Video: 'Last Stand in the East Indies - Battle of the Java Sea 1942 Animated'

(Friday, February 27, 1942, 4:16 p.m. Western Indonesian Time; during the Pacific campaign of World War II) — Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat at the hand of the Imperial Japanese Navy today in the Battle of the Java Sea, the largest naval battle since the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

Video: 'Japan Destroys Allied Armada in Biggest Naval Battle in Decades - WW2 - February 27, 1942' (Feb. 27, 1942, at 8:18)

The main American-British-Dutch-Australian naval force had been almost totally destroyed: 10 ships and approximately 2,173 sailors had been lost, including the ABDA Command Strike Force commander, Dutch Rear-Admiral Karel Doorman.

Video: 'Battle of the Java sea Feb/March 1942'

The aftermath of the battle included several smaller actions around Java, including the smaller but also significant Battle of Sunda Strait. These defeats led to the Japanese occupation of the entire Dutch East Indies.