The 9th Division was a division of the Australian Army that served during World War II. It was the fourth division raised for the Second Australian Imperial Force. The distinctions of the division include it being:
Leslie Thomas Starcevich, VC was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of British and Commonwealth armed forces. He received the award as member of the 2/43rd Battalion, during the Borneo campaign of the Second World War.
The Borneo campaign or Second Battle of Borneo was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area during World War II to liberate Japanese-held British Borneo and Dutch Borneo. Designated collectively as Operation Oboe, a series of amphibious assaults between 1 May and 21 July 1945 were conducted by the Australian I Corps, under Lieutenant-General Leslie Morshead, against Imperial Japanese forces who had been occupying the island since late 1941 – early 1942. The main Japanese formation on the island was the Thirty-Seventh Army under Lieutenant-General Masao Baba, while the naval garrison was commanded by Vice-Admiral Michiaki Kamada. The Australian ground forces were supported by US and other Allied air and naval forces, with the US providing the bulk of the shipping and logistic support necessary to conduct the operation. The campaign was initially planned to involve six stages, but eventually landings were undertaken at four locations: Tarakan, Labuan, North Borneo and Balikpapan. Guerilla operations were also carried out by Dayak tribesmen and small numbers of Allied personnel in the interior of the island. While major combat operations were concluded by mid-July, localised fighting continued throughout Borneo until the end of the war in August. Initially intended to secure vital airfields and port facilities to support future operations, preparatory bombardment resulted in heavy damage to the island's infrastructure, including its oil production facilities. As a result, the strategic benefits the Allies gained from the campaign were negligible.
Beaufort is the capital of the Beaufort District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It was named after former British Governor Leicester Paul Beaufort. Its population was estimated to be around 12,742 in 2010. It is about 90 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu and about 167 kilometres north of Long Pasia. It has shophouses built high above the roads to avoid the periodic floods of the Padas River. The population of Beaufort is composed mainly of Bisaya, Brunei Malays, Kadazan-Dusuns, Lun Bawang/Lun Dayeh, Muruts and Chinese. Bisaya are the majority ethnic, and the population is scattered around the town. Like other towns in Sabah such as Kota Kinabalu city, Tawau, Papar, Kudat and Tenom, Beaufort was one of the major initial Hakka population centres in Sabah and still has a large Hakka minority.
The Battle of North Borneo took place during the Second World War between Allied and Japanese forces. Part of the wider Borneo campaign of the Pacific War, it was fought between 10 June and 15 August 1945 in North Borneo. The battle involved a series of amphibious landings by Australian forces on various points on the mainland around Brunei Bay and upon islands situated around the bay. Japanese opposition to the landings was sporadic initially, although as the campaign progressed a number of considerable clashes occurred and both sides suffered significant casualties, although major combat was largely restricted to Labuan and around Beaufort. On the mainland, while Allied conventional operations focused largely on the coastal areas around Brunei Bay, guerrilla forces consisting of Dayak tribesmen and small numbers of Allied personnel from the Services Reconnaissance Department fought an unconventional campaign in the interior. The Allies were successful in seizing control of the region. Nevertheless, many of the strategic gains that possession of North Borneo provided were ultimately negated by the sudden conclusion of the war in August 1945.
The Battle of Labuan was an engagement fought between Allied and Imperial Japanese forces on the island of Labuan off Borneo during June 1945. It formed part of the Australian invasion of North Borneo, and was initiated by the Allied forces as part of a plan to capture the Brunei Bay area and develop it into a base to support future offensives.
The Double Six Monument is a memorial located at the Sembulan neighbourhood of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia which marks the site of 6 June 1976 fatal plane crash known as the Double Six Tragedy bearing the first Chief Minister of Sabah, Tun Fuad Stephens, as well as six other State ministers.
The 2/11th Commando Squadron was a commando unit raised by the Australian Army for service in World War II. Raised in 1944, the unit saw action late in the war against the Japanese during the Borneo campaign in 1945. As a part of this campaign the squadron undertook landings on Labuan Island and at Brunei Bay. Following the end of the war, the squadron returned to Australia and was disbanded in early 1946.
