Operation Product | |||||||||
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Part of the Indonesian National Revolution | |||||||||
Clockwise from top left: | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Indonesia | Netherlands | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
Indonesian Air Force | Royal Netherlands East Indies Army
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Strength | |||||||||
10 Divisions in Java, 6 Divisions in Sumatra; ~195,000 combatants | 3 Divisions in Java, 3 Brigades in Sumatra; ~95,000 combatants |
Operation Product was a Dutch military offensive against areas of Java and Sumatra controlled by the de facto Republic of Indonesia during the Indonesian National Revolution. [1] [2] It took place between 21 July and 4 August 1947. Referred to by the Dutch as the first politionele actie , in Indonesia, the military offensive is more commonly known in Indonesian history books and military records as Agresi Militer Belanda I (First Dutch Military Aggression).
The offensive was launched in violation of the Linggadjati Agreement between the de facto Republic and the Netherlands. The offensive resulted in the Dutch reducing Republican-held areas to smaller areas of Java and Sumatra, split by Dutch-held areas. [1]
Netherlands abrogated the treaty and conducted military offensive toward Indonesian held territories due to by several factors: Financial -- the ~120,000 inactive Dutch soldiers, which includes significant number of Dutch-born conscripts, in Java was a significant financial burden on the Netherlands after the ravages of World War II. [3] By May 1947, the Dutch had decided they needed to directly attack the Republic to access commodities in Republican-held areas, in particular sugar in Java and oil and rubber in Sumatra and Political -- Frustrated by deadlocked negotiations of Linggadjati Agreement between the Netherlands and the de facto Republic Indonesia, the Netherlands abrogated the treaty and conducted military offensive toward Indonesian held territories. This offensive was also influenced by a Dutch perception that the de facto Republic had failed to curb the influence of Indonesian Chinese, Indonesian Indians and the rising Indonesian Communist Party. [4]
The Dutch military estimated they would need two weeks to secure Republican-held cities and six months for the whole of the Republican territory. [3] The offensive was intended to not include an attack on Yogyakarta, seat of the Republican government, due to high expected costs of fighting there.[ citation needed ]
On 21 July, Dutch, whose forces armed with US produced lend-lease equipment and trained in modern warcraft, deployed three divisions in Java and three brigades in less-densely populated Sumatra. Operation Product in East Java consisted of three landing operations: Product North in Pasir Poetih, Situbondo, Product South in Meneng Bay, north of Banyuwangi, and Product East in Porong, Sidoarjo. Landings were supported destroyers, corvettes, minesweepers, patrol vessels, landing ships and vessels such as LSTs, LCIs, LCTs and LCVPs, tugboats and pontoons from Surabaya. [5] The operation resulted in the occupation of large, economically productive parts of Java and Sumatra. Republican army (Tentara Nasional Indonesia or TNI) ) tried to slow the Dutch advance by blowing up bridges, setting up roadblocks, laying ambushes and detonating roadside bombs. The aim of this was to be able to bring their troops to safety and, if possible, to apply the scorched earth tactic. A direct confrontation with the Dutch troops, who had much greater firepower, was avoided as much as possible.
Nevertheless, the TNI and its allies continued to conduct guerrilla operations from the rural areas in Dutch-controlled territory. [6] The Dutch retaliated with air strikes and a blockade of Republican-held areas. However, the Dutch were held back from full conquest of the Republic because of pressure from the UN Security Council, and by the United States, who were calling for a ceasefire. [7]
The operation is rated as a military and economical success, as the Dutch managed to take over economically productive areas in Java and Sumatra, but a political setback as it attracted international attention to what was previously seen as an internal Dutch politic, and thus condemnation from other countries. Despite the government of the State of East Indonesia expressing support for the Dutch action, [8] international pressure led to a ceasefire in January 1948 followed by a formal armistice. As a consequence, what was previously considered to be an internal Dutch affair now took on an international dimension. The Renville Agreement, as the armistice was called, stipulated the withdrawal of Indonesian forces from Dutch-occupied territory, the lifting of the Dutch naval blockade, and the establishment of a ceasefire boundary known as the Status Quo Line or Van Mook Line. [9] Both sides soon accused the other of breaking the armistice, with the Dutch complaining about pro-Indonesian insurgency behind the Van Mook Line. Meanwhile, Indonesia and third-party observers, including the Committee of Good Behavior, found not only the Dutch still maintained their naval blockade but also erected new land blockades on their side of Van Mook Line, and unilaterally created several (powerless) ethnic states in areas they conquered, when Linggadjati stated that the creation of a new federal state must be agreed by both Holland and Indonesia. Mutual distrust between the two sides, growing tension, and the belief that Indonesia was weakened by Darul Islam and socialist Madiun Affair, led Holland to conduct a second military offensive code-named Operation Kraai.
The Indonesian National Revolution also known as the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcolonial Indonesia. It took place between Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945 and the Netherlands' transfer of sovereignty over the Dutch East Indies to the Republic of the United States of Indonesia at the end of 1949.
Hubertus Johannes "Huib" van Mook was a Dutch administrator in the East Indies. During the Indonesian National Revolution, he served as the Acting Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1942 to 1948. Van Mook also had a son named Cornelius van Mook who studied marine engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also wrote about Java - and his work on Kota Gede is a good example of a colonial bureaucrat capable of examining and writing about local folklore.
Politionele acties, also politiële acties, in its narrowest definition refers to two major military offensives undertaken by the Netherlands on Java and Sumatra against the Republic of Indonesia during its struggle for independence in the Indonesian National Revolution. In Indonesia they are known collectively as the Agresi Militer Belanda, although the less common translation Aksi Polisionil is also used.
