text:
User talk:Ruhe1986

Fair use rationale for Image:Spicymeetssweet3.JPG
Thanks for uploading or contributing to Image:Spicymeetssweet3.JPG. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in Wikipedia articles constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use. Suggestions on how to do so can be found here.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If you have uploaded other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on those pages too. You can find a list of 'image' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "Image" from the dropdown box. Note that any non-free media lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Do you want to opt out of receiving this notice? Rettetast (talk) 21:53, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free media (Image:Spicy guys1.jpg)
Thanks for uploading Image:Spicy guys1.jpg. The media description page currently specifies that it is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, it is currently orphaned, meaning that it is not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the media was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that media for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

If you have uploaded other unlicensed media, please check whether they're used in any articles or not. You can find a list of 'image' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "Image" from the dropdown box. Note that all non-free media not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. BJBot (talk) 05:22, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free media (Image:RaccoonCityMap.JPG)
Thanks for uploading Image:RaccoonCityMap.JPG. The media description page currently specifies that it is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, it is currently orphaned, meaning that it is not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the media was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that media for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

If you have uploaded other unlicensed media, please check whether they're used in any articles or not. You can find a list of 'image' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "Image" from the dropdown box. Note that all non-free media not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. BJBot (talk) 05:33, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Harrisburg, Illinois
Just a heads up: you may be better off sending the article to the good article nominations page first. Take care. Sillyfolkboy (talk) 04:50, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

It looks like this article may still need a lot of work. I encourage you to withdraw the FAC nomination, keeping working on it, and maybe try a peer review and then a good article nomination before bringing it back to FAC. The FAC criteria can be confusing for first-time nominators, and most times the second time you nominate an article it is a lot easier! If you want to withdraw the FAC, just leave a note on the FAC nomination page. Karanacs (talk) 14:04, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

Disputed fair use rationale for File:Saharastrippingshovel.jpg}
Thank you for uploading File:Saharastrippingshovel.jpg. However, there is a concern that the rationale provided for using this image under "fair use" may not meet the criteria required by Non-free content. This can be corrected by going to the image description page and add or clarify the reason why the image qualifies for fair use. In particular, for each page the image is used on, the image must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Can you please check:
 * That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's escription page for each article the image is used in.
 * That every article it is used on is linked to from its description page.

Please be aware that a fair use rationale is not the same as an image copyright tag; descriptions for images used under the fair use policy require both a copyright tag and a fair use rationale.

If it is determined that the image does not qualify under fair use, it might be deleted by adminstrator within a few days in accordance with our criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions, please ask them at the media copyright questions page. Thank you. NOTE: once you correct this, please remove the tag from the image's page. STBotI (talk) 06:16, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

Disputed fair use rationale for File:Saharastrippingshovel.jpg}
Thank you for uploading File:Saharastrippingshovel.jpg. However, there is a concern that the rationale provided for using this image under "fair use" may not meet the criteria required by Non-free content. This can be corrected by going to the image description page and add or clarify the reason why the image qualifies for fair use. In particular, for each page the image is used on, the image must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Can you please check:
 * That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's escription page for each article the image is used in.
 * That every article it is used on is linked to from its description page.

Please be aware that a fair use rationale is not the same as an image copyright tag; descriptions for images used under the fair use policy require both a copyright tag and a fair use rationale.

If it is determined that the image does not qualify under fair use, it might be deleted by adminstrator within a few days in accordance with our criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions, please ask them at the media copyright questions page. Thank you. NOTE: once you correct this, please remove the tag from the image's page. STBotI (talk) 06:16, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

License tagging for File:Hburgil logo.jpg
Thanks for uploading File:Hburgil logo.jpg. You don't seem to have indicated the license status of the image. Wikipedia uses a set of image copyright tags to indicate this information; to add a tag to the image, select the appropriate tag from this list, click on this link, then click "Edit this page" and add the tag to the image's description. If there doesn't seem to be a suitable tag, the image is probably not appropriate for use on Wikipedia.

For help in choosing the correct tag, or for any other questions, leave a message on Media copyright questions. Thank you for your cooperation. --ImageTaggingBot (talk) 11:08, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

File source problem with File:Saline303d_lrg.jpg
Thanks for uploading File:Saline303d_lrg.jpg. I noticed that the file's description page currently doesn't specify who created the content, so the copyright status is unclear. If you did not create this file yourself, you will need to specify the owner of the copyright. If you obtained it from a website, then a link to the website from which it was taken, together with a restatement of that website's terms of use of its content, is usually sufficient information. However, if the copyright holder is different from the website's publisher, their copyright should also be acknowledged.

If you have uploaded other files, consider checking that you have specified their source and tagged them, too. You can find a list of files you have uploaded by following this link. Unsourced and untagged images may be deleted one week after they have been tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If the image is copyrighted under a non-free license (per Fair use) then the image will be deleted 48 hours after 14:04, 20 June 2009 (UTC). If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. feydey (talk) 14:04, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

File source problem with File:Saline303d_lrg.jpg
Thanks for uploading File:Saline303d_lrg.jpg. I noticed that the file's description page currently doesn't specify who created the content, so the copyright status is unclear. If you did not create this file yourself, you will need to specify the owner of the copyright. If you obtained it from a website, then a link to the website from which it was taken, together with a restatement of that website's terms of use of its content, is usually sufficient information. However, if the copyright holder is different from the website's publisher, their copyright should also be acknowledged.

If you have uploaded other files, consider checking that you have specified their source and tagged them, too. You can find a list of files you have uploaded by following this link. Unsourced and untagged images may be deleted one week after they have been tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If the image is copyrighted under a non-free license (per Fair use) then the image will be deleted 48 hours after 14:04, 20 June 2009 (UTC). If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. feydey (talk) 14:04, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

Replaceable fair use File:TullerMansion-1.jpg
Thanks for uploading File:TullerMansion-1.jpg. I noticed the description page specifies that the media is being used under a claim of fair use, but its use in Wikipedia articles fails our first non-free content criterion in that it illustrates a subject for which a freely licensed media could reasonably be found or created that provides substantially the same information. If you believe this media is not replaceable, please:

 * 1) Go to the media description page and edit it to add, without deleting the original replaceable fair use template.
 * 2) On the image discussion page, write the reason why this image is not replaceable at all.

Alternatively, you can also choose to replace this non-free media by finding freely licensed media of the same subject, requesting that the copyright holder release this (or similar) media under a free license, or by taking a picture of it yourself.

