Editing Battle of the Java Sea (section)

=== Allied retreat ===
After almost two hours of fighting, Doorman's ships had not even come close to attacking the Japanese troop convoy. One of his cruisers was crippled, two more were damaged, and he suffered two destroyers sunk, while his ships, with their poor gunnery, had managed only to moderately damage one destroyer and lightly damage two others. He still wanted to attack the convoy, but recognized that he simply could not under the current conditions. Doorman thus decided to cut his losses and regroup whilst retiring in the general direction of Surabaya <ref>T.Womack, pp 220. The Allied Defense of the Malay Barrier, 2014.</ref><ref>G. Jungslager, pp 442. Forlorn Hope, 2012.</ref><ref>T Hara pp 73. Japanese Destroyer Captain, 1961.</ref> which led Takagi to mistakenly believe the Allied ships were retreating to port.<ref>T Hara, pp 74. Japanese Destroyer Captain, 1961.</ref> The limping ''Exeter'', no longer in condition to contribute further to the battle,<ref>https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2023/october/ernest-evans-and-battle-java-sea-continued</ref> was ordered to break off from the force, taking ''Witte De With'' with her as escort into Surabaya.<ref>D. Kehn Jnr, pp 311. In The Highest Degree Tragic, 2017.</ref><ref>T. Womack, pp 220. The Allied Defense of the Malay Barrier, 2014.</ref><ref>G. Jungslager, pp 441. Forlorn Hope, 2012.</ref><ref>Capt Gordon, item 24, HMS Exeter After Action Report. https://pacificwrecks.com/ship/hms/exeter/research/action-report-captain-gordon.pdf</ref><ref>W. Remmelink, pp 117. You Engage and Then You See, 2019. https://militairespectator.nl/sites/default/files/teksten/bestanden/Militaire%20Spectator%203-2019%20Remmelink.pdf</ref> However, after nightfall, the remainder of Doorman's ships changed direction and steamed back toward the convoy.<ref name=":0">Hara (1961) Chapter 13</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=HNLMS De Ruyter - uboat.net |url=https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/2866.html}}</ref><ref name=":1">Hornfischer (2006) Chapter 10</ref>
==== Loss of all allied destroyers ====
[[File:HMS Jupiter 1940 IWM A 238.jpg|thumb|[[HMS Jupiter (F85)|HMS ''Jupiter'']] underway in August of 1940]]
Then, after much maneuvering for position, the plan began to backfire. The four American destroyers were dangerously low on fuel and had completely expended their torpedoes and were thus limited to gun armament only. At around 21.15 the American destroyers accordingly detached from Doorman's fleet to retire to Surabaya.<ref>D. Kehn Jnr, pp 323. In The Highest Degree Tragic, 2017</ref><ref>T. Womack, pp 225. The Allied Defense of the Malay Barrier, 2014</ref><ref>G. Jungslager, pp 443. Forlorn Hope, 2012</ref><ref>
https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2023/october/ernest-evans-and-battle-java-sea-continued</ref> Again Doorman decided to absorb the losses and continued to charge on. However, at about 21:25 while traveling west along the coast of Java, ''Jupiter'', one of Doorman's two remaining destroyers<ref>https://pacificwrecks.com/ship/hms/encounter/report-of-proceedings-of-hms-encounter.pdf</ref><ref>D. Kehn Jnr, pp 323-325. In The Highest Degree Tragic, 2017</ref><ref>G. Jungslager, pp 444. Forlorn Hope, 2012.</ref><ref>G. Hermon Gill, pp 614. Royal Australian Navy 1939-1942, 1957</ref><ref>USN Combat Narratives. The Java Sea Campaign, pp 60 https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/war-and-conflict/wwii/javaseacampaign/</ref> hit a mine and sank with the loss of 84 men.<ref>HNLMS De Ruyter https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/2866.html</ref><ref>HMS Jupiter, destroyer https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-37J-HMS_Jupiter.htm</ref> The mine that sank ''Jupiter'' is generally thought to have been not Japanese, but Dutch, lain by the Dutch minelayer [[HNLMS Gouden Leeuw|''Gouden Leeuw'']]. Shortly thereafter, around 22.00 while now headed north, the Striking Force passed through the former battlegrounds and sighted men in the water. HMS ''Encounter'', the lone remaining destroyer, was ordered to pick up the survivors, who turned out to be 113 men from the earlier sinking of ''Kortenaer'', and after doing so retired to Surabaya.<ref>https://pacificwrecks.com/ship/hms/encounter/report-of-proceedings-of-hms-encounter.pdf</ref><ref> D. Kehn Jnr, pp 326. In The Highest Degree Tragic, 2017.</ref><ref> T. Womack, pp 227. The Allied Defense of the Malay Barrier, 2014.</ref><ref>G. Jungslager, pp 444. Forlorn Hope, 2012</ref><ref>G. Hermon Gill, pp 614. Royal Australian Navy 1939-1942, 1957.</ref><ref>W. Remmelink, pp 120. You Engage and Then You See, 2019. https://militairespectator.nl/sites/default/files/teksten/bestanden/Militaire%20Spectator%203-2019%20Remmelink.pdf</ref><ref>USN Combat Narratives. The Java Sea Campaign.  pp 61 https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/war-and-conflict/wwii/javaseacampaign/java_sea_75th_anniversary_ed.pdf</ref> Doorman now had not a single destroyer in his force, leaving him only his remaining heavy cruiser ''Houston'' and light cruisers ''De Ruyter'', ''Java'', and ''Perth''. But Doorman charged on, still hoping for victory.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=HNLMS De Ruyter - uboat.net |url=https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/2866.html}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=Alden (Destroyer No. 211) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/alden.html |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=public2.nhhcaws.local |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">Hornfischer (2006) Chapter 10</ref>