were caught by surprise. Nevertheless, they were well-prepared and after inflicting heavy casualties on the troops attacking the airfield, the garrison destroyed the airfield and began an orderly retreat towards the mountainous interior and the south coast. On the same night, Allied forces in West Timor were under extremely intense air attacks, which had already caused the RAAF force to be withdrawn to Australia. Sparrow Force HQ was immediately moved further east, to its supply base at Champlong, and soon lost contact with the 2/40th. The 2/40th's line of retreat towards Champlong had been cut off by the dropping of about 500 Japanese paratroopers, who established a strong position near Usua. Sparrow Force HQ moved further eastward and Leggatt's men launched a sustained and devastating assault on the paratroopers. By the morning of 23 February, the Allies had killed all but 78 of the Japanese forces in front of them, but had been engaged from the rear by the main Japanese force once again. With his soldiers running low on ammunition, exhausted and carrying 132 men with serious wounds, and without communications to Sparrow Force HQ Leggatt eventually acceded to a Japanese invitation to surrender. The 2/40th had suffered 84 killed in action. More than twice that number would die as prisoners of war during the next two-and-a-half years. Veale and the Sparrow Force HQ force—including some members of the 2/40th and about 200 Dutch East Indies troops—continued eastward across the border, and eventually joined the 2/2 Independent Company. The 2/40th effectively ceased to exist, its survivors being absorbed into the 2/2nd and subsequently took part in the guerrilla campaign that was waged on Timor in the following months, before being evacuated in December 1942. Postscript 1942–1945 After a journey lasting several weeks, traversing the Strait of Malacca, Sumatra and then Java, following his escape from Malaya, Bennett arrived in Melbourne on 2 March 1942. The Australian Prime Minister, John Curtin, publicly exonerated him. However, the Australian high command effectively sidelined Bennett by appointing him commander of III Corps, a formation responsible for the defence of Western Australia. With this, he was promoted to lieutenant general, but he never commanded troops in battle again. His actions in escaping would later also be subject to a royal commission. Following the loss of its original infantry battalions, the headquarters unit of the 23rd Brigade, which had not deployed with the infantry battalions,