Battle of Surabaya
Battle of Surabaya | |||||||||
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Part of the Indonesian National Revolution | |||||||||
A British Indian soldier uses a knocked-out, Indonesian nationalist militia-modified Universal Carrier as defensive cover against enemy gunfire in a main street in the East Javan city of Surabaya, in November 1945. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Indonesia | |||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
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Strength | |||||||||
| 30,000[1] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
6,300[2]–15,000[3] dead 20,000 wounded |
295[4]–2,000[1] dead 210 wounded |
The Battle of Surabaya was fought between regular infantry and militia of the Indonesian nationalist movement and British and
By the time the
Despite the military defeat suffered by the Republicans and a loss of manpower and weaponry that would severely hamper Republican forces for the rest of the revolution, the battle and defence mounted by the Indonesians galvanised the nation in support of independence and helped garner international attention.
For the Dutch, it removed any doubt that the Republic was not simply a gang of collaborators without popular support. It also had the effect of convincing Britain that wisdom lay on the side of neutrality in the revolution; within a few years, in fact, Britain would support the Republican cause in the United Nations.[2]
Background
On 17 August 1945,
The senior Japanese commander in Surabaya, Vice Admiral Shibata Yaichiro, threw his support behind the Republicans and gave Indonesians ready access to arms.
British forces brought in a small Dutch colonial civil administration officers which it termed the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA). The British became worried about the increasing boldness and apparent strength of the nationalists, who attacked demoralised Japanese garrisons across the archipelago with rudimentary weapons such as bamboo spears to seize their arms. The "bamboo spear" monument is still a common feature in Indonesian cities,e.g. Jakarta, Surabaya and Pontianak.[10] The main goals of British troops in Surabaya were seizing weapons from Japanese troops and Indonesian militia, taking care of former prisoners-of-war (POWs), and sending the remaining Japanese troops back to Japan.
In September and October 1945 a series of incidents took place involving pro-Dutch Eurasians, and atrocities were committed by Indonesian mobs against European internees.
Prelude
On 26 October 1945, Brigadier A. W. S. Mallaby reached an agreement with Suryo, the Republic of Indonesia's governor of East Java, that the British would not ask Indonesian troops or militia to hand over their weapons. An apparent misunderstanding about the agreement between British troops in Jakarta (led by Lieutenant General Sir Philip Christison) and Mallaby's troops in Surabaya was to have serious ramifications.[citation needed]
Initially, British troops in the city comprised some 6,000 lightly armed
Indonesian forces consisted of 20,000 soldiers from the newly formed Tentara Keamanan Rakyat (TKR; People's Security Armed Forces) from its East Java Regional Command and an estimated 100,000–120,000 irregulars and militias. The TKR was formed partly by the former members of Peta, a semi-military organisation during the Japanese occupation and a few local officers of the former KNIL. The irregulars consisted of pro-Independence mobs, armed with rifles, swords, and bamboo spears. Some of their weapons were taken from surrendered Japanese troops.[5]
Battle
Beginning
On 27 October 1945, a British plane from Jakarta dropped leaflets over Surabaya urging all Indonesian troops and militia to surrender their weapons. The leaders of the Indonesian troops and militia were angered, seeing it as a breaking of the agreement reached with Mallaby earlier. On 28 October 1945, they attacked the British troops in Surabaya after cutting off all water supply to the British-occupied area, killing two hundred British soldiers. On 30 October the British flew Sukarno (president of RI), Hatta (the vice-president of RI), and Amir Syarifuddin Harahap (the minister of information of Indonesia) into Surabaya to possibly negotiate a cease fire. A ceasefire was negotiated with Major General Hawthorn (the commander of the 23rd British Indian Division) and Brigadier Mallaby and immediately adhered to. Fighting, however, soon recommenced due to confused communications and mistrust between the two sides, leading to the famed Battle of Surabaya.[12]
Death of Brigadier Mallaby
On 30 October 1945, Brigadier Mallaby, the British brigade commander in Surabaya, was travelling about Surabaya to spread the news about the new agreement to his troops. At this time, Mallaby's team were forbidden to carry any weapons except hand grenades. Later while patrolling, they received information that there was a mass of Indonesian militia advancing to the International Bank near Jembatan Merah (the "Red Bridge"). The team headed to the area but were trapped by shooting between Dutch soldiers who guarded the bank and local militias. When his car approached the British troops' post in the International building near the Jembatan Merah, it was surrounded by Indonesian Republican militia. Shortly after, Mallaby was shot and killed by the militia under confused circumstances.[5]
Captain R. C. Smith, who was in the stationary car, reported that a young Republican (teen) suddenly shot and killed Mallaby after a short conversation. Smith then reported throwing a grenade from the car in the direction of where he thought the shooter had hidden. Although he was not sure whether or not it hit its target, the explosion caused the back seat of the car to ignite.
