The British Punjab Retreat from Kuching
Toms Note: The Punjabis or Sikhi are from India and are known for their smart turbans. They were led by British commanders during the colonial period.
The Germans entered Belgium, Holland and France in 1940. They were unable to take England because of the British Air superiority. They next moved into Yugoslavia and Greece for the oil fields. The Germans next invaded Russia. In the Far East, Japan widened the war after the conquest of a large part of China in December 1941.
The Punjab regiment 20/15 had seen battle through the suppression of the Saya San rebellion(a peasant revolt in 1930) in Burma and then patrolled the India-Burmese border. The regiment was ordered to Singapore in December 1941 where it was involved in aerodrome defence. A unit of this regiment was transferred to Borneo. (I checked at the Sikh Temple, and an older person stated 1500 Punjabs arrived) They were ill-equipped, and the lessons of jungle warfare learned in Burma were lost. The commanders of the regiment were transferred back to India just as the Punjabis arrived in Kuching.
Once in Kuching, the officers of the Punjab unit forcefully opposed the tactics ordered by the officers in Malaya. The local commander wished to challenge the Japanese landing and then retreat into the jungle. They planned a guerrilla warfare battle with food and ammunition dumps placed in the jungle beforehand at specific locations.
Instead, officers in Malaya ordered a static defence (which means they defend the airport) with troops and supplies. The troops were expected to hold the airport with the supplies and men. This type of defence was a failure in Crete. Instead of blowing up the airport and moving men and supplies back into the jungle, the forces were ordered to hold their ground.
This is exactly what they did with the loss of thirty Punjabi men and pounds of equipment. The defence of Kuching was impossible without additional men and supplies. British commanders refused to consider other alternatives. The Punjab troops fought valiantly against the Japanese. It was the loss of equipment and supplies that should have moved into the jungle that was a horrific mistake.
The withdrawal of the British led Punjabi forces proceeded along the Krokong, Siniawan and Sarabrik to the Dutch border. A Dutch patrol was encountered and they ordered the Punjab troops to march 20 miles back and make a stand at Silooas. The exhausted Punjabs refused. They continued four miles onwards and crossed at Sanggau. Meanwhile, the Sarawak Rangers were disbanded and the men and women of that group were sent to Pontianak for evacuation to Java.
The Dutch and British could not work together in Borneo. The British accused the Dutch of ordering them to do all the fighting. The Dutch were incompetent and refused to put up a fight. They would not allow them to know the whereabouts of Dutch forces. However, these excuses were an attempt to cover the British failures at Kuching.
Throughout January of 1942, the British forces retreated to Ngabang. There were several skirmishes with the Japanese. On 17 January the Dutch withdrew from Silooas, leaving a small force of Punjabs to defend the crossroads.
The Dutch (according to British sources) produced a new plan. Half the of the British led forces and one platoon(about 32 men) of Dutch soldiers were to hold the roads at Sangau. The remainder of the British forces were to attack and retake Silooas. The Dutch, with 180 jungle fighters, would then attack and relieve Kuching.
The British rejected the idea saying it proved the incompetence of the Dutch commander, and the British refused to believe there that many Dutch jungle fighters in the area. The British produced a plan of their own which involving patrols of roads and rivers around Lido, Sangau, Sambas and Ngabang. The plan was not implemented because the Dutch, they said, was withholding equipment.
Meanwhile, the Japanese were amassing troops at Silooas with the intent of moving onto Sanggau. A Dutch patrol was annihilated, and its officer killed. The British troops attacked at 11:00 but it was unsuccessful, blaming the Dutch.
On 27 January, the Dutch retreated from Ledo while the British fell back from the Segundai-Sanggau positions. Meanwhile, a Japanese convoy was spotted off of Sambas. They had landed at Permangkat and marched, unopposed from Sinkawan to Pontianak.
At Penaring the British led Punjabi forces open fired on the Japanese, inflicting heavy losses. The Japanese pulled back, reorganized and attacked the British led Punjabi forces. The British fell back to Bankajan with the Dutch engineers blowing up bridges behind them.
A British-Dutch force took up another position, five miles from Bankajan. A Japanese attacked at 22:30 which resulted in the combined forces being bogged down in a rice field. The British led Punjabis retreated back to Ngabang.
The British Punjab regiment, after a rest of a few days began a long march to the sea. The west column contained 364 people under the command of Major Milligan while the east column walked 357 people ruled by Lieutenant Cornel CR Thompson. A third “blitz column” made up of officers and other men holding rank.
The east column, after a long hard march with many deprivation, reached Pankalaboon on 29 March 1942 where they learned the Dutch had surrendered. The west column staggered into Kenamboi where food awaited them. The “blitz” party reached Pankalaboon on 9 March. They noticed many Dutch deserters along the way.
It was planned the Punjabi forces would harass the Japanese and “live off the land”. However, all allied forces surrendered to the Japanese on 3 April 1942. The resulting casualty list was 500 Punjabs died or went missing and 100 Japanese were killed. The remaining Punjab force spent the rest of the war in Tanjong Priok prison. Most of the Punjabi soldiers died in this and other prisoner of war camps.
The Punjab regiment claimed the following victories after the war:
1. They effectively denied the Miri-Seria oilfield to the Japanese.
2. They denied the Kuching airfield to the enemy.
3. They allowed the Singaporeans to withdraw.
4. The enemy was drawn into the heart of Borneo and harassed for five months
5. Many civilians were evacuated
6. Supplies and bridges were destroyed.
The report also notes, “had the original plan been adhered to, since guerrilla attacks could have been carried out in Sarawak for some time over known ground and a friendly population with a well-hidden supply base. Unfortunately, the shorter view of a static defence completely ruined the hope of carrying this out in Sarawak or Dutch Borneo.”
In the final note, the author states, “In its wider context, the disaster in Borneo 1941-1942 was merely the latest in a lengthening series of worldwide reverses for British forces stretching from Narvik to Dunkirk and Crete and from Burma to Singapore to Hong Kong. Equally significant for the long term for the liberation from the “evil oppression” of the Japanese, the people not only turned away from the British but to their efforts as guerrillas and to the soldiers of the ninth Australian Division. The events of December 1941-April 1942 mark an important staging post in the history of Sarawak”
From:
Horton, AVM A Note on the British Retreat in the Sarawak Museum Journal December,1986
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