battle of the java sea

The Battle of the Java Sea (Indonesian: Pertempuran Laut Jawa, Japanese: スラバヤ沖海戦, romanized: Surabaya Oki Kaisen, lit. 'Surabaya Open-Sea Battle') was a decisive naval battle of the early Pacific campaign of World War II.

Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Navy on 27 February 1942 and in secondary actions over successive days. The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) Strike Force commander —Dutch Rear Admiral Karel Doorman— was killed.

The aftermath of the battle included several smaller actions around Java, including the smaller but also significant Battle of Sunda Strait . These Allied defeats led to a Japanese decisive victory and occupation of the entire Dutch East Indies in early 1942.