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Battle Of Surabaya

The Battle of Surabaya was struggle between pro-independence Indonesian soldiers and military against British troops as a part of the Indonesian National Revolution. The peak of the battle was in 10 November 1945. The battle was the heaviest single battle of the revolution and became a national symbol of Indonesian resistance. 

 The battle began when British and Dutch landed in Jakarta on 15 September 1945. Shortly after that, on 18-19 September 1945, at 9.00 p.m. , a group of Dutch raised the Dutch flag outside the Yamato Hotel, Surabaya, East Java, but before that, on 1 September 1945, Indonesian flag are flying throughout Indonesia. On 23 september 1945, the captain of the Huijer from the navy of Netherlands (representative of the allies) arrived in Surabaya, and then on 28 September 1945, Huijer asked Madya Yaichairo Shibata (leader of the Japanese forces) to hand over weapons to Huijer.

            On 1 October 1945, A fight broke out between Indonesian and Dutch youth. After that, Surabaya became an armed camp, and there was there was an anarchy of the people's courts of prisoners. On 12-13 October 1945, Bung Tomo arrtived in Surabaya, formed "rebellion radio" and BPRI (Badan Pemberontakan Republik Indonesia). On 25-26 October 1945, Brigjen A.W.Mallaby arrived in Tanjung Perak, Surabaya ,  and send troops to save Huijer. On 27-28 October 1945, the allies started aggression and took over Morokrembangan airfield and important offices. This is where the first war between Indonesia and Britain. On 29 October 1945, Soekarno and Amir Sjarifoeddin came to Surabaya to stop the war. And the next day, on 30 October 1945, Brigjen A.W. Mallaby was killed. 

            On 1 November 1945, the battleship HMS Sussex appeared in the port of Tanjung Perak, Surabaya. And then, on 10 November 1945, at 6.00 o’clock, English began its attack. large-scale bombing of the sea and air destroyed much of the city of Surabaya. Surabaya battle lasted for 3 weeks. Although the Colonial forces largely captured the city in three days, the poorly armed Republicans fought for three weeks, and thousands died as the population fled to the countryside.

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.

Considered a heroic effort by Indonesians, the battle helped galvanise Indonesian and international support for Indonesian independence. 10 November is celebrated annually as Heroes’ Day.

References :

RAFLI, SISCA. (2020, MARET 7). PERTEMPURAN SURABAYA. Retrieved from WIKIPEDIA: https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertempuran_Surabaya

RAFLI, SISCA. (n.d.). PERTEMPURAN SURABAYA.

https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertempuran_Surabaya

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