If you have uploaded other non-free media, consider checking that you have specified how these images fully satisfy our non-free content criteria. You can find a list of description pages you have edited by clicking on this link. Note that even if you follow steps 1 and 2 above, non-free media which could be replaced by freely licensed alternatives will be deleted 2 days after this notification (7 days if uploaded before 13 July 2006), per our non-free content policy. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Melesse (talk) 05:05, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

May 2009 Southern Midwest derecho
You recently moved this article to "May 2009 Inland Hurricane." While this may be a common name among those not educated more thoroughly in meteorology, the name is incorrect. At not time was this a hurricane. If you would have taken the time to read and comprehend the article, you would have understood that. Such moves should be discussed on the article's talk page in the future.

 Southern Illinois SKYWARN Got something to say? 03:39, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

License tagging for File:Harrpostgreet.jpg
Thanks for uploading File:Harrpostgreet.jpg. You don't seem to have indicated the license status of the image. Wikipedia uses a set of image copyright tags to indicate this information; to add a tag to the image, select the appropriate tag from this list, click on this link, then click "Edit this page" and add the tag to the image's description. If there doesn't seem to be a suitable tag, the image is probably not appropriate for use on Wikipedia.

For help in choosing the correct tag, or for any other questions, leave a message on Media copyright questions. Thank you for your cooperation. --ImageTaggingBot (talk) 14:06, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for File:Greetings from Southern Illinois.jpg
Thanks for uploading or contributing to File:Greetings from Southern Illinois.jpg. I notice the file page specifies that the file is being used under fair use but there is not a suitable explanation or rationale as to why each specific use in Wikipedia constitutes fair use. Please go to the file description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale.

If you have uploaded other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on those pages too. You can find a list of 'file' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "File" from the dropdown box. Note that any non-free media lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Eeekster (talk) 02:52, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free image File:Greteingsfromsoil.jpg
 Thanks for uploading File:Greteingsfromsoil.jpg. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently orphaned, meaning that it is not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

If you have uploaded other unlicensed media, please check whether they're used in any articles or not. You can find a list of "file" pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "File" from the dropdown box. Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. ww2censor (talk) 16:45, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Proposed deletion of Heartland Dream Center

The article Heartland Dream Center has been proposed for deletion  because of the following concern:
 * Long unreferenced article on Christian organization with no significan claim to Notability

While all contributions to Wikipedia are appreciated, content or articles may be deleted for any of several reasons.

You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the notice, but please explain why in your edit summary or on the article's talk page.

Please consider improving the article to address the issues raised. Removing will stop the proposed deletion process, but other deletion processes exist. The speedy deletion process can result in deletion without discussion, and articles for deletion allows discussion to reach consensus for deletion. Sadads (talk) 09:37, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

File:Harrisburgtemplate.jpg listed for deletion
A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Harrisburgtemplate.jpg, has been listed at Files for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Calliopejen1 (talk) 23:56, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

File:Rust belttFULL.jpg listed for deletion
A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Rust belttFULL.jpg, has been listed at Files for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Calliopejen1 (talk) 23:58, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

File:FLOODhburg37.JPG listed for deletion
A file that you uploaded or altered, File:FLOODhburg37.JPG, has been listed at Files for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Calliopejen1 (talk) 23:59, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

File:Hbgpo.jpg listed for deletion
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File:Salinewatershed.JPG listed for deletion
A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Salinewatershed.JPG, has been listed at Files for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Calliopejen1 (talk) 00:05, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free image File:Greetings from Southern Illinois.jpg
 Thanks for uploading File:Greetings from Southern Illinois.jpg. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently orphaned, meaning that it is not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

PLEASE NOTE:

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File:Soil9.jpg listed for deletion
A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Soil9.jpg, has been listed at Files for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Closeapple (talk) 15:42, 17 January 2012 (UTC)

Possibly unfree File:Cityhallpostofficehbg.jpg
A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Cityhallpostofficehbg.jpg, has been listed at Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Closeapple (talk) 00:01, 18 January 2012 (UTC)

March 2012
Your addition to File:Paducahskyline.JPG has been removed, as it appears to have added copyrighted material to Wikipedia without permission from the copyright holder. For legal reasons, we cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other websites or printed material; such additions will be deleted. You may use external websites or publications as a source of information, but not as a source of article content such as sentences or images. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously and persistent violators will be blocked from editing. Fut.Perf. ☼ 07:59, 8 March 2012 (UTC)

Deletion discussions on Commons for April 2011 files
Hi. There are two deletion discussions open about files you have uploaded to Commons: I'm mentioning it here in case you don't look at Commons:User talk:Ruhe1986 as often. --Closeapple (talk) 00:29, 10 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Commons:Commons:Deletion requests/Ruhe1986 April 2011 uploads traceable to other sources: covering File:Altonil555.jpg, File:Cartervilledowntown1.jpg, File:Cfiles25341.jpg, File:Compositebelleville.JPG, File:D299ebc1-311b-47dc-9998-efcae039e9d5.jpg, File:Downtown East St. Louis, Illinois.jpg, File:Mcleansboro.JPG, File:Mt vernonil12.jpg, File:Viennail11.jpg
 * Commons:Commons:Deletion requests/Ruhe1986 April 2011 uploads untraced to other sources: covering File:Belleville downtown.jpg, File:First Baptist Church, Carrier Mills, IL.jpg, File:Jm18078.JPG
 * Oops! Forgot to add a couple Commons:Commons: to that!  Fixed. --Closeapple (talk) 09:22, 10 February 2013 (UTC)

Proposed deletion of File:Carrier Millsdowntownmap.jpg

The file File:Carrier Millsdowntownmap.jpg has been proposed for deletion because of the following concern: "Orphaned map."

While all constructive contributions to Wikipedia are appreciated, pages may be deleted for any of several reasons.

You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the notice, but please explain why in your edit summary or on the file's talk page.

Please consider addressing the issues raised. Removing will stop the proposed deletion process, but other deletion processes exist. In particular, the speedy deletion process can result in deletion without discussion, and files for discussion allows discussion to reach consensus for deletion. ~ Rob 13 Talk 17:19, 7 March 2018 (UTC)

File permission problem with File:Lib.jpg
Thanks for uploading File:Lib.jpg. I noticed that while you provided a valid copyright licensing tag, there is no proof that the creator of the file has agreed to release it under the given license.

