In March 1944, a force of three
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
(IJN)
heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...
s raided
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
shipping in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
, the codename of this operation was Operation SA No.1. The cruisers departed Japanese-held territory on 1 March with the support of other IJN vessels and aircraft. On 9 March, they encountered and sank the British
steamer ''Behar'', with the heavy cruiser picking up over 100 survivors. Fearing detection, the Japanese force subsequently returned to the
Netherlands East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
(NEI), arriving on 16 March. Two days later, most of ''Behar''s crew and passengers were murdered on board ''Tone''. Following the war the commander of the raid, Rear Admiral
Naomasa Sakonju
was a vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and a convicted war criminal.
Biography
A native of Kagoshima Prefecture, Sakonju was a graduate of the 40th class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1912, placing 98th ...
, was executed for this
war crime and ''Tone''s captain Haruo Mayuzumi (
:ja:黛治夫) was sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
Background
In February 1944, the Japanese
Combined Fleet
The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units norm ...
withdrew from its base at
Truk in the Central
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
to
Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...
and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. The appearance of a powerful Japanese naval force at Singapore concerned the Allies, as it was feared that these ships could potentially conduct raids in the Indian Ocean and against
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. In response, the Allies strengthened their naval and air forces in the area by transferring two British
light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
s from the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
as well as several
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
warships from the Pacific. The number of air units in
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
and the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
region was also increased. Admiral
James Somerville
Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville, (17 July 1882 – 19 March 1949) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World War as fleet wireless officer for the Mediterranean Fleet where he was involved in providing naval supp ...
, the commander of the British
Eastern Fleet
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air L ...
, feared that the Japanese would repeat their devastating
Indian Ocean raid
The Indian Ocean raid, also known as Operation C or Battle of Ceylon in Japanese, was a naval sortie carried out by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 31 March to 10 April 1942. Japanese aircraft carriers under Admiral Chūichi Nagumo ...
of early 1942, and on 25 February requested permission to withdraw his fleet from its base at
Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...
so that it was not at risk from the larger Japanese force. The
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
* Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
* Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
*Admiralty, Tr ...
rejected this request, and directed that the fleet should remain at Trincomalee unless it was threatened by a superior Japanese force as its withdrawal would affect morale and harm Britain's prestige in the region. It was agreed, however, that the Eastern Fleet should not engage superior Japanese forces and could withdraw if Somerville judged this necessary.
[Gill (1968), p. 388]
In late February, Vice-Admiral
Shiro Takasu
Shiro, Shirō, Shirow or Shirou may refer to:
People
* Amakusa Shirō (1621–1638), leader of the Shimabara Rebellion
* Ken Shiro (born 1992), Japanese boxer
* Shiro Azumi, Japanese football player 1923–1925
* Shiro Ichinoseki (born 1944), Ja ...
—the Commander in Chief,
Southwest Area Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II.
History
The Southwest Area Fleet was an operational command of the Imperial Japanese Navy established on April 10, 1942 to coordinate naval, air, and ground forces f ...
—ordered the heavy cruisers , , and to raid Allied shipping on the main route between
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
and
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
. This force was commanded by Rear Admiral Naomasa Sakonju on board ''Aoba''. In his instructions to Sakonju, Vice Admiral Takasu directed that if the force captured Allied merchant seamen all prisoners, other than radio operators and other personnel who might possess useful information, were to be killed.
Sakonju did not question this order. The Japanese cruisers embarked specialised boarding parties for this operation as it was hoped that they could capture merchant ships to alleviate Japan's shipping shortage.
Raid
The three Japanese heavy cruisers departed from the Combined Fleet's anchorage in the
Lingga Islands
The Lingga Regency ( id, Kabupaten Lingga) is a group of islands in Indonesia, located south of Singapore, along both sides of the equator, off the eastern coast of Riau Province on Sumatra island. They are south of the populated Riau Archipela ...
on 27 February.
The light cruisers and and three destroyers escorted the force through the
Sunda Strait
The Sunda Strait ( id, Selat Sunda) is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java island, Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean.
Etymology
The strait takes its name from the Sunda Kingdom, which ruled the weste ...
on 1 March. The raiders were supported by 10 medium bombers and three or four
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s based in
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
and west
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
which conducted patrols in the direction of Ceylon. Three or four submarines from the 8th Flotilla also monitored Allied shipping movements near Ceylon, the
Maldive Islands
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
and
Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago () or Chagos Islands (formerly the Bassas de Chagas, and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives archi ...
