main force finally landed at about ten o'clock that night.
• Sakurai Shōzō ordered the 2nd and 54th Divisions to attack, and Yoshimoto Teiichi and Akiyama Yoshimitsu carried out his command.
• The German forces fired flares to expose the beach and opened a division-wide barrage against the advancing troops.
• Thirty-six German 210mm heavy howitzers joined the bombardment, devastating the Island Nation's Army troops caught in their blast zones.

The Island Nation's Army launched repeated night assaults on the German defensive line, suffering heavy casualties but breaking into the trenches and forcing the Germans into brutal close combat. German reinforcements drove the attackers back, but the battle continued to escalate.

• Major General Kotei Chishitoki learned that German heavy artillery had entered the battle and recognized that the Germans had reinforced their defenses.
• The Island Nation's Army charged through German artillery and machine-gun fire, pushing close to the defensive line despite mounting casualties.
• Island Nation soldiers threw grenades into a trench, broke through, and fought German defenders in a bayonet battle.
• The German 2251st Regiment's commander committed his reserves and requested aid from Division Headquarters.
• Major General Benson sent the Division Reconnaissance Battalion to reinforce the German 2251st Regiment, helping the Germans drive the attackers from the trench.
• The Island Nation's Army continued launching attacks and breaking into the German line, bringing the battle to its climax.

The 225th Infantry Division struggled to hold off the Island Nation's Army on Borneo until headquarters reported that a German naval fleet was on its way. The fleet split up to strike the landings at Sennah Port and Lahad Datu, leaving the outcome of the battle poised to change.

• Brigadier General Michael urged Major General Eric Hansen to withdraw as the Island Nation's Army pressed the 225th Infantry Division's defenses.
• Major General Eric Hansen received word that the navy would arrive within an hour and ordered the front line to hold.
• News of the approaching reinforcements raised German morale, and the Island Nation's Army's attack was beaten back again.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi and Major General Felix divided the German fleet, with Burchardi heading for Sennah Port and Felix heading for Lahad Datu.

The German fleet arrived during the Island Nation's assault on Sennah Port and opened fire on the heavy cruiser Tone. Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō ordered the transports to withdraw as the Island Nation commanders feared the fleet's arrival would doom their landing operation.

• Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō received Rear Admiral Iwapachi Gōyū's report that the 2nd Division and 54th Division had repeatedly breached the German defensive line, and ordered them to take Sennah Port before dawn.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi directed the German fleet to find and destroy the Island Nation's cruisers before attacking its transports.
• The German fleet spotted the heavy cruiser Tone and opened fire, while Colonel Ōnishi Shinzō ordered the ship to return fire.
• Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō ordered Rear Admiral Iwapachi Gōyū to send the transport ships and merchant vessels into retreat.
• Lieutenant Generals Yoshimoto Teiichi and Akiyama Yoshimitsu worried that the German fleet would derail their attack, while soldiers of the German 225th Division cheered at the arrival of reinforcements.