If you are the copyright holder for this media entirely yourself but have previously published it elsewhere (especially online), please either
 * make a note permitting reuse under the CC-BY-SA or another acceptable free license (see this list) at the site of the original publication; or
 * Send an email from an address associated with the original publication to permissions-en@wikimedia.org, stating your ownership of the material and your intention to publish it under a free license. You can find a sample permission letter here. If you take this step, add OTRS pending to the file description page to prevent premature deletion.

If you did not create it entirely yourself, please ask the person who created the file to take one of the two steps listed above, or if the owner of the file has already given their permission to you via email, please forward that email to permissions-en@wikimedia.org.

If you believe the media meets the criteria at Non-free content, use a tag such as non-free fair use or one of the other tags listed at File copyright tags, and add a rationale justifying the file's use on the article or articles where it is included. See File copyright tags for the full list of copyright tags that you can use.

If you have uploaded other files, consider checking that you have provided evidence that their copyright owners have agreed to license their works under the tags you supplied, too. You can find a list of files you have created in [ your upload log]. Files lacking evidence of permission may be deleted one week after they have been tagged, as described in section F11 of the criteria for speedy deletion. You may wish to read Wikipedia's image use policy. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 12:05, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

Proposed deletion of File:Carrier Mills Downtown2.jpg

The file File:Carrier Mills Downtown2.jpg has been proposed for deletion because of the following concern: "Superseded by File:Carrier Mills.JPG."

While all constructive contributions to Wikipedia are appreciated, pages may be deleted for any of several reasons.

You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the notice, but please explain why in your edit summary or on the file's talk page.

Please consider addressing the issues raised. Removing will stop the proposed deletion process, but other deletion processes exist. In particular, the speedy deletion process can result in deletion without discussion, and files for discussion allows discussion to reach consensus for deletion. --Minorax «¦talk¦» 14:25, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

title: User talk:Ruhe1986


text:
User talk:BobAlmighty

Hello and welcome to Wikipedia! Hope you like it here, and stick around.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

 * To sign your posts (on talk pages, for example) use the '~' symbol. To insert just your name, type ~~~ (3 tildes), or, to insert your name and timestamp, use ~~~~ (4 tildes).
 * Try the Tutorial, and feel free to experiment in the test area.
 * If you need help, post a question at the Help Desk
 * Follow the Simplified Ruleset
 * Eventually, you might want to read the Manual of Style and Policies and Guidelines.
 * Remember Neutral point of view
 * Explore, be bold in editing pages, and, most importantly, have fun!

Good luck!

Meelar (talk) 06:12, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

homeopathy is the future
WOULD YOU LIK TO CONTRIBUTE TO WIKIPROJECT HOMEATPHY? GOOGLE IT PLEASE TO FIND OUT HOW YOUC AN DONATE YOUR ITME AND HELP SAVE MILLIONSOF LIFES EVERY SINGLE DAY THROUGH EDUCATION AND WIKIEDITING. Smith Jones (talk) 00:02, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

yo sign up please visit this page. Smith Jones (talk) 00:02, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User talk:BobAlmighty


text: User talk:70.68.8.248

title: User talk:70.68.8.248


text:
Alida Rockefeller Messinger

Alida Rockefeller Messinger (born 1948) is an American philanthropist who is an heir to the Rockefeller family fortune.

A donor to Democratic candidates and environmentalist causes, she is the former of wife of Minnesota governor and U.S. Senator Mark Dayton. Messinger is also a sister of ex-West Virginia governor and U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller. She has notably been a major donor to progressive political causes in her home state of Minnesota.

Outside of activism, she is a former trustee of the Rockefeller Family Fund, a public charity started by her father and his siblings. Her great-grandfather is John D. Rockefeller, the founder of the Standard Oil Company and widely considered to be the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history.

Early life and family
Messinger was born in 1948. She is the youngest daughter of John Davison Rockefeller III (1906–78) and Blanchette Ferry Hooker (1909–92), and a fourth-generation member of the Rockefeller family. Her brother is former Senator John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born 1937).

Messinger's father began to teach her about philanthropy when she was five years old. She has said, "My father and mother's greatest fear was that their four children might take their wealth for granted and grow up spoiled and arrogant ... They wanted us to learn early that with wealth comes responsibility."

Philanthropy
Messinger is a major donor to conservation and environmental organizations. Her Alida R. Messinger Charitable Trust also funds conservation and environmental groups, as does the Rockefeller Family Fund, founded in 1967, of which she is a trustee.

Messinger also contributes financially to the Center for Public Integrity. She is a significant political donor to progressive and Democratic causes, donating millions of dollars.

Personal life
From 1978 to 1986, she was married to Mark Dayton (b. 1947), the son of Bruce Dayton, who was part of a family that started the retail store that eventually became Target. Dayton later served as a United States senator for Minnesota from 2001 until 2007 and as Governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. Before divorcing in 1986, Messinger and Dayton had two sons together, Eric and Andrew Dayton.

After the divorce, she married William Messinger, president of Aureus, an addiction recovery organization. They have one daughter.

title: Alida Rockefeller Messinger


text:
USS Mattabesett

USS Mattabesett or Mattabesset may refer to the following ships of the United States Navy:

 * USS Mattabesett (1864), a schooner-rigged, wooden hulled, double-ended, sidewheel gunboat that served from 1864 until 1865
 * USS Mattabesset (AOG-52), a gasoline tanker, that served from 1945 until 1968

title: USS Mattabesett


text: User talk:69.86.65.103

title: User talk:69.86.65.103


text:
Salman Raduyev

Salman Betyrovich Raduyev (or Raduev; Салма́н Бетырович Раду́ев; February 13, 1967 – December 14, 2002) was a Chechen separatist field commander, from 1994 to 1999, who masterminded and was responsible for the Kizlyar hostage taking raid. His activities, in his role as a commander, made him "Russia's second most wanted man."

Georgi Derluguian also called him "the "enfant terrible" of Chechen resistance due to his eccentric behavior outside his military career: he wore a uniform decorated by what he claimed to be the insignia of Genghis Khan, a black military beret like that of Saddam Hussein, an Arab keffiyeh around his neck and aviator sunglasses to hide his face which had been heavily reconstructed after multiple surgeries due to the injuries he sustained as a militant.

Radyev was arrested in 2000 and died in the Russian penal colony White Swan in 2002, under mysterious circumstances.