.
The Allies did not detect the Japanese force's departure, but
reinforced their forces in Western Australia after an American submarine encountered ''Kinu'' and ''Ōi'' operating near the
Lombok Strait
The Lombok Strait ( id, Selat Lombok), is a strait connecting the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean, and is located between the islands of Bali and Lombok in Indonesia. The Gili Islands are on the Lombok side.
Its narrowest point is at its southern o ...
on 6 March. The presence of these ships was taken to indicate that a hostile force had possibly been dispatched into the Indian Ocean.
[Gill (1968), p. 390] On 8 March, Somerville directed all Allied ships travelling between 80 and 100° east to divert to the south or west.
After leaving the Sunda Strait, the Japanese heavy cruisers sailed south-west for the main route between Aden and Fremantle. The ships were spread by day and by night and maintained
radio silence
In telecommunications, radio silence or Emissions Control (EMCON) is a status in which all fixed or mobile radio stations in an area are asked to stop transmitting for safety or security reasons.
The term "radio station" may include anything cap ...
.
[Royal Navy Historical Section (1957), p. 184] On the morning of 9 March, they encountered the British steamer ''Behar'' at , about midway between Fremantle and
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
.
The ship was travelling from Fremantle to
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
as part of a voyage between
Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...
and the United Kingdom carrying a cargo of
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
.
[Weaver (2000), p. 12]
Upon sighting the Japanese ships, ''Behar''s master, Captain Maurice Symons, ordered that his radio operator transmit the "RRR" code in order to notify other ships and Allied bases that the merchant ship was being attacked by surface raiders. ''Tone''s signals room picked up this message,. The ''Tone'' first signaled repeatedly to the ''Behar'' to surrender, but as the ''Behar'' continued to flee, the cruiser opened fire on the ''Behar''. The Japanese cruiser did not attempt to capture the steamer, as it was judged too risky to sail her back to Japanese territory.
''Tone''s gunners scored hits on ''Behar''s prow and stern which killed three of her crew. Five minutes after the sighting, ''Behar''s crew and passengers abandoned ship. The steamer sank shortly afterwards and either 104 or 108 survivors were rescued by ''Tone''.
[Lamont-Brown (2002), p. 111]
The ''Behar'' survivors were maltreated by members of ''Tone''s crew. Japanese sailors forced the survivors to hand over all their personal belongings of any value, and then used ropes to tie the survivors in painful positions which caused them to have difficulty breathing. The merchant ship's chief officer was beaten after he complained that treating civilians in such a way violated the
Geneva Convention
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
. However, the female survivors later had their ropes removed.
When the survivors were taken below decks to be imprisoned they were badly beaten by Japanese sailors.
Following the attack, Sakonju judged that it was too dangerous to continue the raid as ''Behar''s distress message may have alerted the Allies to his force's presence. Accordingly, the Japanese turned back for the NEI that day.
[Gill (1968), p. 389] The heavy cruisers were again escorted through the Sunda Strait by ''Kinu'', ''Ōi'' and five destroyers, and arrived back at the NEI on 15 March.
During this time, the ''Behar'' survivors were held in a small and extremely hot store room on board ''Tone'', and were given little access to food and water, sanitary facilities and exercise.
[Lamont-Brown (2002), p. 112]
Despite Sakonju's fears, the Allies were not immediately aware of the attack on ''Behar''. Her distress signal had been picked up by only a single Allied merchant ship, which did not report it until she arrived at Fremantle on 17 March. In the meantime, Somerville had decided on 16 March that surface raiders no longer posed a threat to shipping in the Indian Ocean and allowed Allied vessels to resume their normal routing.
Massacre
Shortly after the ''Behar'' survivors were rescued, Sakonju sent a radio message to ''Tone''s commanding officer, Captain Haruo Mayuzumi, reprimanding him for taking non-essential personnel prisoner and not capturing the merchant ship. In this message Sakonju ordered that the survivors be killed. Mayuzumi was unwilling to do so, however, as he felt that this would violate his Christian religious beliefs. His executive officer, Commander Junsuke Mii, also opposed killing the prisoners. Mayuzumi radioed a request to Sakonju that the prisoners be put ashore, but this was rejected. The captain then visited ''Aoba'' to argue his case, but Sakonju remained unmoved and told Mayuzumi to "obey my orders". Despite his misgivings, Mayuzumi decided to kill the prisoners.
