Battle of Surabaya
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| Battle of Surabaya | |||||||
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| Part of Indonesian War of Independence | |||||||
 A British soldier fires at snipers in Surabaya, November 1945. |
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| Combatants | |||||||
 Indonesia |
 United Kingdom Netherlands |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| Bung Tomo | Brig. Gen A. W. S. Mallaby † Maj. Gen E. C. Mansergh |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 20,000 inexperienced soldiers 100,000 irregulars[1] |
30,000 (peak)[1] with tanks, aircrafts and warships |
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| Casualties | |||||||
| 16,000[1] | 2,000[1] | ||||||
| This article is part of the History of Indonesia series |
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The Battle of Surabaya was fought between pro-Independence Indonesian soldiers and militia against British and the Netherlands troops as a part of Indonesian War of Independence. The peak of the battle was in November 1945. Despite fierce resistance, British troops managed to conquer Surabaya on behalf of the Netherlands. Considered an heroic effort by Indonesians, the battle helped galvanise Indonesian and international support for Indonesian independence. 10 November is celebrated annually as Heroes Day (Hari Pahlawan).
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[edit] Background
In a prelude to the Battle of Surabaya, on September 19, 1945, a group of Dutch internees supported by the Japanese raised the Dutch flag outside the Hotel Yamato (formerly Hotel Oranje) in Surabaya, East Java. This provoked Nationalist Indonesian militia, who overran the Dutch and Japanese, and tore off the blue part of the Dutch flag, changing it into Indonesian flag.[2] The leader of the Dutch group, Mr Pluegman, was killed because of mass anger.[2]
On October 25, 1945, the United Kingdom sent in 6,000 lightly armed British-India troops from the 49th Indian Infantry Brigade, 23rd Division, led by Brigadier General A.W.S. Mallaby to take over Surabaya from the Japanese and soon found itself in conflict with the Republic of Indonesia (RI) troops and militia.
British forces brought in a small Dutch military contingent 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 demoralized Japanese garrisons across the archipelago with rudimentary weapons such as bamboo spears in order to seize their arms. The main goals of British troops in Surabaya were the seizing of weapons from Japanese troops and Indonesian militia, taking care of former prisoner of war (POW), and sending the remaining Japanese troops back to Japan. The Japanese troops surrendered their weapons, but more than 20,000 Indonesian troops and several thousand militia refused to hand over their weapons.
On October 26, 1945, Brigadier General A.W.S Mallaby reached an agreement with Mr Suryo, the Republic of Indonesia's governor of East Java that the British would not ask Indonesian troops/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 have serious ramifications.
[edit] Combatants
Initially British troops were 6,000-strong light-armed Indian soldiers from 49th Infantry Brigade of the 23rd Division. When the battle reached its peak, British sent additional troops which consisted of 24,000 fully-armed soldiers from the 5th Division, 24 Sherman tanks, 24 armed aircrafts, 2 cruisers and 3 destroyers.[1]
Indonesian forces consisted of 20,000 soldiers from the newly-formed Tentara Keamanan Rakyat (TKR; People's Security Troops) and estimated 100,000-120,000 irregulars. TKR was formed by the former members of Peta, a semi-military organization during Japanese occupation. The irregulars consisted of pro-Independence mob, armed with rifles, swords, and spears. Some of their weapons were taken from the demoralized Japanese troops. [3]
[edit] The battle
[edit] Beginning
On October 27, 1945, a British plane from Jakarta dropped leaflets over Surabaya urging all Indonesian troops and militia to surrender their weapons. The leader of Indonesian troops and militia was angered, seeing it as a breaking of the agreement reached with Mallaby earlier. On October 28, 1945, they attacked British troops in Surabaya killing more than 200 ill-prepared British troops.