Main battle
Lieutenant General Sir Philip Christison was angered when he heard that Brigadier Mallaby had been killed in Surabaya. During a lull in the fighting, the British brought in reinforcements and evacuated the internees.[2] An additional two brigades (9th and 123rd Indian) of the 5th Indian Division led by Major General Robert Mansergh were deployed with Sherman and Stuart tanks, 2 cruisers and 3 destroyers (including HMS Cavalier) in support.[1][a]
At dawn on 10 November, a day now commemorated in Indonesia as Heroes' Day, British troops began a methodical advance through the city under the cover of naval and air bombardment. Fighting was heavy, with British troops clearing buildings room by room and consolidating their gains. Despite the fanatical resistance of the Indonesians, half of the city was conquered in three days and the fighting was over in three weeks (29 November).[13] Estimates of Indonesian deaths range between 6,300 and 15,000, and perhaps 200,000 fled the devastated city.[2][3] British Indian casualties totalled 295 killed and missing.[4]
Aftermath
The Republicans lost much of their manpower, but it was the loss of weaponry that would severely hamper Republican military efforts for the remainder of the independence struggle.[2] The battle for Surabaya was the bloodiest single engagement of the war, and demonstrated the determination of the rag-tag nationalist forces; their sacrificial resistance became a symbol and rallying cry for the revolution. It also made the British reluctant to be sucked into a war, considering how stretched their resources in southeast Asia were during the period after the Japanese surrender; within a few years, in fact, Britain openly supported the Republican cause in the United Nations. It was also a watershed for the Dutch as it removed any doubt that the Republic was a well-organized resistance with popular support.[2] In November 1946, the last British troops left Indonesia.[citation needed] The Heroes Monument in Surabaya commemorates this battle.[14] 10 November is now commemorated in Indonesia as "Heroes' Day", in memory of the battle.[15]
The Scottish-American Indonesian sympathiser K'tut Tantri also witnessed the Battle of Surabaya, which she later recorded in her memoirs Revolt in Paradise. Prior to the fighting, she and a group of Indonesian rebels associated with Bung Tomo had established a secret radio station in the city which broadcast pro-Indonesian Republic messages that were directed at the British soldiers in the city. She noted that several British soldiers were unhappy with the Dutch for misleading them about the Indonesian Republicans being Japanese puppets and extremists. Following the British bombardment of the city, Tantri contacted several foreign diplomats and commercial attaches from Denmark, Switzerland, the Soviet Union, and Sweden. These countries had representatives in Surabaya. They agreed to inform their respective governments about the fighting in Surabaya and to take part in a joint broadcast protesting continuation of the fighting and calling for a ceasefire.[16]
In popular culture
The battle of Surabaya has become the theme and background of several
In 2013, the Battle of Surabaya was commemorated in a 2D animated film called the Battle of Surabaya, which was released in August 2015. The film was produced by Mohammad Suyanto and focuses on a teenage courier named Musa.[19][20] Disney Studios took an interest in the animated cartoon, and the film became part of Disney's distribution franchise. It was stated that the film would have an English voice over for distribution outside Indonesia after the film’s original release in Indonesia.[21]
See also
Notes
- ^ Cavalier is now preserved as a museum ship at Chatham Historic Dockyard.