Early life
Raduyev was born in 1967 into the Gordaloy teip in Novogroznensky near Gudermes in eastern Chechnya.

During the early 1980s, Raduyev was active in the communist youth league Komsomol of which he eventually became a leader. After attending a high school in Gudermes, Raduyev served from 1985 to 1987 as a construction engineer in a Russian Strategic Rocket Forces unit stationed in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, where he became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

After demobilization, he studied economics and worked in the Soviet construction industry.

Like other Chechens who sought Islamic education in Central Asia in the early 90s, Raduyev also got a grounding in the Islamic sciences, having studied at a madrasa in Namangan, in Uzbekistan.

After Chechnya declared independence, he was appointed the prefect of Gudermes in June 1992 by his father-in-law, Dzhokhar Dudayev, who was the president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. He also married Dudayev's niece.

Early military career
During the First Chechen War, Raduyev became a field commander for the separatist Chechen forces. He fought in the battle of Grozny and was wounded in March 1995 during an attempt to capture him by the Russian special forces.

In October 1995, he led the 6th Brigade based in the strategically important Gudermessky District and was responsible for the Gudermessky, part of the capital Grozny and the town of Argun.

On December 14, 1995, Raduyev, along with Sultan Geliskhanov, led a raid on the city of Gudermes.

On January 9, 1996, Raduyev (allegedly copying Shamil Basayev 's 1995 Budyonnovsk attack in Chechnya) led a large-scale Kizlyar hostage-taking raid in the neighboring Russian region of Dagestan, where his men took at least 2,000 civilians hostage. The raid, which made Raduyev world-famous, escalated into an all-out battle that ended with the complete destruction of the border village of Pervomayskoye, and led to other Chechen leaders criticizing the attack.

In March 1996, a sniper shot Raduyev in the head but survived despite being incorrectly reported dead; Russian special forces claimed to have killed him in revenge for the Kizlyar attack, while other sources said he was shot in a Chechen feud. On the 7th of March, 63 out of 101 deputies of the Parliament of Estonia sent condolences to Dudayev expressing "deep sympathy with the Chechen people" on "the loss of commander Raduyev", sparking a row with the Russian Duma. Raduyev went for medical treatment abroad.

Later military career
In the summer of 1996, Raduyev returned to the republic and refused the orders of Chechnya's acting president, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, to stop carrying out terrorist operations (such as ordering bombings of trolleybuses in Moscow and train stations in Armavir and Pyatigorsk), in light of the ceasefire and talks that would lead up to the Khasav-Yurt Accord. Raduyev even accused Yandarbiyev of treason for agreeing to a ceasefire and threatened to attack him.

Raduyev, whose face was deformed due to injuries, and now hidden behind the bushy red beard and black sunglasses, was the only field commander to announce openly that the "war without rules" with Russia would continue despite the signing of the peace agreement.

In 1997, the newly elected Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov stripped Raduyev of the rank of brigadier general and demoted him to private. However, further action was blocked by opposition from Raduyev-led war veterans, including a prolonged rally in Grozny. This rally ended in a shootout, resulting in the deaths of both the commander of Raduyev's militia, Vakha Dzhafarov, and of the Chechen security forces chief Lechi Khultygov. Meanwhile, Raduyev kept claiming responsibility for every explosion in Russia, even including accidental gas leaks. He claimed that Dudayev, who had died in 1996, was still alive, and issuing orders to him from "a secret NATO base in Turkey" with the goal of the "liberation" of the entire North Caucasus.

Raduyev's eccentric behavior, however, was not widely popular in Chechnya. Many openly doubted his sanity: in an interview in 1997, Maskhadov described Raduyev as "mentally ill". Even Basayev, who has been Raduyev's ally in the opposition against Maskhadov, reportedly called him "crazy". In October 1997, Raduyev was again severely injured by a car bomb which killed three other people. Previously, he had survived at least two other assassination attempts in April and July 1997.

In September 1998, Raduyev announced a "temporary moratorium" on acts of terrorism. Raduyev claimed he had freed nine kidnapped Russian servicemen from their captors. He also came into conflict within Islamist circles and called for a ban of "Wahhabism" in Chechnya. On 4 November 1998, Chechnya's Islamic court sentenced Raduyev in absence to four years in prison for allegedly attempting to overthrow Maskhadov, but made no attempt to arrest him.

In January 1999, he backed the republic's parliament in its conflict with the Sharia Court. His private army-style militia, some 1,000-strong and called "General Dudayev's Army", was reportedly involved in several train robberies.

In early 1999, Raduyev vanished from the public again while undergoing a major plastic surgery operation in Germany. The alleged implants of titanium earned him the nickname of "Titanic" in Russia, while in Chechnya he became popularly known as "Michael Jackson", a reference to his plastic surgery. Still seriously ill and recovering from surgery, Raduyev vowed "reprisals" against Russia for the March 1999 sentencing of two Chechen women.

In September 1999, at the start of the Second Chechen War, Raduyev organized a rally in Grozny attended by 12,000 people where he urged residents to stay home and prepare to defend the city. His militia was reported to be virtually destroyed by a series of serious setbacks during the early fighting in late 1999, and he stopped talking about planning and organizing new attacks afterward.

Arrest and trial
Raduyev was captured in March 2000 by the Russian special operations FSB unit Vympel in his home in Novogroznensky (now Oyskhara, near Gudermes). During the second war Raduyev was very ill and had to go for treatment abroad, so he shaved his beard and moved to a house near the border in preparation for the exit. However, one of his men informed the Russian forces about his location and he was arrested without incident. Russian president Vladimir Putin said that Raduyev had confessed to trying to assassinate Eduard Shevardnadze, the president of Georgia.

Raduyev was tried on 18 different charges, including terrorism, banditry, hostage-taking, organization of murders and organization of illegal armed formations. He pleaded not guilty, maintained he was only following orders, claimed to suffer from no mental disorders whatsoever and said he hoped to be released from prison in some 10–12 years. Dozens of witnesses were called to testify, but many of the alleged victims of his actions refused to participate. In December 2001, he was sentenced to life in prison. His appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in April 2002.

Death
In December 2002, Raduyev died in the White Swan penal colony in Solikamsk from internal bleeding. The Russian authorities said he was not beaten to death, but died due to "serious and protracted diseases". Raduyev's body was not returned to his family because of a newly introduced Russian law barring the release of bodies of people convicted (or accused) of terrorism.

