Defenders of the Homeland

Defenders of the Homeland
The Defenders of the Homeland (PETA) was a volunteer army established on 3 October 1943 in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by the occupying Japanese. The Japanese intended PETA to assist their forces in opposing a possible invasion by the Allies. By the end of World War II, there were a total of 69 battalions in Java (around 37,000 men) and Sumatra (approximately 20,000 men). On 17 August 1945, the day after the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, the Japanese ordered the PETA to surrender and hand over their weapons, which most of them did. Indonesia's inaugural President, Sukarno, supported the dissolution rather than turn the organisation into a national army as he feared allegations of collaboration had he allowed a Japanese-created militia to continue to exist.
During the Indonesian War of Independence, former PETA officers and troops, such as Suharto and Sudirman, formed the core of the fledgling Indonesian National Armed Forces.
Structure of PETA
Malayan Volunteer Army
By April 1944, a Malayan Defenders of the Homeland Association, formally the Malayan Volunteer Army, was stationed in Johor Bahru in Japanese-occupied Malaya. It was staffed by some 2,000 Malays and Indians and modeled on the organization of the Indonesian PETA, intending to create a local pro-Japanese reserve force for the defense of Malaya and Singapore. It was reinforced by the part-time Malayan Volunteer Corps and recruitment of local started in January 1945.
The commander of the Malayan PETA was Ibrahim Yaacob, who had been the founder and leader of the pro-independence Young Malays Union, which the Japanese had shut down over its ties to the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) and Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army. In his post-war autobiography, Yaacob claimed to have secretly continued communications with the CPM during the Japanese occupation.
After the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945, the Malayan Volunteer Army began marching towards Kuala Lumpur before disbanding in northern Johor.
Notable members
R. Bintoro
Daryatmo
Djatikoesoemo
Muljadi Djojomartono
Djamin Ginting
Daan Jahja
Arudji Kartawinata
Soetardjo Kartohadikusumo
Zulkifli Lubis
Amir Machmud
Gatot Mangkoepradja
Muhammad Mangundiprojo
Masjkur
Moestopo
Daan Mogot
Imam Munandar
Maraden Panggabean
Basuki Rahmat
Soekotjo Sastrodinoto
Kasman Singodimedjo
Gatot Soebroto
Bambang Soegeng
Widjojo Soejono
G. M. Soeparmin
Soetran
Sudirman
Suharto
Sumitro
Supriyadi
Syam'un
Tjokropranolo
Wahono
Sarwo Edhie Wibowo
Umar Wirahadikusumah
Ibrahim Yaacob
Ahmad Yani
See also
Collaboration with Imperial Japan
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies
1945 PETA revolt in Blitar
Pembela Tanah Air Museum
References
Bachtiar, Harsja W. (1988), Siapa Dia?: Perwira Tinggi Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (Who is S/He?: Senior Officers of the Indonesian Army), Penerbit Djambatan, Jakarta,
Sunhaussen, Ulf (1982) The Road to Power: Indonesian Military Politics 1945-1967 Oxford University Press,
Ricklefs, M.C. (1981) A History of Modern Indonesia, c. 1300 to the present. MacMillan,
Notes
Indonesian collaborators with Imperial Japan
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies
Malayan collaborators with Imperial Japan
Pembela Tanah Air