- ^ a b c d e Indonesian Heritage.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Ricklefs, p. 217.
- ^ a b Vickers, p. 98.
- ^ a b Woodburn Kirby, p. 336.
- ^ a b c d e f Parrott.
- ^ Ricklefs, pp. 214–215.
- ^ Friend, p. 32.
- ^ a b Orange / Yamato / Mandarin Majapahit Hotel Archived 2 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Petra Christian University Surabaya.
- ^ Frederick 1982, pp. 127–128.
- ^ "The forgotten killings".
- ^ Frederick 1989, pp. 237–243.
- ^ Reid, p. 52.
- ISBN 0-313-24308-5.
- ^ Azanella, Luthfia Ayu (10 November 2020). "Mengenang Pertempuran Surabaya, Cikal Bakal Peringatan Hari Pahlawan". Kompas.com. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ Syofyan, Donny (10 November 2011). "Who are real heroes of Indonesia?". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011.
- ^ Tantri, pp. 182–89.
- ^ "Merdeka Atau Mati (Surabaya 45)". YouTube.
- ^ Sriyadi, Faishal Fikri (10 November 2016). "Film-Film Ini Terinspirasi dari Pertempuran Surabaya 10 November 1945". Pikiran Rakyat (in Indonesian). Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ Lim, Sylvia (10 November 2013). "'Battle of Surabaya' the movie". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- ^ "Battle of Surabaya". International Movie Trailer Festival. 18 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- ^ "Battle of Surabaya premieres, attracts Disney's interest". The Jakarta Post. Jakarta. 20 August 2015.
References
- Frederick, William H. (April 1982). "In Memoriam: Sutomo". Indonesia. 33. Cornell University Southeast Asia Program: 127–128.
- Frederick, Willam H. (1989). Visions and Heat: The Making of the Indonesian Revolution. ISBN 978-0-8214-0906-0.
- Friend, Theodore (2003). Indonesian Destinies. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01834-1.
- Parrott, J. G. A. (October 1975). "Who Killed Brigadier Mallaby?". Indonesia. 20 (20): 87–111. JSTOR 3350997. Archived from the originalon 16 September 2006. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
- Reid, Anthony (1973). The Indonesian National Revolution 1945–1950. Melbourne: Longman Pty. ISBN 978-0-582-71046-7.
- Ricklefs, Merle Calvin (1993). A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1300 (Second ed.). MacMillan. ISBN 978-0-333-57689-2.
- Tantri, K'tut (1960). Revolt in Paradise. London: William Heinemann.
- Vickers, Adrian (2005). A History of Modern Indonesia (illustrated, annotated, reprint ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83493-3.
- Woodburn Kirby, S. (1965). The War Against Japan. Vol. V. London: HMSO.
Other sources
- "The Battle for Surabaya". Indonesian Heritage. Editions Didier Millet. Archived from the original on 24 February 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
Further reading
- Bayly and Harper (2007) Forgotten Wars: The End of Britain's Asian Empire (London:Penguin).
- McMillan, Richard (2005) The British Occupation of Indonesia 1945–1946: Britain, the Netherlands and the Indonesian revolution (London:Routledge).
- Parrott, J. G. A., Role of the 49 Indian Infantry Brigade in Surabaya, Oct.-Nov. 1945, Australian thesis
External links
- Picture of General Mallaby's burnt out car Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. This photograph was taken in November 1945 by Sergeants Davis and MacTavish of the British No. 9 Army Film and Photographic Unit. See Imperial War Museum Collection Search Reference No. SE 5724
- Picture of the Internatio Building Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine scene of 30 October Incident and Mallaby's Death.