City of Bandung sacrificed all to defend independence

City of Bandung sacrificed all to defend independence

By Johannes Simbolon

JAKARTA (JP): It was Sunday evening, March 24, 1946. The
200,000 inhabitants of the southern part of Bandung knew they
wouldn't sleep that night. A hasty evacuation would start in a
matter of hours. Everywhere people were packing their most
valuable things -- the fewer the better. The war could be very
long and extra weight on one's shoulders wouldn't help.

"I only had the clothes I was wearing that day. Most of the
people did the same thing," Mashudi, 75, a retired army general
and former West Java governor, told The Jakarta Post.

The exodus started about 8 p.m. The people burned their houses
with all their effects still inside. They tried to blow up public
buildings to deprive the British and Dutch, who had taken control
of the northern part of Bandung, of their use.

Bandung, as the song Hallo, Hallo Bandung composed during the
period says, was "already in a sea of fire."

It was Bandung's first entry in the new book of Indonesian
history. It is known for its people who were willing to sacrifice
all they had for the country's independence. Only Surabaya,
according to some historians, outshone Bandung in heroism.

Scorching the earth was the inhabitants' solution to the
lingering uncertainty they felt in the wake of World War II.
President Sukarno and vice president Mohammad Hatta declared
Indonesia's independence on Aug. 17, 1945. Several weeks later,
the Allies, led by Indian-British troops, came to Indonesia to
strip the Japanese of their weapons, free allied prisoners of war
and internees, and restore law and order. They arrived in Bandung
on Oct. 12, 1942. Yet, Bandung's youths didn't trust them because
the Dutchmen wore the uniforms of the Netherlands Indies Civil
Administration. They thought the soldiers intended to restore
Dutch power. The youth saw only two alternatives: "freedom or
death".

Spirits were very high. Bandung and its surrounds teemed with
militia groups, which all had their own names, turf, weapons and
rules. Among them were Hizbullah-Sabilillah, Pesindo, API Troop,
Pasukan Istimewa (Select Troop), Beruang Merah (Red Bear), KRIS,
Barisan Merah Putih (Red-White Troop), Peloupassy troop and Rebel
Group. There was also a more organized force called People Order
Military (TKR). It was formed by the nascent Republic of
Indonesia, and was later renamed TRI, TNI and finally ABRI. Its
then chief of staff was General Oerip Soemohardjo, and its West
Java commander was Col. AH Nasution. The militia groups also had
their own leaders, who didn't recognize Nasution's authority.

Nasution recalls in his memoir, Memenuhi Panggilan Tugas Vol.
1, that he once installed one of his men to head the Bogor
regiment. The Bogor militia leader quickly sent the man back,
saying, "If he brings us weapons we'll name him our commander. If
he brings nothing, this is not the place he fits in."

Weapons were in great demand. Youths scoured Java in search of
weapons, continually attempting to rob captured Japanese weapon
caches. The most strongly-armed was Pasukan Istimewa, largely
made up of Batak youths. They had modern weapons like carbines,
pistols and grenades seized from the Japanese. The most desperate
of all were no doubt the Hisbullah. They wear forced to arm
themselves with bambu runcing (sharpened bamboo) because they
lacked modern weaponry.

Bandung was known as a melting pot even before independence.
This gave the resistance movement color but divided the militias
along ethnic lines. The Pasukan Istimewa were mainly Batak; the
Peloupassy Troop, were Malukus led by Peloupassy; KRIS, was made
up of North Sulawesi youths commanded by Kodongan; and Barisan
Merah Putih, of men from Padang and were led by Rais.

The chain of command and organization was weak, illustrated by
everyone's reluctance to follow Nasution and Pesindo's split into
the Tobing and Sudarman battalions. The loosest militia of all
was Pasukan Istimewa, it held almost daily elections to choose a
commander.

It is remarkable that they were able to coordinate the fiery
withdrawal from Bandung.

In December 1945, about four months before the pullout, all
the natives living in the northern part of Bandung were ordered
by the local British commander, Brig. Gen. MacDonald, to move to
the southern part of the city. The order followed clashes between
the NICA and resistance groups attempting to steal Japanese
weapons. The militias only pulled out after being attacked from
the air. For several months afterwards, Bandung was split in two.
The north was inhabited by the Dutch and the south, literally the
other side of the tracks, by the natives.

In the weeks preceding the burning of Bandung, British
logistics lines from Bogor were continuously attacked, despite
Prime Minister Sjahrir's order to cease fire after the British
had protested. Angered, the British troops bombed all the
villages along the line. The militias in southern Bandung took
revenge by shelling the north. The British returned fire and
issued an ultimatum on March 22, 1946, giving the militias 48
hours to leave the city.

Sjahrir sent his men to Bandung to deal with the independent
militias. All the commanders declared it impossible to pull out
thousands of people in that short period. Nasution then went to
negotiate with the new British commander, General Hawthorn. He
was flown to Jakarta on a British aircraft to hear directly from
Sjahrir. Sjahrir insisted the militia withdraw because they
couldn't match the British troops and needed to save their
strength for future struggles.

Nasution returned to Bandung the day after, March 24, and
landed at the British base. Hawthorn offered him 100 trucks for
the evacuation. Nasution turned them down. On arriving at his
base in the south, he received an anonymous letter from
Yogyakarta, then the capital of Indonesia. Some say it was from
General Oerip, it read: "Every inch of the motherland must be
defended."

He rounded up all the militia leaders to discuss the matter.
There were three alternatives. The first was to pull out as
Sjahrir had instructed, leaving the civilians behind as in
Jakarta and Bogor. The second was to fight house to house as
Surabayans had done in November, 1945. The third alternative was
to burn or flood (by blowing up the dam) the city. At 2 p.m.,
Nasution decided on the scorched earth policy. Everyone had to
leave the city before midnight. Guerrilla warfare was planned for
the future.

The decision was aired on the radio and spread through the
grapevine. Several hours later, Bandung burned itself.

"I've never seen such a feeling of togetherness in my life.
The nation was still six months old. But all the people had
already sensed they were part of it, willingly burning or leaving
their property behind for its sake," said Mashudi, then Pesindo
chairman.

A few Dutch sympathizers remained.

Nasution notes in his book: "I am still moved by the memory of
the Monday eve of March 24, 1946. The soldiers burned down their
base, barracks and important premises, many people set their own
houses ablaze. All the roads from south of Cimahi up to
Ujungberung in the east were packed with the evacuees, mainly on
Dayeuhkolot and Margahayu roads, tens of thousands were carrying
a paucity of their belongings they could save. It drizzled
throughout the night, the sky was crystal clear because of the
sea of fire and the shootings and explosions filled the air."

The evacuees and freedom fighters sought refuge in neighboring
villages, where they were fed and housed by the villagers for
months. They later spread throughout Java, but faced hostility
from other militias, who considered the burning of Bandung as
cowardly.

"When I visited Surabaya to search for weapons about one month
later, a young soldier jailed me for two days because he thought
all Bandung youths were wrong for not defending the city," former
Attorney General Soegih Arto, then a captain, told the Post.

The militiamen who remained around Bandung failed in their
desire to regain the city, a wish best expressed by a verse in
Hallo, Hallo Bandung, "Let's recapture it (Bandung)." They did
not return until the Dutch gave up Indonesia late in 1949.

"On their return to Bandung, some people went insane to find
they could not regain their former properties," said Mashudi.