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Prisoners of the Japanese in Ambon |
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Following the capitulation of the defending force (named Gull Force), to vastly superior Japanese forces at Ambon on 2 February 1942, many Australian soldiers were executed at Laha airfield four days afterward and the island became a prison for the surviving Australian and Dutch soldiers. The barracks at Tan Tui became a POW camp for the remainder of the war. Its strategic value as a deep-water port meant that it was subject to Allied air attack throughout the war. A number of prisoners were killed as a result of some of these attacks. Two, in particular, in February 1943 and August 1944 devastated the prison camp. Ambon was by-passed in Macarthur's strategic sweep through the Pacific and as a result was not liberated until 10 September 1945 when 302 men were rescued by the RAN. Conditions on Ambon had been comparatively reasonable given the general experience in Japanese POW camps. However, the treatment of the men had been appalling on Ambon under the cruel hand of the camp commander. Seventy-seven per cent of those interned on Ambon would die. More fortunate were a group of 263 Australians and similar number of Dutch prisoners who were transferred to Hainan Island after the February 1943 bombing. Thirty-one per cent of these men perished. According to Professor Joan Beaumont, a significant, contributing factor to the survival rate was the absence of a strong leadership group in the Ambon group. A number of officers had been killed in the bombing raids and the total number of officers was further diluted when some were transferred to Hainan Island where a stronger sense of leadership was invoked. After the war four of the Japanese officers on Ambon were executed for war crimes in relation to the treatment of prisoners. |
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