Operation Kraai
Part of the Indonesian National Revolution
Clockwise from top left: Dutch troops enter Djokjakarta. On the left a burning car. Dutch troops on the advance of East Java Station of Ngebroek. A bivouac is set up. Advance in Tapanoeli (Sumatra). Patrol of Dutch soldiers passes some typical Batak houses Advancement in Padang, Sumatra by Dutch troops. Dutch soldiers in the main street of Rantau Prapat
Date 19 December 1948 – 5 January 1949 (1948-12-19 – 1949-01-05) Location Java and Sumatra, Indonesia[1] Result Dutch victory Yogyakarta captured by the Dutch Indonesian government exiled Guerrilla warfare continued
Belligerents
Indonesia	Netherlands
Commanders and leaders
Sudirman Djatikoesoemo Abdul Haris Nasution	Simon Hendrik Spoor Dirk van Langen
Units involved
Indonesian Army Kodam I/Bukit Barisan Kodam III/Siliwangi Kodam IV/Diponegoro Kodam V/Brawijaya Indonesian Air Force	Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force Korps Speciale Troepen Government Navy Royal Netherlands Army Grenadiers' and Rifles Guard Regiment Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene 1st Regiment Infantry (1 RI) 9th Regiment Infantry (9 RI) Regiment Infanterie Oranje Gelderland Regiment Limburgse Jagers Regiment Stoottroepen Prins Bernhard Royal Netherlands Air Force Royal Netherlands Navy Mariniersbrigade
Strength
3 Mitsubishi Zero 100,000 soldiers[1]	800–900 paratroopers 10,000 soldiers[2]-130,000 soldiers[3] 23 Douglas DC-3s[2] Dutch fighter aircraft and bombers[2]
Casualties and losses
unknown	unknown

Operation Kraai (Operation Crow) 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.^[4]

Referred to by the Dutch as the second politionele actie, it is more commonly known in Indonesian history books and military records as Agresi Militer Belanda II (Second Dutch Military Aggression).^[5]

Background

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The second Politionele actie or military operation was aimed at conquering Jogjakarta, the then Indonesian capital, and the other areas held by the Republic of Indonesia, with the exception of Aceh. The purpose was to dissolve the Republic of Indonesia and install a more malleable political entity that would join the federal statehood proposed by the Netherlands, thus enabling the Netherlands to preserve its control in Indonesia.^[6][7] In previous armistice, the Renville Agreement, stipulated the withdrawal of Indonesian forces from Dutch-occupied territory in exchange for ending the Dutch naval blockade. The Dutch East Indies government, NICA, accused Indonesians of breaching the armistice that had been signed following Operation Product. A claim that is partially correct (as Indonesia really left behind some of the TNI regulars and militia irregulars under their command) and also partially incorrect as it involves things outside of the Republic's control (which includes : ~4000 irregulars from Hizbullah and Sabilillah militia groups in West Java who refused the treaty, stayed, and splintered into Darul Islam, student troops (Tentara Republik Indonesia Pelajar or TRIP) who still need to finish their study, peasants and other worker militia who still need to works in areas overran by Dutch, and some militia groups who didn't join TNI's command until Renville Agreement). Consequently, Indonesia and third-party observers pointed out that the Dutch not only maintained a naval blockade but also erected new land blockades on their side of the Van Mook Line, which not only limited movement of people but also food, cloth and medicine;^[8][9] and the Dutch unilaterally pushed ahead with their plan of creating (powerless) ethnic states in their conquered territory when Linggadjati states creation of a new federal state must be agreed by both Dutch and Indonesia. Minor skirmishes continued behind the Dutch side of the Status Quo Line/van Mook Line, and intensified as parts of Siliwangi Division began to infiltrate back after Madiun affair. In November—December 1948, the Dutch decided on a final military push to crush the Republic.^[10]

By September 1948, the Dutch military command had succeeded in decoding the republic's encrypted secret code, gaining crucial intelligence on Indonesian military and diplomatic strategies and plans. This allowed General Simon Hendrik Spoor to counteract republic actions on the battlefield and diplomatic stage. The Dutch were so confident of this advantage that they began organising a press conference in Jakarta explaining their actions three days before the attack was actually launched, to be held when it commenced.^[11] The Dutch also timed their attack to co-ordinate with plans by the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to dispatch a private plane to fly Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta to Bukittinggi in West Sumatra where they would head an emergency government. A Republican delegation led by Sukarno would then be flown to New York City, via New Delhi, to advocate the republic's cause in the United Nations General Assembly. Throughout the Indonesian National Revolution, newly independent India had been sympathetic to the republic's cause, which they viewed as a struggle against Western imperialism. However as Dutch knew of that plan, they forbade the plane to land in Jakarta.^[11]

On 18 December, radio broadcasts in Jakarta reported that the Dutch High Commissioner, Louis Beel, was going to give an important speech the next day. This news did not reach Yogyakarta because the Dutch had cut the communication line. Meanwhile, Spoor gave an instruction to begin a full-scale surprise attack against the Republic. He timed the attack prior to coincide with Tentara Nasional Indonesia military exercises on 19 December, giving Dutch movements some temporary camouflage and enabling them to take the enemy by surprise. The attack was also launched without the prior knowledge of the UN Committee of Good Offices.^[1]

Battle

First offensive

Dutch troops at Maguwo airfield with captured Indonesian Air Force biplanes in the background, 19 December 1948

