Dutch Soldiers in Indies: Want to go home
The article describes declining morale among Dutch soldiers fighting in Indonesia, many of whom had served longer than expected and wanted to return home. It recounts the difficulties of combating Republican guerrillas, the isolation and tropical conditions endured by Dutch troops, and their resentment at withdrawing from Jogjakarta as political negotiations moved towards peace.
DRAGGED-OUT TOUR OF DUTY
BATAVIA (A.A.P.).—If a political settlement and peace come to Indonesia and the Dutch army pulls out, few here will be happier than the Dutch soldiers themselves.
Holland’s average soldier is fed up with his dragged-out tour of duty in these steamy islands, and he does not hide the fact in private conversations.
Complicated, drawn-out political manoeuvres are beyond him. His understanding is simply that he has been manoeuvred into a position he does not like.
The first Dutch troops to set foot in Indonesia after the Japanese collapse in 1945 were a few battalions of war volunteers made up partly of the underground army that opposed the Germans in Holland during the war. They arrived as a token occupation force in 1946 when the British army was still in charge and the self-proclaimed Republic of Indonesia controlled all Java and Sumatra except small beachhead areas around a few important cities.
In November of the same year, Holland sent its British-trained “7 December” Division, named after a historic speech of Queen Wilhelmina on December 7, 1942, in which she promised Indonesia independence after the victory of Allied forces.
Both the war volunteers and “7 December” men were assured a maximum of two years’ tropical duty. An unstable political situation and the second military action against the Republic resulted in Holland keeping its Far Eastern forces at full strength—roughly 75,000 men.
Regular repatriation and replacement schemes were stopped suddenly last November. Homebound veterans were summoned back to the field from ships they had just boarded. Morale fell rapidly.
## MORALE BOOSTER
To many soldiers, tired of sitting it out in the Indies while politicians bickered, the military action against the Republic a few weeks later was a morale booster.
Dutch tanks, heavy guns and planes swept out to overcome the Republic in a few days. As the barefooted Republican army vanished before the formidable force, actual battles and Dutch casualties were few. Then the real fight began.
Falling back on a strategy of hit-and-run attacks from inaccessible hideouts, the guerrilla forces of the Republic made it tough for the Dutch occupation army. Progress in clearing out the guerrillas slowed to almost a standstill. Hanging on in many places became a desperate affair—and one bloody and brutal on both sides. The Dutch could manage the cities but in outlying areas of Java and Sumatra, Dutch troops had to fortify themselves in pillbox emplacements and be supplied by armoured convoys. Sometimes supplies had to be flown in by plane.
## VICTIMS OF TROPICAL HEAT
Month after month, soldiers sat behind their sandbags and barbed wire, victims of the scorching tropical heat by day and targets for well-armed guerrillas at night.
Morale slid again. About the only bright spot was resumption last spring of a limited repatriation programme.
Official policy of the Dutch when they proceeded to wipe out the Republic last December was this: The Republic no longer exists. Later the policy changed, and finally the Republic was recognised by being re-established on June 30 in its capital city, Jogjakarta.
Its restoration was a bitter pill for the military. Many officers did not like it. To many soldiers, it did not make sense.
They felt they had been frustrated in the job they had started out to do.
## ENEMIES TAKEN OVER
They were bitter that after losing nearly 100 men in holding Jogjakarta for six months they suddenly moved out and let their enemies, the guerrillas, take over.
Again, the political manoeuvres that altered the overall picture—and made it appear that real peace might actually be within sight at last—were beyond the average soldier.
Now the outlook for the Dutch soldier has brightened somewhat as political negotiations have continued to show progress.
But, generally, he is not looking forward to a bright future in the Indies where heat, hostility and loneliness have plagued him for three years. He wants to go home.