A wrecked truck from a supply convoy lies in the bed of a river after being ambushed by Indonesian nationalists on the southern road between Batavia and Bandoeng. The ambush of this convoy and its relief column led to this road being closed to military traffic and caused the 36th Indian Brigade to mount an operation to clear the northern road of Indonesian nationalist fighters, Nov 1945. Photo IWM


British occupation on java

"King George V" Class battleship, "Duke of York".  This was a real-deal battleship, slightly slower than "Scharnhorst" but with significantly superior armour and firepower - ten 360mm guns as main armament.

In early December, 1943, the Germans sighted Arctic Convoy JW55 b, and Scharnhorst was ordered to sally forth and intercept - which it did, accompanied by an escorting/scouting force of five destroyers.  Unfortunately for the Germans, their move was detected by the Royal Navy, which sent two task groups to intercept them.  The powerful British force included a number of cruisers (including HMS Jamaica) and the battleship, Duke of York.

In the ensuing "Battle of the North Cape", Scharnhorst exchanged fire, hitting each other.  However, Scharnhorst suffered worse damage, knocking out much of her secondary armament and also her front radar array.  Scharnhorst attempted to withdraw, and increased distance between herself and Duke of York with her superior speed.  However, her disabled secondary armament left her vulnerable to torpedo attack by the British destroyers, which caused crippling damage to her engine/propulsion system.  Duke of York promptly closed and, in a subsequent exchange of fire, disabled Scharnhorst.  Cruisers HMS Belfast and HMS Jamaica were ordered to finish her with torpedoes which, after some targeting problems, they duly did.  "Belfast" and "Jamaica" made a brief effort to recover survivors, but were recalled when the activity proved obviously pointless.  Of the 1,700 crew of "Scharnhorst", only about 40 were recovered alive.  JR.

For those in peril on the sea - "Duke of York"

A British sergeant examines the burnt-out wreckage of Brigadier Mallaby's car on the spot where it was ambushed in Surabaya (Soerabaja) and the Brigadier murdered on 31 October 1945. IWM Photo