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.
An infantryman from the Australian 2/43rd Battalion in a bomber dispersal bay at Labuan airstrip on 10 June 1945
Support craft moving towards Victoria and Brown Beach to assist the 24th Brigade's landing on Labuan
The remnants of Victoria after it was attacked by Allied aircraft and warships
Soldiers from the 2/43rd Battalion on board a LVT during the landing at Labuan on 10 June
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.
Members of a patrol from 'A' Company, Australian 2/43rd Battalion, disembark from a boat and walk along a large fallen tree, as they move inland to investigate reports of Japanese activity.
Australian troops from the 24th Brigade landing on Labuan on 10 June 1945.
Troops from the 2/13th Battalion patrolling around Miri, August 1945
Troops from the Australian 2/32nd Battalion land at Weston aboard US-crewed landing vehicles