page_title: Indonesian National Revolution
section_title: Operation Crow and General Offensive (Serangan Oemoem)
hierarchical_section_title: Indonesian National Revolution / Diplomacy and military offensives / Operation Crow and General Offensive (Serangan Oemoem)
caption_attribution_description: English: Collection / Archive: Photo collection Service for Army contacts Indonesia Reportage / Series: [DLC] Photos killed Communists by the TNI [made in Madiun, September 1948] Description: Two men with rope are handcuffed by TNI officers Date: September 1948 Location: Indonesia, Madiun, Dutch East Indies Photographer: Photographer Onbekend / DLC Copyright holder: National Archives Material type: Negative (black / white) Number of archive inventory: view access 2.24.04.02 File number: 8812Nederlands: Collectie / Archief&#160;: Fotocollectie Dienst voor Legercontacten Indonesië Reportage / Serie&#160;: [DLC] Foto's gedode communisten door de TNI [gemaakt te Madioen, september 1948] Beschrijving&#160;: Twee mannen met touw geboeid worden ondervraagd door TNI-officieren Datum&#160;: september 1948 Locatie&#160;: Indonesië, Madiun, Nederlands-Indië Fotograaf&#160;: Fotograaf Onbekend / DLC Auteursrechthebbende&#160;: Nationaal Archief Materiaalsoort&#160;: Negatief (zwart/wit) Nummer archiefinventaris&#160;: bekijk toegang 2.24.04.02 Bestanddeelnummer&#160;: 8812
context_page_description: The Indonesian National Revolution, or Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcolonial Indonesia. It took place between Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945 and the Netherlands' recognition of Indonesia's independence at the end of 1949.
  The four-year struggle involved sporadic but bloody armed conflict, internal Indonesian political and communal upheavals, and two major international diplomatic interventions. Dutch military forces were able to control the major towns, cities and industrial assets in Republican heartlands on Java and Sumatra but could not control the countryside. By 1949, international pressure on the Netherlands and the partial military stalemate became such that it recognised Indonesian independence.
  The revolution marked the end of the colonial administration of the Dutch East Indies, except for Netherlands New Guinea. It also significantly changed ethnic castes as well as reducing the power of many of the local rulers.
context_section_description: Frustrated at negotiations with the Republic and believing it weakened by both the Darul Islam and Madiun insurgencies, the Dutch launched a military offensive on 19 December 1948 which it termed 'Operatie Kraai' (Operation Crow). By the following day it had conquered the city of Yogyakarta, the location of the temporary Republican capital. By the end of December, all major Republican held cities in Java and Sumatra were in Dutch hands. The Republican president, vice president, and all but six Republic of Indonesia ministers were captured by Dutch troops and exiled on Bangka Island off the east coast of Sumatra. In areas surrounding Yogyakarta and Surakarta, Republican forces refused to surrender and continued to wage a guerrilla war under the leadership of Republican military chief of staff General Sudirman, who had escaped the Dutch offensives. An emergency Republican government, the Pemerintahan Darurat Republik Indonesia (PDRI), was established in West Sumatra.
  Although Dutch forces conquered the towns and cities in Republican heartlands on Java and Sumatra, they could not control villages and the countryside. Republican troops and militia led by Lt. Colonel (later President) Suharto attacked Dutch positions in Yogyakarta at dawn on 1 March 1949. The Dutch were expelled from the city for six hours but reinforcements were brought in from the nearby cities of Ambarawa and Semarang that afternoon. Indonesian fighters retreated at 12:00 pm and the Dutch re-entered the city. The Indonesian attack, later known in Indonesia as Serangan Oemoem (new spelling: Serangan Umum '1 March General Offensive'), is commemorated by a large monument in Yogyakarta. A large-scale attack against Dutch troops in Surakarta on 10 August the same year resulted in republican forces holding the city for two days.
  Once again, international opinion of the Dutch military campaigns was one of outrage, significantly in both the United Nations and the United States. In January 1949, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution demanding the reinstatement of the Republican government. United States aid specifically earmarked for Dutch Indonesia was immediately cancelled and pressure mounted within the US Congress for all United States aid to be cut off. This included Marshall Plan funds vital for Dutch post-World War II rebuilding that had so far totalled $US 1 billion. The Netherlands Government had spent an amount equivalent to almost half of this funding their campaigns in Indonesia. That United States aid could be used to fund "a senile and ineffectual imperialism" encouraged many key voices in the United States – including those amongst the US Republican Party – and from within American churches and NGOs to speak out in support of Indonesian independence.
caption: Two men with rope around their necks are handcuffed by TNI officers in September 1948 in Madiun, Indonesia.
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