The circumstances surrounding the death of Raduyev are not clear, and according to his family and others he was murdered in prison after he refused to talk about the accusations against Akhmed Zakayev, then arrested in Denmark. "Kommersant" daily said that "the real reason for Raduyev's death will probably never be known," while "Vremya Novostei" suggested that after being forced to give all the information requested from him, he was "no longer needed" by the Russian authorities and killed. Amnesty International has called for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death but the request was ignored and his body was not exhumed.

Salman Raduyev was survived by his wife and two sons – Johar and Zelimhan, living abroad.

title: Salman Raduyev


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Battle of Balikpapan (1945)

The Battle of Balikpapan was the concluding stage of Operation Oboe, the campaign to liberate Japanese-held British and Dutch Borneo. The landings took place on 1 July 1945. The Australian 7th Division, composed of the 18th, 21st and 25th Infantry Brigades, with a small number of Netherlands East Indies KNIL troops, made an amphibious landing, codenamed Operation Oboe Two, a few miles north of Balikpapan. The Allied invasion fleet consisted of around 100 ships. The landing had been preceded by heavy bombing and shelling by Australian and US air and naval forces. The Allied force totalled 33,000 personnel and was commanded by Major General Edward Milford, while the Japanese force, commanded by Rear Admiral Michiaki Kamada, numbered between 8,400 and 10,000, of which between 3,100 and 3,900 were combatants. After the initial landing, the Allies secured the town and its port, and then advanced along the coast and into the hinterland, capturing the two Japanese airfields. Major combat operations concluded around 21 July, but were followed by mopping-up operations, which lasted until the end of the war in mid-August. Australian troops remained in the area until early 1946.

Geography
Situated 2,241 km northwest of Darwin, on the east coast of Borneo, Balikpapan's importance lay in its oil production facilities and port facilities. Prior to the war, the area produced 1.8 million tons of oil products a year. The town's port, sitting inside Balikpapan Bay, consisted of seven piers and a large number of warehouses. The port area was serviced by well-developed roads. At its mouth, the bay was 1 mi wide, and was suitable for medium-sized ships. To the south of the port, an oil refinery with 40 storage tanks and a cracking plant lay along a steep ridge, separating the port from the European suburb of Klandasan, which looked out on the open sea from the cape that sat at the eastern part of the bay. Two roads fanned out from Balikpapan town, one running north-east to Samarinda – dubbed the "Milford Highway" by the Australians – while the other – the "Vasey Highway" – stretched south along the coast towards Sambodja. The oil refinery in Balikpapan was supplied with oil from fields around Sambodja and Sangasanga to the north-east.

To the east of the cape, the narrow coastal strip was serviced by road that extended east from Klandasan to Stalkoedo, Sepinggang, Batakan Besar, Manggar, and Sambodja crossing many rivers and streams. This road sat on a thick sandy strip of ground, just inland from the beach. The ground around the coast was largely flat, although there were some low hills which rose steeply further inland up to heights of 700 ft; while the area around the town and coast was largely open, the interior was heavily covered with thick rainforest. The dense vegetation limited cross country movement, although the rivers and streams were partially navigable. Two airfields had been established to the east of Balikpapan around Sepinggang and Manggar. Manggar was the larger of the two, consisting of two runways that had been graded out of coral. At the time of the Allied landings, the airfield had been badly damaged by aerial bombardment, while the second, smaller airfield, at Sepinggang had also been rendered unserviceable.

Balikpapan is located one degree south of the equator and has a tropical rainforest climate. The maximum temperature for most days in south-east Borneo in 1945 was about 72 –, and relative humidity was consistently high ranging from 74 to 93 percent. Monthly rainfall was fairly constant, averaging 6.9 in in July. Allied intelligence estimates assessed that the July to September period represented that best period for military operations. In terms of cloud cover, July was generally clear and visibility was assessed as generally good. Wind speeds averaged 7 mi/h with south-south-westerly winds being the most prevalent during the May to November period.

Strategic situation
Prior to World War II, Balikpapan was under Dutch control, and formed part of the Netherlands East Indies. The Japanese occupied British Borneo and the Netherlands East Indies in late 1941 and early 1942. Balikpapan itself was seized on 25 January 1942. British and Dutch forces attempted to resist, but were quickly overwhelmed, but not before destroying or damaging the oil facilities and other important infrastructure. The destruction of these facilities led to harsh reprisals against civilians, particularly at Balikpapan, which was occupied in late January 1942, after which the entire European population – around 80 to 100 people – was executed. The facilities were subsequently repaired and by 1943–1944, Borneo had become one of Japan's main sources of fuel, crude and heavy oil; in 1943, Balikpapan provided 3,900,000 oilbbl of fuel oil to the Japanese war effort.

Throughout 1943 and 1944 the Allies attempted to reduce Japanese oil production at Balikpapan with air power. The first strategic bombing raids began in October 1943, undertaken by US Liberator bombers, flying 17 hours from bases around Darwin. Further raids took place in December 1943 and January 1944. In the early months of 1944, Royal Australian Air Force Catalina flying boats carried out a series of highly successful mining operations, which reduced the output of Balikpapan's facilities by an estimated 40 percent. In late September and early October 1944, the US Thirteenth and Fifth Air Forces began long range bombing raids from Noemfoor. The first two raids suffered heavy losses due to the lack of escort fighters and inflicted minimal damage; however, after a brief pause and a change of tactics by the US airmen, the final three raids resulted in heavy damage to the refineries and the destruction of most of the Japanese aircraft defending Balikpapan. This, coupled with Allied operations along Japanese sea lanes of communication, effectively cut off Japan from Balikpapan's oil supply line. The Japanese decided not to repair the damaged facilities, and those that remained were used for local supply only; indeed after October 1944, no more Japanese oil tankers were sent to Balikpapan; nevertheless, this simply diverted Japanese efforts to oil fields in Sumatra instead.

