1945–49 Indonesian conflict and diplomatic struggle against Dutch rule
For the violent revolution and unrest in 1998, see May 1998 riots of Indonesia.
Indonesian National Revolution
Part of the aftermath of World War II and the decolonisation of Asia
From top, left to right:
Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed Indonesian Independence on 17 August 1945.
Indonesian soldiers in the streets, November 1949.
Remains of the car of Brigadier Aubertin Walter Sothern Mallaby, where he was killed on 30 October 1945 during the Battle of Surabaya.
A village near Bandung, where a number of houses were set on fire. Two Indonesian soldiers are visible on the left of the picture.
Dutch forces during Operation Kraai, 1948.
Queen Juliana of the Netherlands signing the Soevereiniteitsoverdracht (Transfer of Sovereignty) of Indonesia.
Date
17 August 1945 – 27 December 1949 (1945-08-17 – 1949-12-27) (4 years, 4 months, 1 week and 3 days)
Location
Dutch East Indies (today Indonesia)
Result
Independence of Indonesia from the Netherlands
End of Dutch colonial empire rule over most parts of Indonesia, as the Dutch East Indies ceased to exist
Dutch recognition of the Indonesian independence in the Dutch-Indonesian Round Table Conference
Formation of the United States of Indonesia
Creation of the Netherlands-Indonesia Union
Territorial changes
Netherlands cedes control of most territories of the Dutch East Indies to the United States of Indonesia
Belligerents
Indonesia
PDRI (1948–1949)
TNI
POLRI
Japanese holdouts
Netherlands[a]
Dutch East Indies
KNIL
NICA
APRA
Pao An Tui[b]
United Kingdom[c]
British Raj[c]
Japan[c]
Internal Conflict: Darul Islam
People's Democratic Front
Commanders and leaders
Sukarno Mohammad Hatta Sudirman Gatot Soebroto and others...
Wilhelmina Juliana Louis Beel Hubertus van Mook Simon Spoor Raymond Westerling Louis Mountbatten A.W.S Mallaby † Robert Mansergh
Sekarmadji Kartosoewirjo Abdul Kahar Muzakkar †
Musso Amir Sjarifuddin
Strength
Republican Army: 150,000[1]
Youth volunteers: 100,000[2]
Japanese volunteers: 903[3]
Indian defectors: 600[4]
Netherlands: 220,000[5]
United Kingdom: 45,000[6]
Japan: 35,000[7]
Casualties and losses
Indonesia: (civilian and combatants): between 25,000 and 100,000 dead[8][9][10]
Japanese volunteers: 531 dead[3]
Indian defectors: 525 dead[4]
Netherlands: 4,585 dead[11][d]
United Kingdom: 980 dead[12]
Japan: 1,057 dead (only in Bandung)[13]
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The Indonesian National Revolution (Indonesian: Revolusi Nasional Indonesia, Dutch: Indonesische Onafhankelijkheidsoorlog) 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.[14]
The four-year struggle involved sporadic but bloody armed conflict, internal Indonesian political and communal upheavals, and two major international diplomatic interventions. Dutch military forces (and, for a while, the forces of the World War II allies) were able to control the major towns, cities and industrial assets in Republican heartlands on Java and Sumatra but could not control the countryside. By 1949, international pressure on the Netherlands, the United States threatening to cut off all economic aid for World War II rebuilding efforts to the Netherlands and the partial military stalemate became such that the Netherlands transferred sovereignty over the Dutch East Indies to the Republic of the United States of Indonesia.[15]
The revolution marked the end of the colonial administration of the Dutch East Indies, except for New Guinea. It also significantly changed ethnic castes as well as reducing the power of many of the local rulers (raja). It did not significantly improve the economic or political fortunes of the majority of the population, although a few Indonesians were able to gain a larger role in commerce.[16]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^Ricklefs, M.C. (2008), A history of modern Indonesia since c. 1200, New York: Palgrave Macmilan, p. 291, ISBN 978-0230546868
^"Indonesian Heritage".
^ abPrastiwi, Arie Mega (15 August 2016). "Kisah Rahmat Shigeru Ono, Tentara Jepang yang 'Membelot' ke NKRI". liputan6.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 13 May 2020.
^ abKhan, AG (12 May 2012). "Indian Muslim soldiers: heroic role in Indonesia's liberation". The Milli Gazette. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
^"How studying 1945–1949 wars can benefit Indonesia". 1 February 2018.
^"Pasukan Inggris di Indonesia: 1945–1946". 13 November 2020.
^Salim, Emil (2000), Kembali ke Jalan Lurus: Esai-esai 1966–99, Jakarta: AlvaBet, p. 286, ISBN 979-95821-6-4
^Cite error: The named reference Exeter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Friend 1988, pp. 228 and 237.
^Pendit 1988; Stoler 1985, p. 103; Toer, Toer & Kamil 2005a; Toer, Toer & Kamil 2005b; Toer, Toer & Kamil 2005c; Toer, Toer & Kamil 2014, all cited in Vickers (2005, p. 100)
^ ab"Indonesian War of Independence (in numbers)". NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
^Kirby 1969, p. 544.
^Vickers 2005, p. 100.
^van der Kroef, Justus M. (1951). Ranneft, J. W. Meyer; van Mook, H. J. (eds.). "The Indonesian Revolution in Retrospect". World Politics. 3 (3): 369–398. doi:10.2307/2009120. ISSN 0043-8871. JSTOR 2009120. S2CID 155137141.
^Friend 2003, p. 35.
^Reid 1974, pp. 170–171.
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