Battle Of Christmas Island

Situated 300 km south of area; and it was an important source of Phosphate s, which were important in Japan ese industry.

At dawn on March 31, one dozen Japanese bombers, supported by two Light Cruiser s and two Destroyer s, smashed local defenses. The only defences on the island were an old 6-inch gun brought down from Singapore after the First World War, and possibly up to three anti-aircraft guns. The British garrison, which numbered about 100 men, surrendered seven hours later. The Japanese expeditionary corps then disembarked at Flying Fish Cove.

The following day, the American Submarine '' Seawolf '' Torpedo ed the Japanese light cruiser '' Naka '', Flagship of the Admiral-in-Chief of the expeditionary force, forcing the ''Naka'' to return to Japan for repairs (Hara, 1961).

From its base at Christmas Island, and other bases in the East Timor and New Guinea area, the Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-46 army plane "Dinah" performed a number of reconnaissance missions over the northern coast of Australia in Queensland , the Northern Territory and Western Australia . It is thought that the operation may have been a prelude to an Invasion Of Australia , because of the island's strategic position and proximity to Western Australia .

One of the major buildings destroyed was the radio station, which stood roughly where the post office is today. Fragments of the bombs dropped were still being found into the 1980s in the Post Office Padang.

At the end of the occupation, during which the Japanese had reportedly forced many local Muslims to worship at their Shinto shrine, the liberating troops destroyed the shrine at the request of locals.

REFERENCE

EXTERNAL LINK

http://www.geocities.com/dutcheastindies/christmas.html

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Battle Of Christmas Island