The Japanese advance in the Pacific was halted in early 1943, by Australian troops in New Guinea and US troops in Guadalcanal, after which the Allies went on the offensive, advancing through New Guinea and the Solomon Islands towards the Philippines. Throughout 1944, the Allies began planning to retake Borneo. The General Headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur's South West Pacific Area was responsible for planning the operation, but due to the commitment of US forces to the recapture of the Philippines, the task of recapturing Borneo was allocated primarily to Australian ground forces. Allied operations in Borneo consisted of landings at Tarakan, Labuan, and Balikpapan. Originally, MacArthur had intended to use Borneo as a stepping-stone to re-taking Java, but this operation was later cancelled and responsibility for the Netherlands East Indies transferred to the British-led South East Asia Command. In the planning phase the commander of the Australian Military Forces, General Thomas Blamey recommended against the landing at Balikpapan, believing that it would serve no strategic purpose. After much consideration, the Australian Government agreed to provide forces for this operation. The US Joint Chiefs of Staff also had concerns about the strategic necessity of the operation, but according to historian Garth Pratten, MacArthur manipulated both the Australian Government and the Joint Chiefs into approving the capture of Balikpapan. The stated purpose of the operation was, according to historian Chris Coulthard-Clark, "secure the port and oilfields in the area, and to establish a base from which to launch" future operations. Additionally, Netherlands East Indies governmental control would be re-established.

Opposing forces
Japanese preparations to defend against Allied landings in Borneo commenced in 1944, with the garrison forces being reorganised and an operational command being set up under the Thirty-Seventh Army. In early 1945, the Thirty-Seventh Army began reorientating its troops towards Borneo's west coast. The number of Japanese defending the area around Balikpapan in 1945 was around 8,400 – 10,000. Of these, between 3,100 and 3,900 were combatants. About 1,500 infantry and field artillery soldiers were in the Balikpapan–Manggar area, along with 1,500 anti-aircraft gunners. Base troops made up the rest of the number, along with between 1,100 and 4,500 armed Japanese, Formosan and Indonesian civilian labourers. Another 1,500 troops were 60 mi away at Samarinda. The main Japanese units were Rear Admiral Michiaki Kamada's 22nd Naval Base Force and elements of the 71st Independent Mixed Brigade. The 22nd Naval Base Force's I Battalion was located around Klandasan and the Sumber River while the II Battalion was positioned around Batuchampar. Two other companies were around Penadjam. The Imperial Japanese Army's 454th Battalion had also been deployed to the Manggar area, having been transferred from Tarakan in March 1945. The Japanese holding Balikpapan town consisted of the 2nd Garrison Force – armed labourers, base troops, artillerymen along with a small number of marines – and elements of the 454th Independent Infantry Battalion. These troops possessed varying levels of training and their morale had been affected by weeks of preliminary bombardment. They were well equipped with heavy calibre weapons, but lacked lighter weapons. As a result, they were largely static in posture.

Due to the Allied interdiction of sea lanes of communication throughout the Pacific, Japanese troops on Borneo had found themselves increasingly isolated and by the end of 1944 supply shipments essentially ended. Food and supplies dwindled and units were forced to commence subsistence operations as the majority of troops began to suffer from malnutrition. Sanitation was also poor and due to limited medical supplies many Japanese troops became non-battle casualties. Nevertheless, the area was well supported with artillery, consisting of 18 Japanese coastal guns, concentrated around the ridges overlooking Balikpapan, along with 26 heavy guns and 78 medium and light anti-aircraft guns. These were orientated to defend the airfield, port and Balikpapan town itself. The defences in the area included a 12 – wide anti-tank ditch along the coast between Stalkoedo and Sepinggang, augmented by another around Klandasan. The beaches were dotted with Dutch-built concrete pillboxes while the Japanese had dug a complex trench system on the ridges overlooking the town. The seaward approach to Klandasan was defended by an underwater obstacle consisting of poles and barbed wire, which ran between Klandasan and Manggar. This was augmented by a large number of naval mines around the coast.

The operation was designated "Operation Oboe Two" by the Allies, who assigned 33,000 personnel. The main ground forces, amounting to 21,000 personnel, were drawn from Major General Edward Milford's 7th Division, a veteran Second Australian Imperial Force formation consisting of three infantry brigades – the 18th, 21st and 25th – along with supporting artillery, armour, engineer and logistics support units. The 7th Division had seen action earlier in the war in the Middle East and in New Guinea, but had been resting on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland when they were assigned to the operation. The division's formation and unit-level command teams were all very experienced, but due to the high turn over of personnel that had occurred in the Australian Army in 1943–1944, many of its more junior personnel had not been in action before. Tank support was provided by the 1st Armoured Regiment, equipped with Matilda tanks. Naval support was drawn from the US 7th Fleet under Admiral Thomas Kinkaid, while air support came from the Australian First Tactical Air Force, and the US Thirteenth Air Force. Three US Navy escort carriers were also assigned to provide fighter support as the airstrip at Tarakan had not been made operational in time, and weather conditions hampered the provision of fighter support from the Philippines. A small number of Dutch KNIL troops, were also assigned to the operation, amounting to a company from the 1st Infantry Battalion (KNIL).

Prelude

Planning teams from all branches of the Australian and US armed services gathered at Morotai Island to begin planning the operation, around 26 April 1945. A shortage of shipping hampered the preliminary movement of troops and a lack of co-ordination and scheduling meant that tactical level planning and battle preparation was carried out in a hasty fashion. The first combat troops began embarking from Townsville in early May; however, planners from the combat formations assigned to the operation did not arrive on Morotai on 13 June. In determining the location of the landing, the naval planners advocated for a landing around Manggar, as the water was deeper in this area; however, the beach was deemed unsuitable and a landing at Manggar would require the ground troops to advance 10 mi through difficult terrain to reach their objective around Balikpapan. Further west, around Stalkoedo and Klandasan, the beach was more suitable to a large-scale landing operation, but this area was where the majority of the Japanese defences were located. Additionally, the water in this area was not as deep, and as a result the supporting cruisers would have to stand further out to sea, which would reduce the accuracy of their guns when firing on shore targets. The approach was also covered by minefields and other obstacles. Ultimately, the Australian commander, Milford, chose to land at three beaches across a 2,000 yd front in the area occupied by the main Japanese forces, reasoning that the shorter approach march outweighed the risks, which would be reduced by a comprehensive pre-landing aerial and naval bombardment.

