Sudirman - Japanese Occupation

Japanese Occupation

When World War II broke out in Europe, it was expected that the Japanese, who had already made aggressive moves against mainland China, would try to invade the Indies. In response, the Dutch colonial government – which had previously limited military training for native Indonesians – began teaching the populace how to deal with air raids. To co-ordinate the preparations, the Dutch formed Air Raid Preparation teams. Sudirman, respected in the community, was asked to lead the Cilacap chapter. Aside from teaching local citizens the safety procedures for dealing with an air raid, Sudirman established watchposts throughout the area. He and the Dutch would also have passing aircraft drop materials to simulate a bombing run; this was intended to improve response time.

After the Japanese began occupying the Indies in early 1942, winning several battles against Dutch and Dutch-trained forces of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger, or KNIL), on 9 March 1942 Governor-General Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer and head of the KNIL General Hein ter Poorten capitulated. This brought drastic changes in the governance of the archipelago and reduced the quality of life for non-Japanese in the Indies, many of whom suffered from widespread human rights violations at the hands of the Japanese. In Cilacap, Sudirman's school had been closed and turned into a military outpost; this was part of a widespread effort to close private schools. After Sudirman convinced the Japanese to reopen the school, he and the other teachers were forced to use substandard supplies. Sudirman was also involved in several social and humanitarian organisations during this period, including as chair of the Indonesian People's Cooperation. This brought him greater recognition among the people of Cilacap.

In early 1944, after a year as a representative at the Japanese-run regency council board (Syu Sangikai), Sudirman was asked to join the Defenders of the Homeland (Pembela Tanah Air, or PETA); the Japanese occupation government had established PETA in October 1943 to help repel any Allied invasion, and were focused on recruiting younger men, those who had "not yet been 'contaminated'" by Dutch rule. After a few days of hesitance, caused in part by a knee injury he had occurred as a youth, Sudirman agreed to begin training in Bogor. Owing to his standing in the community, Sudirman was made a commander (daidanco) and trained with other persons of that rank. Trained by Japanese officers and soldiers, the cadets were armed with confiscated Dutch equipment. After four months of training Sudirman was put in charge of the battalion stationed at Kroya, Banyumas, Central Java, not far from Cilacap.

Sudirman's time as a PETA commander passed uneventfully until 21 April 1945, when PETA troops under the command of Kusaeri began to rebel against the Japanese. Ordered to stop the rebellion, Sudirman agreed to do so only if the PETA rebels would not be harmed, and places harbouring them not razed; this condition was accepted by the Japanese commander, and Sudirman and his troops began searching for the rebels. Although Kusaeri's men initially shot at the commander, after Sudirman used a loudspeaker to tell them they would not be harmed, they backed down. Kusaeri surrendered on 25 April. This garnered support for Sudirman within the occupation forces, although several high-ranking Japanese officers expressed concern over Sudirman's support for Indonesian independence. Sudirman and his men were soon sent to a camp in Bogor, ostensibly for training; however, they were tasked with hard labour as a way to prevent a further uprising, and rumours circulated that the PETA officers would be killed.