# Battle of Kejiwan

The Battle of Kejiwan took place on 9 August 1826 during the Java War between Prince Diponegoro's forces and a pursuing column of colonial Dutch and Mangkunegaran forces. The column, which had been pursuing Diponegoro during his march north, was destroyed in a pitched battle, allowing Diponegoro to continue his march.

## Prelude

Throughout early 1826, after being forced to abandon the siege of Yogyakarta and being dislodged from their base at Selarong, Javanese rebel forces under Prince Diponegoro began to move north. Dutch forces under Hendrik Merkus de Kock launched a pursuit aimed to capture Diponegoro, using three mobile columns of about 400 men each. After a series of skirmishes, one Dutch column reached Diponegoro's forces at the southern slopes of Mount Merapi in early August.

## Forces

The Dutch pursuing column involved in the battle, commanded by one Major Sollewijn, contained 100 men from the colonial army (of which 70 were European), 200 men from the Mangkunegaran, 50 Madurese, and 40 djajeng-sekar (colonial police). The column also brought several artillery pieces and mortars. The column had received intelligence on 7 August that Diponegoro's forces had withdrawn further north, and did not attempt further reconnaisance. Dutch commanders claimed that the forces under Diponegoro numbered 3,000.

## Battle

On 9 August, shortly after departing the village of Kejiwan (in modern Sleman Regency), Sollewijn's column encountered Diponegoro's forces, on the opposite side of a ravine. After a brief exchange of fire, Sollewijn's men charged across the ravine and initially forced Diponegoro's cavalry to retreat. However, Diponegoro's left wing flanked around Sollewijn's men and attacked the Mangkunegaran infantry, causing a rout which quickly spread across the whole column. Sollewijn's forces were forced back into the ravine, and became surrounded. A small group managed to break out of the ravine and escape.
Some surviving members of Sollewijn's column including Sollewijn managed to regroup with another Dutch column, which broke off their pursuit of Diponegoro upon hearing of the defeat.

## Aftermath

Dutch records tallied 150 deaths: fourteen Europeans and twelve native recruits from the colonial army, 112 deaths from the Mangkunegaran forces, and a further fourteen deaths from other units. The loss of Sollewijn's column caused a brief panic among Dutch command, which for a time considered moving their headquarters north to Semarang, away from Diponegoro's force. This did not happen, and instead the Dutch recalled 1,500 troops deployed outside Java to replace their losses.
Diponegoro's men captured a number of Dutch artillery pieces and horses, along with firearms and ammunition for 150 infantrymen. His victory enabled him to continue his movement northwards to link up with another rebel army under Kyai Maja after later taking the town of Delanggu.
A 1979 painting depicting the battle by Sindudarsono Sudjojono [id], Pasukan Kita yang Dipimpin Pangeran Diponegoro ("Our Soldiers under Prince Diponegoro"), was sold in 2014 for USD 7.5 million, at the time the most ever paid for a work by an Indonesian painter. As of 2024, it is the second-most expensive Indonesian painting, behind Perburuan Banteng by Raden Saleh.