Background
At the end of January, Japanese forces had conquered the north and west coast of Borneo and large parts of Maluku (Moluccas). On Borneo's west coast, Japanese forces occupied the oil facilities and ports of Balikpapan and Tarakan, and on Celebes the cities of Menado and Kendari had also fallen. To gain full control of Makassar Strait, the Japanese needed to capture the cities of Makassar and Banjarmasin.
On 1 February, Allied commanders received word from a reconnaissance plane: at Balikpapan, a Japanese invasion force—consisting of 20 troop transport ships, three cruisers and 10 destroyers—was preparing to sail. On 2 February, Admiral Thomas C. Hart, Vice-Admiraal (Vice Admiral) Conrad Helfrich, Rear Admiral William A. Glassford and Kommodore (Commodore) John Collins met at Palembang; Helfrich's suggestion that a strike force be formed was approved. It was formed the following day under Schout by-nacht (Rear Admiral) Karel Doorman, and began on supplies at the Gili Islands, south of Madura.
The ABDA force consisted of four cruisers (HNLMS De Ruyter (flagship), Tromp and USS Houston, and Marblehead) escorted by seven destroyers (HNLMS Banckert, Piet Hein, Van Ghent, USS Barker, Bulmer, John D. Edwards, and Stewart).
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Makassar Strait
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