On October 29, 1945, Ir. Sukarno (president of RI), Mohammad Hatta (the vice president of RI), and Amir Syarifuddin Harahap (the minister of information of Indonesia) came to Surabaya to negotiate with Maj. Gen. Hawthorn (the commander of British 23rd division) and Brig. Gen. Mallaby. On October 30, 1945, a new agreement was reached and the trapped British troops were to be evacuated from Surabaya to Jakarta. Maj. Gen Hawthorn and RI leaders left Surabaya and went back to Jakarta.
[edit] Jembatan Merah incident
Brigadier General Mallaby was killed in Surabaya on 30 October 1945 under unclear circumstances that remain debated today. His death was a significant turning point and catlyst for the battle to come. Brigadier General Mallaby spread the news about the new agreement to his troops around Surabaya. When his car approached the British troops post on Internatio building near the Jembatan Merah ("Red Bridge"), his car was surrounded by Indonesian Republican militia. Fearing that their commander was about to be attacked by the militia, the British troops in the Internatio building, led by Major Venu K. Gopal, fired into the air to disperse the Indonesian militia. [citation needed] The militia, thinking that British were taking hostile action, fired back at the British troops.[citation needed]
Captain R.C. Smith who was in the stationary car reports that a young republican shot and killed Mallaby after a short conversation. Smith then reports throwing a grenade from the car in the direction of where he thought the shooter was hiding. Although he is not sure whether it hit its target, the explosion caused the back seat of the car to ignite.[4] Other accounts [citation needed] state that it was the explosion and not a shooter that killed Mallaby. Regardless of the exact details of his death, it was followed by a British order for Indonesian surrender and then on 10 November by a large British retalitory attack.
[edit] The major battle
Lt. Gen. Sir Philip Christison was angered when he heard that Brig. Gen. Mallaby was killed in Surabaya. He then sent additional 24,000 fully armed Indian 5th Division troops led by Major General E. C. Mansergh, with 21 M4 Sherman tanks, 2 cruisers and 3 destroyers to conquer Surabaya.
On November 9, 1945, British issued an ultimatum for Indonesian troops and militia to surrender all their weapons, or Surabaya will be attacked from land, sea, and air. Indonesians regarded this as a humiliation of their nation's dignity, and refused the ultimatum. As the result, British troops began to bomb Surabaya from air and sea on 10 November. Indonesians, led by Bung Tomo resisted fiercely despite lack of weaponry. Bung Tomo ignited the morale of Indonesian via radios, chanted "Freedom or Death" and "God is Great". The fierce battle in Surabaya went on for 10 days. On November 10, 1945, two British planes were shot down by Indonesian troops. One of the passengers, Brigadier General Robert Guy Loder-Symonds was badly injured and passed away on the following day. On November 20, 1945, British troops managed to conquer Surabaya with more than 2,000 casualties. More than 20,000 Indonesian troops, militia and residence of Surabaya were killed during the battle. Most of Surabaya were destroyed during the battle.
[edit] Consequences of the battle
The battle for Surabaya was the bloodiest single engagement by British troops in the war and demonstrated the determination of the rag-tag nationalist forces. It also made the British reluctant to be sucked into a war it did not need, considering how outstretched their resources in southeast Asia were during the period after the Japanese surrender. On November 1946, the last British troops left Indonesia. The "10 November Hero" statue in Surabaya commemorated this epic battle. 10 November is declared as "Heroes' Day" in Indonesia.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Picture of General Mallaby's burnt out car. From Petra Christian University Collection
- Picture of the Internatio Building scene of the 30 October Incident and Mallaby's Death from Petra Christian University Collection
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e The Battle for Surabaya, Indonesian Heritage.
- ^ a b Orange / Yamato / Mandarin Majapahit Hotel, Petra Christian University Surabaya
- ^ J. G. A. Parrott (October 1975). "Who Killed Brigadier Mallaby?" (pdf). Retrieved on 2006-27-11.
- ^ J. G. A. Parrott (20 October 1975). "Who Killed Brigadier Mallaby?". Cornell University Library.