The first offensive began in the early hours of 19 December. At 04:30, Dutch aircraft took off from Bandung; heading for Yogyakarta via the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, the Dutch High Commissioner Beel announced that the Dutch were no longer bound by the Renville Agreement on radio. The operation began as the Dutch attacked major Indonesian centres in Java and Sumatra.^[1] At 05:30, Maguwo airfield and the radio station at military aircraft including Yogyakarta was bombed by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force.^[1] The republic fielded only three captured Japanese Mitsubishi Zeros^[1] whereas the ML-KNIL had several American-built P-40 Kittyhawk and P-51 Mustang fighters, B-25 Mitchell bombers and 23 Douglas DC-3s carrying approximately 900 troops.^[2]

Dutch paratroopers from Korps Speciale Troepen^[12][13] landed at Maguwo airfield, which was defended by 47 lightly armed Indonesian Air Force cadets who lacked anti-aircraft machine guns. In advance, dummies were landed by the Dutch to draw enemy fire which enabled Dutch fighter planes to strafe the defenders.^[1] The skirmish lasted for 25 minutes ending with the Dutch taking over Maguwo; killing 128 republicans with no casualties.^[14] Having secured the airfield perimeter by 06:45, the Dutch were able to land airborne troops in two successive waves and use Maguwo as an airhead for reinforcements from their main base in Semarang.^[1] At 8:30 am, General Spoor gave a radio broadcast ordering his forces to cross the Van Mook line and capture Yogyakarta to "purge" the republic of "unreliable elements".^[1]

The main aim of Operation Kraai was to quickly destroy the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) which Spoor thought would desperately defend their capital. Thus, with Dutch superiority both in the air and on land, the Dutch army would easily execute a final and decisive victory upon the Indonesian army. However, most of the TNI had left Yogyakarta, defending western Yogyakarta's border from another Dutch military campaign. The commander General Nasution himself was on an inspection tour in East Java.^[1] The air attack found the Indonesians unprepared and within hours, the advancing Dutch army had quickly taken the airfield, main road, bridge and strategic locations.^[1] General Sudirman's strategy was to avoid any major contact with the Dutch main army, thus saving the Indonesians from total defeat. He would prefer to lose territory but gain extra time to consolidate his army.^[14] In Bengkalis, a resistance movement was led by Zakaria bin Muhammad Amin whom later moved to Dumai and continued to lead the resistance movement there.^[15][16] This resulted in disease which killed his wife, Mariah binti Ahmad, in 1955.^[17]

Aftermath

This attack was well publicized internationally with many newspapers, including those in the United States, condemning Dutch attacks in their editorials. The United States threatened to suspend Marshall Plan aid to the Dutch. This included funds vital for Dutch post-World War II rebuilding that had so far totalled $US 1 billion.^[23] The Netherlands government had spent an amount equivalent to almost half of this funding their campaigns in Indonesia. The perception that American aid was being used to fund "a senile and ineffectual imperialism" encouraged many key voices in the United States – including those amongst the US Republican Party – and from within American churches and NGOs to speak out in support of Indonesian independence.^[24]

On 24 December, the UN Security Council called for the end of hostilities. In January 1949, it passed a resolution demanding the reinstatement of the republican government.^[25] The Dutch had achieved most of their objectives and announced a ceasefire in Java on 31 December and on 5 January in Sumatra.^[26] The guerrilla war nonetheless continued. Hostilities eventually ended on 7 May with the signing of the Roem–Van Roijen Agreement.

See also

• Politionele acties
• Rengat massacre

References

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Second Politionele Actie.

• Bertrand, Jacques (2004). Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict in Indonesia. Cambridge University Press. p. 166. ISBN 0-521-52441-5.
• Darusman, Suryono (1992). Singapore and the Indonesian Revolution, 1945–50. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 981-3016-17-5.
• Jason, Robert (2008). Modern Military Aircraft in Combat (first ed.). London: Amber Books.
• Kahin, George McTurnan; Kahin, Audrey (2003). Southeast Asia: A Testament. London: Routledge Curzon. ISBN 0-415-29975-6.
• Pahlefi, Riza (11 August 2022). BENGKALIS: NEGERI JELAPANG PADI (in Indonesian). CV. DOTPLUS Publisher. ISBN 978-623-6428-59-7.
• Ricklefs, M.C. (1993). A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1300. San Francisco, CA: Stanford University Press.
• Saputra, Amrizal, Wira Sugiarto, Suyendri, Zulfan Ikhram, Khairil Anwar, M. Karya Mukhsin, Risman Hambali, Khoiri, Marzuli Ridwan Al-bantany, Zuriat Abdillah, Dede Satriani, Wan M. Fariq, Suwarto, Adi Sutrisno, Ahmad Fadhli (15 October 2020). PROFIL ULAMA KARISMATIK DI KABUPATEN BENGKALIS: MENELADANI SOSOK DAN PERJUANGAN (in Indonesian). CV. DOTPLUS Publisher. ISBN 978-623-94659-3-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Zweers, L. (1995). Agressi II: Operatie Kraai. De vergeten beelden van de tweede politionele actie. The Hague, Netherlands: SDU Uitgevers. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012.
• Operation Kraai (General Spoor) vs Surat Perintah no. 1 (General Sudirman), Gramedia Publisher-Indonesian Language