Air support was provided by Australian and US aircraft based out of the southern Philippines, due to the unserviceability of the airfield on Tarakan. Aerial operations began 20 days before the landing, while minesweepers began clearing safe lanes and anchorages 15 days out. These operations were undertaken inside the range of Japanese coastal guns; to protect the minesweepers, naval gunfire and aerial bombardment was used to suppress and neutralise the Japanese guns. Japanese torpedo boats attacked the minesweepers on 24 June, albeit without success. Three minesweepers were lost during the clearance operations. While the assigned troops were moving from Queensland to the mounting base at Morotai, the Allies began enacting a deception plan to draw Japanese attention away from the intended landing area. This included spreading disinformation amongst the local population, as well as undertaking preparatory operations in locations away from the intended area. Advance force operations included small parties of special forces landing to carry out reconnaissance operations while minesweeping and obstacle clearance operations began 16 days before the assault. The pre-invasion bombardment expended over 3,000 t of bombs, 7,361 rockets, 38,052 shells and 114,000 small arms rounds; most of the Japanese field guns were destroyed and the shore defences severely depleted. The focus of the Allied air campaign from late May was Japanese airfields throughout the Netherlands East Indies, as well as anti-aircraft facilities; attacks were also made on oil facilities around Samarinda by RAAF aircraft in contravention of an initial order not to target these facilities.

Battle

The Allied fleet, consisting of over 100 mainly US and Australian ships began forming around Morotai Island on 17 June. After landing rehearsals were conducted, the fleet departed the area in the afternoon of 26 June, traversing the Strait of Macassar. On 29 June, the faster naval ships that were to carry out the pre-landing bombardment detached themselves from the convoy. Meanwhile, US underwater demolition teams worked create gaps in the off shore obstacles; this work was carried out under heavy fire. Several of the supporting Allied vessels were damaged and the operations were concluded without completely clearing the obstacles from the central landing beach, which was designated Yellow Beach. In total about 3,300 ft of the landing beach was cleared, while 2,460 ft of neighbouring beaches were also cleared as part of deception operations. Early on 1 July, the convoy reached the assembly area about 8 mi south-east of Klandasan, after which a heavy naval and aerial bombardment concentrated on the beaches around Klandasan; a total of 63 Liberator bombers as well as five cruisers and 14 destroyers were committed to this action. A total of 17,250 shells were expended by the naval bombardment group in this effort.

Meanwhile, the assault troops aboard nine tank landing ships (LSTs) made for the transport area where they were transferred to smaller landing craft, including Alligator tracked landing vehicles (LVTs), DUKWs and LCVPs. These craft were crewed by US personnel, mainly from the 672nd and 727th Amphibian Tractor Battalions and the 593rd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment. Under the cover of the bombardment they began their run to the shore in several waves. When they were 1,300 yd from the shore, the naval bombardment ceased. The ramps came down on the landing craft as they hit the beaches just before 9:00 am. The landing was carried out on a two-brigade front. Brigadier Frederick Chilton's 18th Brigade landed two battalions (the 2/10th and 2/12th) on the left at Red and Yellow Beaches, while one battalion (the 2/27th Battalion) from Brigadier Ivan Dougherty's 21st Brigade landed on the right at Green Beach. The division's third brigade (the 25th) remained embarked initially to act as a floating reserve. The assaulting troops were landed at the wrong place due to obscuration of key features ashore as a result of the pre-landing bombardment, and a failure to clear all of the beach obstacles. As a result two of the three assault battalions landed too far left, and troops from each battalion became mixed up with others, causing some confusion. Despite this, the landing was opposed only by a small volume of fire, and within 15 to 20 minutes the assault troops had established a beachhead. The landing force suffered no casualties during this first part of the operation.

After the beach maintenance area was secured, the 18th Brigade was tasked with capturing the high features north of Klandasan, which blocked the advance towards Balikpapan town, while the 21st Brigade was tasked with advancing along the coast road to capture the airfields at Sepinggang and Manggar. During the fighting around Klandasan, the 2/10th Battalion attacked a feature dubbed Parramatta Ridge, which was strongly fortified with pillboxes, tunnels, land mines and booby traps. Due to a last minute diversion and communications issues, the battalion's fire support was unavailable, and the tanks that had been assigned to support them broke down, nevertheless the battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Daly, pressed home the attack despite likely heavy casualties. The initial infantry assault on Hill 87 was launched throughout the morning, and stalled as Japanese resistance grew; the Australians became pinned below the summit and just before noon, two supporting tanks from the 1st Armoured Regiment came forward, suppressing Japanese fire and assisting the infantry to capture the position by 12:40 pm. After this, the indirect fire support, except for the divisional machine guns, was restored. Japanese fire from neighbouring positions was suppressed, enabling a company assault on the final objective. By 2:00 pm, the Australians had captured Parramatta.

Meanwhile, the 21st Brigade came up against heavy resistance after initially advancing against only desultory artillery and mortar fire. The Australian ground troops were lavishly provided with direct and indirect fire support – potentially more so than in any other Australian campaign during the war – and with the help of tanks, flame-throwers, mortars and other fire support, by the end of the first day, the Australians had extended their beachhead 1.2 mi. The work of marking out the beaches and organising the troops as they arrived on the beach, as well as controlling the unloading of stores, was undertaken by a specially trained unit, the 2nd Beach Group, which landed in the second wave. Shortly after landing, it was found that the LSTs could not land their stores over the beaches; as a result, DUKWs were used instead to offload stores and land them.

The fighting for the high ground around Klandasan continued throughout 2 July where the Japanese – largely from the 2nd Garrison Force and elements of the 454th Independent Infantry Battalion – resisted strongly, during which Australian engineers worked to destroy large numbers of Japanese tunnels, as well as neutralising thousands of land mines and booby traps. The 25th Brigade landed at this time, while the 21st Brigade pushed further eastwards, with engineers supporting the multiple river crossings. The 2/14th Battalion captured Sepinggang airfield, using indirect fire support as much as possible to minimise their own casualties, while the 2/27th Battalion secured the area around Stalkoedo, and the 2/16th Battalion also took several features.

The next day, 3 July, the 25th Brigade, under the command of Brigadier Kenneth Eather, relieved the 18th; while the 18th secured Balikpapan town and its harbour, the 25th Brigade advanced inland along the Milford Highway. By the end of the day, the Australian beachhead had been extended out to 5 mi, and the 21st Brigade had reached Manggar airfield. Elements of the Japanese 454th Independent Infantry Battalion occupied strong positions in the high ground overlooking the field, and were able to call down heavy concentrations of mortar and artillery fire.

The Australians captured the airfield on 4 July, but were held up for several days after coming up against Japanese artillery and mortar fire. Tanks were landed around the Manggar Besar River, but two were knocked out by Japanese fire. Naval and air support was called in, and over the course of several days the gun positions were captured.

