Operation Oboe Six
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| Operation Oboe Six | |||||||
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 Labuan, June 15, 1945. Members of a patrol from "A" Company, Australian 2/43rd Infantry Battalion, unload a boat and walk along a large fallen tree, as they move inland to investigate reports of Japanese activity. |
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| Australia United States |
Empire of Japan | ||||||
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| George Wootten | |||||||
| Borneo campaign (1945) |
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| Tarakan – Oboe Six – North Borneo – Balikpapan Order of battle |
Operation Oboe Six was the codename for the campaign by Australian forces to retake Brunei and Labuan island, from Japanese forces, between June 10, 1945 and the end of World War II.
The operation commenced with amphibious landings by the Australian 9th Division at "Brown Beach", at Victoria, Labuan; "White Beach" at the south-east tip of Muar island and at "Green Beach", north of Brooketon. The Australians faced an understrength Japanese unit, the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade.
The objectives of Oboe Six were the securing of the Brunei Bay area so that it could be used as an Allied naval base. The secondary objectives were oilfields and rubber plantations/factories. One of the greatest difficulties faced by the Australians was obtaining the necessary shipping and the landings had to be delayed by a few days because of this.
Naval bombardments and air attacks preceded the Australian troops. The landings at White and Green Beaches were unopposed and most of the Japanese forces in the area withdrew before the Australians encountered them. However, on Labuan the Japanese made a stand in a swampy area of jungle known to the Australians as "The Pocket". Although they were outnumbered in the area by a factor of roughly 10:1, the Japanese waged a dogged resistance campaign, which continued until the end of the war, by which time most of the original defenders, and more than 100 Australians had been killed.
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