Battle of Surabaya 1945 [18+]

Battle of Surabaya 1945 (Pertempuran Surabaya 1945)

Allied forces arrived at the end of October 1945, the pemuda ('youth') foothold in Surabaya city was described as "a strong unified fortress". Ferocious fighting erupted when 6,000 Indian troops landed in the city to evacuate European internees.

On October 26, 1945, Brigadier A. W. S Mallaby reached an agreement with Mr. Suryo, the Republic of Indonesia's governor of East Java that the British would not ask Indonesian troops/militia to hand over their weapons. An apparent misunderstanding about the agreement between British troops in Jakarta (led by Lieutenant General Sir Philip Christison) and Mallaby's troops in Surabaya was to have have serious ramifications.

On October 27, 1945, a British plane from Jakarta dropped leaflets over Surabaya urging all Indonesian troops and militia to surrender their weapons. The leader of Indonesian troops and militia was angered, seeing it as a --BREAKING OF THE AGREEMENT REACHED-- with Mallaby earlier. On October 28, 1945, they attacked British troops in Surabaya killing more than 200 British Troops

Brigadier Mallaby was killed in Surabaya on 30 October 1945 under unclear circumstances that remain debated today.

Initially British troops were 6,000-strong-armed Indian soldiers from 49th Infantry Brigade of the 23rd Indian Division. When the battle reached its peak, British sent additional troops which consisted of 24,000 fully-armed soldiers from the 5th Indian Division, 24 Sherman tanks, 24 armed aircraft, 2 cruisers and 3 destroyers.

Indonesian forces consisted of 20,000 soldiers from the newly-formed Tentara Keamanan Rakyat (TKR; People's Security Troops) and estimated 100,000-120,000 irregulars. TKR was formed by the former members of Peta, a semi-military organization during Japanese occupation. The irregulars consisted of pro-Independence mob, armed with rifles, swords, and spears. Some of their weapons were taken from the demoralized Japanese troops.

At dawn on 10 November, a day now commemorated in Indonesia as Heroes' Day, British troops began a methodical advance through the city under the cover of naval and air bombardment. Fighting was heavy with British troops clearing buildings room by room and consolidating their gains. Despite the fanatical resistance of Indonesians, half the city was conquered in three days and the fighting over in three weeks.