The Battle of Manado took place as part of the Japanese offensive to capture the Dutch East Indies. It occurred at Manado (also spelled Menado) on the Minahasa Peninsula on the northern part of Celebes Island (modern day Sulawesi in Indonesia), from 11–12 January 1942. The battle was noted as the first time in Japanese history that the country had deployed paratroopers in a military operation.

Background

Minahasa's strategic value Even though the Minahasa Peninsula did not contain any raw materials or strategic technical installations, its military value remained essential. The sheltered bays of Manado and Lake Tondano provided good bases for seaplanes, and Dutch forces had established a naval base on the southeast side of Tondano Lake, near Tasoeka (Tasuka). A seaplane base was also established on the southern part of the Lake, near Kakas.Nortier (1980), p. 65

Aside from that, Dutch forces also constructed two airfields nearby. At the Kalawiran village near Langoan, the Menado II/Langoan Airfield was established. When the war broke out, Manado I Airfield, located just east of Manado City at Mapanget, was still under construction.

Japanese invasion plan As part of Japan's plan to conquer the Netherlands East Indies, particularly the island of Java, air support from southern Sumatra, Kuching, Banjarmasin (south-eastern part of Dutch Borneo), Makassar and Kendari (both on southern Celebes) was required.Remmelink (2015), p. 4 Beforehand, however, in order to set up the aforementioned aerial support, specifically in southern Celebes and Banjarmasin, relay fields in Manado, Tarakan and Balikpapan had to be conquered as well.

The seizure of Manado was part of Japan's Eastern Offensive prong to capture the Dutch East Indies. Responsibility for conducting attacks on this prong fell to the Imperial Japanese Navy.Nortier (1980), p. 67

Order of battle

Japan

Ground forces Sasebo Combined Special Landing Force (Commander: Capt. Kunizō Mori):1st Yokosuka Special Naval Landing Force (Commander: Cdr. Toyoaki Horiuchi):- 1st Sasebo Combined Special Landing Force of 1,800 naval infantry under Capt. Kunizō Mori

- 2nd Sasebo Combined Special Landing Force of 1,400 naval infantry under Cdr. Uroku Hashimoto - 1st Drop Group of 334 paratroopers - 2nd Drop Group of 173 paratroopers

- Kema Landing Group of 169 men

- Tondano Lake Landing Group of 22 men

- Menado Landing Group of 64 men

Naval units Eastern Attack Unit (Commander: Rear. Adm. Takeo Takagi - delegated command during Battle of Manado to Rear Adm. Raizō Tanaka):2nd Destroyer Flotilla (Commander: Rear. Adm. Takeo Takagi):Air Group (2nd Air Unit) (Commander: Cdr. Ruitarō Fujita):Base Force (1st Base Unit) (Commander: Rear. Adm.

Kyūji Kubo): - Support Unit: 5th Cruiser Division (Nachi, Haguro) 6th Destroyer Division (Ikazuchi, Inazuma)

- 2nd Escort Unit:

2nd Destroyer Squadron (Jintsu) 15th Destroyer Division (Natsushio, Kuroshio, Oyashio, Hayashio) 16th Destroyer Division (Yukikaze, Tokitsukaze, Hatsukaze, Amatsukaze)

- Transport Unit: 1st Echelon: Oha Maru, Shinko Maru, Shoka Maru, Koshin Maru, Chowa Maru 2nd Echelon: Nankai Maru, Kinai Maru, Hokuroku Maru, Amagisan Maru, Katsuragi Maru- 11th Seaplane Division (Chitose, Mizuho)

- Patrol Boat P-39- 1st Base Force (Nagara)

- Patrol boats P-1, P-2, P-34

- 21st Minesweeper Division

(W-7, W-8, W-9, W-11, W-12)

- 1st Submarine-chaser Division

(CH-1, CH-2, CH-3)

Netherlands

Ground forces Troepencommando Menado (Commander: Maj. B.F.A. "Ben" Schillmöller with staff under 1st Lt. M. Siegmund):Koninklijke Nederlands Indisch Leger (1948), p. 396Nortier (1988), p. 25InfantryArtillery- Compagnie Menado of 188 Manadonese troops (with one 12.7 mm machine gun and Madsen machine guns) under Capt. W.F.J. Kroon.