The 24th Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army. Formed on 1 July 1940 as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force, the unit was raised for service during World War II. Originally formed as part of the 8th Australian Division the brigade was subsequently transferred to the newly created 9th Australian Division in December. The brigade served during the Western Desert Campaign, forming part of the Allied garrison during the Siege of Tobruk. Later, the brigade was withdrawn to Syria for occupation duties, but then later took part in the First and Second Battles of El Alamein. In early 1943, the brigade was returned to Australia to fight against the Japanese in the Pacific. In 1943–1944, the brigade fought in New Guinea, taking part in the landing at Lae and the Huon Peninsula campaign. Its final campaign came late in the war, when it took part in the Labuan landings and the Battle of North Borneo in mid-1945. After the war, the brigade was disbanded in early 1946.
The 2/43rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in July 1940 in South Australia as part of the 24th Brigade, the battalion was initially part of the 8th Division, until the 24th Brigade was re-allocated to the 9th Division in late 1940. It was with this formation that the 2/43rd saw service in the Middle East in 1941–1942, taking part in the fighting at Tobruk and in the First and Second Battles of El Alamein. It also undertook garrison duties in Syria, before returning to Australia early in 1943 to fight against the Japanese in the Pacific.
Before the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, the island of Borneo was divided into five territories. Four of the territories were in the north and under British control – Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, an island, and British North Borneo; while the remainder, and bulk, of the island, was under the jurisdiction of the Dutch East Indies.
The Sandakan War Monument is a monument established by the British located in the town of Sandakan, Malaysia, to commemorates the town citizens who died during the Second World War. The monument is part of the Sandakan Heritage Trails, a "Heritage Trail" which connects every historic sights of Sandakan.
Quailey's Hill Memorial is a memorial in Ranau District, Sabah, Malaysia. It commemorates an Australian POWs, Allan Quailey who been killed on 16 February 1945 during the first Sandakan Death Marches by the Japanese soldiers.
Sandakan Massacre Memorial consists of three monuments which commemorate 30 Chinese victims, most of the members are local elite of an underground movement who been executed on 27 May 1945 along with several other victims during the Japanese occupation of North Borneo. The memorial was built on the spot where the massacre took place and where the victims were buried. It is located near a Chinese cemetery on a hill above the old town centre of Sandakan.
Cho Huan Lai Memorial or also known as Keningau War Memorial in the Malaysian town of Keningau in Sabah is a monument dedicated to Chinese Consul General Cho Huan Lai and his colleagues who died on 6 July 1945 after being executed by the Japanese.
Tawau Japanese War Memorial is a former Japanese cemetery in Tawau in the Malaysian state of Sabah which now been transformed into a memorial.
The De Fontaine Memorial is a monument built by the North Borneo Chartered Company to remember an incident on 12 May 1885 that led to an ambush attack to the North Borneo Armed Constabulary, in which five members of the police force were killed. The monument stands in the village of Kawang in the Malaysian state of Sabah.
The Last POW Camp Memorial is a memorial in the district of Ranau in the Malaysian state of Sabah, which commemorates the victims of the Sandakan Death Marches who died during their march to Ranau. Of 1,047 British and Australian prisoners of war, only 189 survived to reach this site which is located near Liwagu Valley. Of these 189 total, 153 prisoners died in the next six weeks, 32 were murdered, while only four managed to escape. The current memorial was built where the former camp was located.
The 56th Independent Mixed Brigade was an Imperial Japanese Army unit of World War II. It was raised in June 1944 to reinforce the defences of Japanese-occupied Borneo, and was initially stationed in the north-east of the island. In early 1945 most of the brigade's units were ordered to move to the Brunei Bay area of west Borneo, with the brigade's personnel subsequently making a difficult march across the centre of the island.
The Battle of Beaufort took place during the Second World War between Allied and Japanese forces. Part of the wider Borneo campaign of the Pacific War, it was fought between 26 and 28 June 1945 in North Borneo. The battle formed part of the Allied efforts to secure North Borneo in the final months of the war and saw two Australian infantry battalions attack the town, which was held by a force of around 800 – 1,000 Japanese. Over the course of several days heavy fighting took place before the Japanese began withdrawing on 29 June. While withdrawing, the Japanese were ambushed and suffered heavy casualties.
