battle, major, interwar and Second World War
Battle of Timor
Battle of Timor was a battle fought on 19 February 1942 at Portuguese Timor, in what is now Indonesia. It was part of World War II, which ran from 1939 to 1945. The recorded result: Japanese victory. Recorded strength: ~2,050 strong garrison; (peak February 1942); ~1,000 commandos; (peak October 1942) against ~12,000 (peak late 1942).
See it on the globe Read the article
Record
| Date | 19 February 1942 | |
|---|---|---|
| Place | Portuguese Timor, Indonesia 10.383S, 123.633E | |
| Part of | World War II (1939 to 1945) | |
| Kind | Battle, interwar and Second World War | |
| Result | Japanese victory | |
| Territorial change | Occupation of Dutch Timor and Portuguese Timor | |
| Belligerents | Allies: Dutch government-in-exile; Dutch East Indies; United Kingdom; Australia; United States; Portuguese Timor | Empire of Japan |
| Commanders | William Leggatt; William Veale; Alexander Spence; Bernard Callinan; Douglas MacArthur; Nico van Straten; Dom Aleixo; Manuel Pires | Sadashichi Doi (invasion); Yuitsu Tsuchihashi (later campaign) |
| Strength | ~2,050 strong garrison; (peak February 1942); ~1,000 commandos; (peak October 1942) | ~12,000 (peak late 1942) |
| Casualties and losses | Netherlands: ~300 dead; Australia: 151 dead (Sparrow Force); Portuguese Timor: ~75 dead; United Kingdom: 5 dead The Sparrows (Military Unit) | ~4,000 dead; (West and East Timor); 40,000–70,000 civilians dead |
Nearest engagements
- Battle of Penfui 1749, 25 km
- Action of 26 July 1806 1806, 649 km
- Bombing of Darwin 1942, 820 km
- Battle of Ambon 1942, 890 km
- Battle of Badung Strait 1942, 925 km
In the same war
- Before: Channel Dash 13 February 1942
- After: Action of 27 March 1942 27 March 1942
- All 212 engagements of World War II
Elsewhere in 1942
- Battle of Stalingrad Russia
- Battle of Midway United States
- Battle of the Coral Sea
- Second Battle of El Alamein Egypt
- First Battle of El Alamein Egypt
Battle of Timor is one of 1,912 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 32 in present-day Indonesia.
Sources
Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1440764, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Timor, revision 1376983568, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.