- Mobiele Colonne of three brigades (45 troops) under Sgt-Maj. A.J. ter Voert; to be used against Japanese paratroopers.

- Reserve Korps Oud Militairen (RK) of 500 troops under Captain W.C. van den Berg. This unit consist of five companies with eight brigades (15-18 retired KNIL personnel per brigade):

A Company (eight brigades) under 1st Lt. A.O. Radema B Company (eight brigades) under 1st Lt. W.G. van de Laar C Company (eight brigades) under 1st Lt. H. Fuchter D Company (eight brigades) under 1st Lt. J.B. Wielinga E Detachment (three brigades) under Sgt. Meliëzer

- Kort Verband Compagnie (KV) of nine brigades under Capt. J.D.W.T. Abbink.

- Europese Militie en Landstorm Compagnie (European Militia) of ca. 100 troops under 1st Lt. F. Masselink.

- Menadonese Militie Compagnie (Native Militia); about 400 Manadonese militias under Capt. J.H.A.L.C. de Swert.

- Stadswacht Menado (Home Guard) of 100 troops (armed with old hunting rifles) under 1st Lt. M.A. Nolthenius de Man. - One or two 75 mm field guns (L.35 Model 1902) - Three truck-mounted 37 mm guns to defend the Tasoeka Naval Base at Lake Tondano

Dutch plans The Dutch defense plan for Manado consisted of:

Defend against a coup de main (sudden attack) by the Japanese force Putting up a stiff resistance against the enemy landing; If the fight had led to the destruction of most of the troops, proceed to conduct a guerrilla fight Defense of the Tasoeka naval airbase and Langoan airfield Monitoring of a northern landing area West of the Ajermadidih (Airmadidi)-Tateloe (Tatelu) road

Between May 1940 and December 1941, the Dutch forces in Manado made necessary defense preparation. These preparations consisted of establishing several monitoring services (coast guards, airport surveillance as well as other vital objects), to which 2 Reserve Corps (RK) companies were assigned to conduct these services.Koninklijke Nederlands Indisch Leger (1948), p. 398 In addition, the Dutch also worked to construct several defensive positions. However, due to limited funding, few of these positions were completed by the time the Pacific war broke out.

By 8 December 1941, Schillmöller arranged his troops to be stationed in these positions:Koninklijke Nederlands Indisch Leger (1948), pp. 398–399

Combined Force of Compagnie Menado, Stadswacht Menado and Landstorm Compagnie, one machine gun section and one 75 mm field gun based in Manado. If the Force failed to defend against the enemy landing on the beach, they had to delay their advance from Manado to Tomohon via the defense preparations in Tinoor and Kakaskasen A brigade of Radema's A Company stationed at Ajermadidih, with another two brigades stationed at Kema. A Mobile Colonne of 6 trucks mounted with the three 37 mm guns and 4 RK brigades in Poso stationed to defend Lake Tondano An RK brigade at Tasoeka Naval Base An RK brigade, Command of the defense of Lake Tondano and Langoan Airfield stationed at Kakas Seaplane Base Three RK brigades and an overvalwagen at Langoan Airfield A section of the KV Company stationed in Kakas stationed as reserve KV Company (min. 1 section) stationed in Langoan as reserve Staff of Schillmöller's Command with an RK company based in Tomohon

For the defense of Langoan airfield and Kakas Seaplane Base, Schillmöller established the Tactical Command Kakas, under the command of Captain W.C. van den Berg. Van den Berg had the available forces at his disposal:Nortier (1989), pp. 516–517Salecker (2010), p. 2