After landing, the 25th Brigade assumed a holding role in the centre of the Allied beachhead until 3 July, when it took over from the 18th Brigade, who went into reserve, but remained around Balikpapan town to continue mopping-up operations there. The 25th Brigade then began pushing inland from the urban area towards Batuchampar, 10 mi from the initial landing beaches.

On 5 July, the 2/9th Battalion and the 2/1st Pioneer Battalion, supported by elements of the 2/7th Cavalry Commando Regiment as well as artillery and tanks were landed at Panadjam by LVTs and LCMs, to clear the western shore of Japanese artillery, prior to the Allies opening the port. The 2/9th sent patrols to Nanang and the Sesumpu River; before continuing down the Riko River and landing another patrol that exploited inland towards the Parehpareh River; meanwhile, the 2/1st Pioneers landed at several spots including Teloktebang, Djinabora and Tempadung, before advancing overland to Pamaluan. Japanese opposition was limited and the area around Panadjam was cleared within two days. However, heavy fighting took place along the Milford Highway on 5–6 July as part of a Japanese battalion attempted to block the Australian advance on Batuchampar. The Japanese employed a variety of delaying tactics to slow the Australians, using the thick jungle to their advantage. The Australians brought up tanks equipped with flamethrowers, and called in a heavy artillery barrage to clear the firmly entrenched defenders; over 8,000 rounds were expended in this effort.

By 9 July, the two forward Japanese battalions had largely been destroyed, and the remnants were withdrawing from the east coast. The 21st Brigade continued their advance towards Sambodja. Patrols also ranged towards the Milford Highway to established contact with the 25th Brigade. The Japanese commander, Kamada, had established his headquarters around Batuchampar by this time, and the Japanese rearguard began withdrawing back to the main defensive position 3 mi inland at Batuchampar, where Kamada's third battalion was digging in. Meanwhile, the landing beaches were improved with the construction of several docks by the US 11th Naval Construction Battalion, to enable two LSTs to be unloaded at a time. On 10 July, the Allies opened another beach – designated Brown Beach – around the southern part of the bay; the protected waters there greatly increased the amount of supplies that could be brought in, allowing eight LSTs to dock at the same time.

Over the course of a fortnight, Allied artillery and aircraft worked to reduce the Japanese position along the Milford Highway, while the 25th Brigade felt for the Japanese flanks, attempting to encircle them. Meanwhile, patrols from the 2/7th Cavalry Commando Regiment and the KNIL company were sent along the flanks and to remote areas to gather intelligence. By 21 July, the encirclement of the Japanese defensive position was almost complete and the surviving Japanese began to withdraw. This withdrawal was conducted in good order, and the Australians noted the skill and determination with which the Japanese sited and held their defensive positions during this time. The Australians assessed that the Japanese would seek to establish a new defensive position around Samarinda, but the Australian commander, Milford, determined that the strategic situation did not require attacking this position. Following this, the Australians began deep patrolling operations. The 2/27th Battalion advanced along the Vasey Highway, ranging as far as Sambodja.

Aftermath
Major operations had ceased by 21 July, when the Japanese abandoned Batuchampar and Manggar, although small scale clashes continued until the end of the war. The majority of Japanese withdrew north-east, before eventually turning west and marching across the island to Kuching or to Bandjermasin. However, troops from the 22nd Special Base Force attempted to break into the port facilities around Balikpapan in August from the western side of the bay, and several minor actions were fought during this time. The 7th Division's casualties were significantly lighter than they had suffered in previous campaigns; a total of 229 Australians were killed and 634 wounded, while at least 2,032 Japanese were killed and another 63 captured.

The operation to secure Balikpapan was Australia's largest and last amphibious operation of the war. The battle was one of the last to occur in World War II, beginning a few weeks before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria effectively ended the war. Japan surrendered while the Australians were combing the jungle for stragglers. In this regard, and in light of the strategic situation which had effectively negated many of the Allies stated reasons for the operation, historians such as Rhys Crawley and David Horner have assessed that the operation did not affect the course of the war and was "strategically dubious". Pratten argues that the cancellation of Allied operations to secure Java negated the need for the operation and concludes that the decision to continue with the operation was potentially influenced by the perceived importance of Balikpapan's oil facilities.

Despite the early capture of the airfields at Sepinggang and Manggar, it was not until 15 July that the first RAAF Spitfire fighters began operating, and ultimately the airfields could not be used for bombing operations. Additionally, much of the port area and oil producing facilities were heavily damaged by the pre-invasion bombardment and by Japanese sabotage efforts, rendering them useless to the Allies in the short term. Politically, the damage inflicted on the infrastructure strained the relationship between the Australians and the returning Netherlands East Indies government. Additionally, the oilfields that supplied the damaged refineries – those around Sambodja and Sangasanga – remained in Japanese hands until the end of the war, thereby negating what little benefit the Allies gained in securing the refineries.

Due to the limited strategic reasons for the operation, Horner argues that the operation was undertaken largely for political reasons, as MacArthur wished to "show the Dutch government that he had attempted to recover part of its territory..." but ultimately it did not effect the outcome of the war. Nevertheless, historian Peter Dennis concludes that the operation was of "doubtful value strategically" but that "tactically...[it was]...skilfully conducted". A key element of the success of the operation from the Australian perspective was the logistic support provided by the US, particularly in relation to the shipping that was required to transport the vast amounts of troops, stores and equipment for the operation. In comparison with the concurrent operations the Australian First Army were fighting in New Guinea at the same time, particularly around Aitape–Wewak, the I Australian Corps' operations in Borneo received considerably more resources in terms of air and naval support, and transportation.

Following the Japanese surrender, the three Australian brigades were committed to occupation duties until around February 1946. The 21st Brigade was detached to Makassar in the Celebes Islands to accept surrender of the Japanese forces, release prisoners of war and maintain civil order. The 25th Brigade detached elements to occupy Samarinda, Bandjermasin, Tanahgrogot, and Pontianak.

Memorial
A memorial commemorating the 7th Division landing was built in a roundabout in Balikpapan (currently in East Kalimantan, Indonesia) near Merdeka Square and Pertamina complex. Known locally as Tugu Australia (Australian monument), the memorial exists as early as January 1946. A copper inscription of details about the battle, sculpted by Ross J. Bastian, was added in 1998.

title: Battle of Balikpapan (1945)


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