On 15 March the three heavy cruisers anchored at
Tanjung Priok
Tanjung Priok is a district of North Jakarta, Indonesia. It hosts the western part of the city's main harbor, the Port of Tanjung Priok (located in Tanjung Priok District and Koja District). The district of Tanjung Priok is bounded by Laksamana ...
near Java. Following this, either 15 or 36 survivors were transferred to ''Aoba''.
The party sent to ''Aoba'' included Symonds, the ''Behar''s chief officer and several of the senior officers as well as both of the ship's female passengers.
All of this group were later landed at Tanjung Priok.
[Lamont-Brown (2002), p. 114]
The three cruisers sailed from Tanjung Priok bound for Singapore on 18 March.
That night, all the prisoners on board ''Tone'' were beheaded by several of the cruiser's officers.
[Lamont-Brown (2002), pp. 112–114] Mayuzumi watched the killings from the ship's bridge but Mii refused to take part.
The number of the crew to be executed was between 65 and at least 100.
Aftermath
''Aoba'', ''Chikuma'' and ''Tone'' arrived at Singapore on 25 March.
The Indian Ocean raid was the last operation conducted by Axis surface raiders during World War II.
As a result, ''Behar'' was the final Allied merchant ship to be sunk by surface raiders during the war. The raid is notable chiefly for the ''Behar'' massacre; it achieved little militarily. The raid failed to disrupt Allied traffic in the region as the diversions ordered by Somerville on 8 March were rescinded by 16 March. The only tangible result was the sinking of one ship, the ''Behar''; by contrast Axis submarines
sank three ships in the Indian Ocean during the same period. The raid was also less successful than comparable raids by surface ships in the region, such as that of the
''Admiral Scheer'' in 1941. The Japanese made no attempt to capitalize on their numerical superiority in the region and by the end of the month it had vanished; reinforcements to the Eastern Fleet enabled Somerville to start a series of carrier raids, commencing with an
attack on Sabang on 19 April 1944.
The party of ''Behar'' survivors who had been landed at Tanjung Priok were initially interned in
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
camps in Java; the male prisoners were sent to a camp near
Batavia
Batavia may refer to:
Historical places
* Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands
* Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
and the women were held in a female camp nearby. After all the members of the group had been interrogated, the survivors were separated and sent to other camps in Java or to work as slave labourers in Japan. All the survivors were freed after the end of the war in August 1945.
One of the Survivors Mrs Agnes (Nancy) Shaw had been travelling to India to join her husband. They had been separated when they escaped from Malaya on different ships. She was imprisoned at Camp Makkasar in Batavia (now Java) where she worked in the camp bakery. She was reunited with her husband after Java was liberated. When the British Government negotiated gratuities for Far East Prisoners of War the Foreign and Commonwealth Office disavowed knowledge of her captivity. However, on being shown artefacts from captivity including a pastel sketchbook the gratuity was paid. She died in Aberdeen in February 2002 aged 89.
Following the war, the Allies prosecuted the officers responsible for the murders on board ''Tone''. Vice Admiral Takasu had died from disease in September 1944, but Sakonju was tried by the British in 1947 at
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and sentenced to death and executed 21 January 1948.
[Fuller (1992), p. 284] Mayuzumi was also convicted for his role in the killings and sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
Sakonju stated in his affidavit that he was 'retaliating against the execution and inhuman treatment of Japanese prisoners by the allies in Guadalcanal', and also stated in his defense that the Tone executed the prisoners after the operation has ended and the Tone left his command. Mayuzumi stated in his defense that he was following Sakonju's orders. Mayuzumi received a light sentence due to his repeated requests for clemency for the prisoner's lives.
See also
*
Japanese raiders in the Indian Ocean
Notes
* The number of ''Behar'' survivors rescued after the ship's sinking differ between sources. Lamont-Brown (2002), p. 111 states that 108 of the 111 people on board the ship were rescued while Gill (1968), p. 389 states that there were 104 survivors, all of whom were rescued.
* Gill (1968), p. 389 states that 15 ''Behar'' survivors were landed at Tanjung Priok while Lamont-Brown (2002), p. 112 puts the figure at 36.
Citations
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{refend
Conflicts in 1944
Indian Ocean operations of World War II
Naval battles of World War II involving Japan
Naval battles and operations of World War II involving the United Kingdom
March 1944 events
Military raids
Japan–United Kingdom military relations