3 March, 1942
Kalidjati Airfield, Java: Having failed to penetrate from the south to Kalidjati Airfield with the Mobile Column on March 2nd, the ABDA command banked it's hopes on regaining the field on the 3rd with a regimental sized attack from the west. Late on the 2nd the Japanese 3rd Air Brigade arrived to take up residence on the airfield which finally gave the Japanese local air support. Monsoon rains had turned the area into a sea of mud. As the Allied formations made their way toward Kalidjati, from Buitzenzorg and Bandung, Japanese aircraft pounded them incessantly. Consequently the Allied forces arrived disjointed and behind schedule and continued to be pounded as they reached their assembly areas. For the Japanese, it was crucial that the field be held at all costs. Only a portion of the Shoji Detachment was in the area having already dispatched units toward their next objectives. The 3rd Air Brigade could offer some resources but there was a multitude of Allied troops making their way to the field. Could the continuing pounding by the airplanes break up the Allied attack enough so that the Japanese could hold the field?
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