Command Post at Kakas Airfield defense by Reserve Korp D-Company under 1st. Lt. J.B. Wielinga: 1,5 brigade of C-Company as reserve under Wielinga, stationed at his command post in Langoan village 3,5 brigades of C-Company and the overvalwagen were stationed at Langoan airfield under Sgt-Maj. H.J. Robbemond Seaplane base defense by six brigades of Reserve Korps' C-Company (ca. 150 troops) under 1st. Lt. H. Fuchter, supported by the Mobile Colonne Two overvalwagens under of Sgt.-Maj. A.J. ter Voert placed as reserve in Kakas

Finally, to accommodate the guerrilla plan, nine underground warehouses were built to store supplies that would be needed during the action.De Jong (1984), p. 812 Remaining Dutch troops will be divided into six sections, where each were assigned to a specific warehouse. The sections were:Nortier (1980), p. 71

Compagnie Menado with European Militia KV Company with E-Company RK A company RK B-company RK C-company RK. D-company RK.

Japanese plans

The Eastern Attack Unit was assigned as the Japanese fleet tasked with capturing Menado. Even though Rear-Adm. Takeo Takagi commanded this force, he left the operation details to Rear-Adm. Raizō Tanaka. The battle plan intended for the Sasebo Combined Landing Force, as well as the Yokosuka 1st Special Naval Landing Force as a paratrooper unit.Remmelink (2018), p. 110

Sasebo Combined Special Landing Force The Sasebo Combined Special Landing Force's mission for the upcoming battle consisted of:Remmelink (2018), p. 152

Landing at both coasts on the north and south of Manado, envelop the Dutch forces in the town and destroy them, after which they shall leave Menado and advance towards the Kakas Base via Tomohon Landing at Kema and advance towards Tondano lake and Kakas airfield via Ajermadidih Together with the 1st Yokosuka Special Landing Force, which shall drop on the airfield, make a pincer attack on the Dutch forces in the airfield from the east and the west After destroying the Dutch forces in these areas, they shall reassemble in Manado, and prepare for the coming operation to seize Kendari

The Sasebo Force would depart Davao on 9 January, and the land in the early hours of the 11th.

1st Yokosuka Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF) The 1st Yokosuka SNLF (under Commander Toyoaki Horiuchi), in conjunction with the Sasebo Force, would carry out a paradrop operation on the enemy airfield at 09:30 A.M. on 11 January with the support of the fighters of the 1st Air Raid Unit. Their objectives were to seize Langoan airfield and the Kakas Seaplane Base, two facilities that would support subsequent Japanese operations for the Dutch East Indies campaign.Remmelink (2018), p. 154

The distribution of tasks and actions of each unit, were: DistributionNo. of personnelMission1st Drop Group334 paratroopers (incl. 58 HQ and Signal Unit members)Carry out a paradrop on the Langoan airfield on 11 January. Afterwards, the group would be split into two forces: 1. 1st Company (139 paratroopers) would capture the airfield.

2. The 2nd Company and the rest of the force would seize the Kakas seaplane base.2nd Drop Group173 paratroopersCarry out a paradrop on the Langoan airfield on 12 January.Kema Unit169 soldiersLeave Davao on the Katsuragi Maru on 6 January. Upon landing in Kema, they would transport war supplies, before joining the main body.Tondano Lake Unit22 soldiers (incl. 10 Anti-tank gun unit members)Leave Davao on 11 January on Kawanishi H6K "Mavis" flying boats. On landing in Lake Tondano, they would join the main body and receive orders.Menado Unit64 soldiersLeave Davao as separately designated, and transport war supplies. Afterwards, they would join the main body and receive orders. The Mitsubishi G3M transport aircraft of the 1st Yokosuka SNLF would fly with an interval of between each company. Carrying 12 paratroopers and seven cargo containers each, 10 planes would carry the 1st Drop Group, while eight would carry the 2nd Group. The drops would occur at an altitude of and at a speed of .

The battle

Landing on Manado (1st Force)