The Linggardjati Agreement was a political accord concluded on 15 November 1946 by the Dutch administration and the unilaterally declared Republic of Indonesia in the village of Linggajati, Kuningan Regency, near Cirebon in which the Dutch recognised the republic as exercising de facto authority in Java, Madura, and Sumatra.
The Renville Agreement was a United Nations Security Council-brokered political accord between the Netherlands, which was seeking to re-establish its colony in Southeast Asia, and Indonesian Republicans seeking Indonesian independence during the Indonesian National Revolution. Ratified on 17 January 1948, the agreement was an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the disputes that arose following the 1946 Linggadjati Agreement. It recognised a cease-fire along the Status Quo Line or so-called "Van Mook Line", an artificial line that connected the most advanced Dutch positions.
The Roem–Van Roijen Agreement was an agreement made between Indonesian republicans and the Netherlands on 7 May 1949 at the Des Indes Hotel. The name was derived between the two principal negotiators at the meeting; Mohammad Roem and Jan Herman van Roijen. The purpose of the meeting was to iron out outstanding issues prior to Indonesian independence which was to be granted at the Round Table Conference at The Hague later that same year.
Operation Kraai was a Dutch military offensive against the de facto Republic of Indonesia in December 1948, following the failure of negotiations. With the advantage of surprise, the Dutch managed to capture the Indonesian Republic's temporary capital, Yogyakarta, and seized Indonesian leaders such as de facto Republican President Sukarno. This apparent military success was, however, followed by guerrilla warfare, while the violation of the Renville Agreement ceasefire diplomatically isolated the Dutch. This led to the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference and recognition of the United States of Indonesia.
This is the timeline of Indonesian National Revolution.
The Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference was held in The Hague from 23 August to 2 November 1949, between representatives of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Indonesia and the Federal Consultative Assembly, representing various states the Dutch had created in the Indonesian archipelago.
The Malino Conference was organised by the Dutch in the Sulawesi town of Malino from 16 to 25 July 1946 as part of their attempt to arrange a federal solution for Indonesia. From the end of World War II, Indonesian Republicans had been trying to secure Indonesian Independence from the Dutch colonial control.
Sjafruddin Prawiranegara's Emergency Cabinet was the government of the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PDRI), effectively Indonesia's government in exile, established in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra following the second Dutch military aggression when the republican capital of Yogyakarta was seized and most of the cabinet allowed itself to be captured in the hope of attracting sympathy from the outside world.
The Federal Consultative Assembly, (BFO) was a committee established on 8 July 1948 to discuss the form of the planned federal United States of Indonesia. Its membership comprised the leaders of the various federal states established by the Dutch in the areas they occupied following their attack on the areas of Indonesia controlled by republican forces during the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949). It took part in negotiations with the Dutch in August and September 1948, and participated in the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference at which the Dutch agreed to hand over sovereignty to the United States of Indonesia.
The South Sulawesi Campaign was a campaign during the Indonesian National Revolution. It was a counter-insurgency offensive of the special forces of the KNIL against Indonesian infiltrations from Java and pro-Indonesian local militias. It was masterminded by the controversial Raymond Westerling, a captain in the KNIL. Westerling's operation, which started in December 1946 and ended in February 1947, succeeded in eliminating the insurgency and undermining local support for the Republicans by instituting summary executions of suspected enemy fighters.
The Rawagede massacre, was committed by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army on 9 December 1947 in the village of Rawagede. Forces of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army were battling Indonesian Republican army fighters TNI and militia forces seeking independence for Indonesia. Almost all males from the village, amounting to 431 men according to most estimates, were killed by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, since the people of the village would not tell them where the Indonesian independence fighter Lukas Kustaryo was hiding.
The State of Pasundan was a federal state (negara bagian) formed in the western part of the Indonesian island of Java by the Netherlands in 1948 following the Linggadjati Agreement. It was similar to the geographical area now encompassed by the current provinces of West Java, Banten and Jakarta.
The United States of Indonesia was a short-lived federal state to which the Netherlands formally transferred sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies on 27 December 1949 following the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference. This transfer ended the four-year conflict between Indonesian nationalists and the Netherlands for control of Indonesia. It lasted less than a year, before being replaced by the unitary Republic of Indonesia.
The military history of Indonesia includes the military history of the modern nation of Republic of Indonesia, as well as the military history of the states which preceded and formed it. It encompassed a kaleidoscope of conflicts spanning over a millennia. The ancient and medieval part of it began as tribal warfare began among indigenous populations, and escalated as kingdoms emerged. The modern part is defined by foreign colonial occupations, battles for independence through guerrilla warfare during Indonesian National Revolution, regional conquests and disputes with neighbouring countries, as well as battles between the Republic and separatist factions. Since the formation of the Republic, the military has played significant role in state affairs. However, in Post-Suharto era, the Indonesian military has retreated from politics, yet it still possesses some influences.
The Denpasar Conference was held from 7–24 December 1946 at the Hotel Bali, Denpasar and resulted in the establishment of the State of East Indonesia, part of the United States of Indonesia.
The Cabinet of the State of East Indonesia served as the central government apparatus of the State of East Indonesia, headed by a prime minister who were appointed by the head of state. During the three-year lifetime of the state between 24 December 1946 and 27 December 1949, there were eight cabinets in total, headed by six different prime ministers.
The United Nations Commission for Indonesia was a United Nations commission formed to replace the Good Offices Commission known in Indonesian as Komisi Tiga Negara. The purpose of UNCI was to continue the duties of the previous commission, while at the same time overseeing the handover of the Indonesian territory to the republican government and reporting regularly to the United Nations Security Council. UNCI was formed after the Good Offices Commission was deemed to have failed to reconcile the conflict. UNCI played an important role in the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference.
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