RETREAT OF THE DUTCH
One day in the morning from the distance we heard an
alarming sound of oncoming fighter planes. We were familiar with the sound
since we have heard the sounds several times when they passed above us. Indonesian
call them Cocor Merah or The Red
Snout since the protruding front of the airplane was red. These were very
frightening war-machines.
All of us got out from the house and walked to the
foxholes at the side of the house. The roaring and whistling sound of the
planes became louder and louder and
suddenly…bang..bang..bang..The two Mustang P-51s fired their 20 mm guns. We
heard a rumbling sound of falling roof tiles and a shriek.
Picture 1: Mustangs straffled Mangunrejo's house at the village of Bligo Cabean
My father who had been ready to run to somewhere,
believed that the Dutch army would surround the village, heard a shriek from
the house. He run back to the house and took Yatin our maid to the burrow. Dirt,
torn trees and leaves fell down on our foxholes which was only covered with thin
snake fruit (Salacca
edulis) leaves. The attack maybe lasted like only 10 minutes. We all
were frightened, got out from the holes with trembling knees.
Mangunredjo’s house was damaged of its roof, yard where
I often drew on the smooth sandy ground under the sawo trees with my friends
was like being plowed. We were lucky that no one of us were hurt. Dutch spies misguided the Mustang to attack
the house, because the house is big but there were no guerrillas inside. It was
only Yatin, our maid inside.
Surplus from WW II armament grant from the Allied to the Dutch, the most sophisticated fighters
of the world, Mustang P-51 was only to shoot an empty house and a maid. In Europe it fought
German Me-109s and in the Pacific
Japanese Zero fighter planes.
One day Kasiyem, our maid with Yanto were playing at
the edge of the village near the rice field. Then she saw a scout plane, came
and fired a smoke signal. Seeing
a strange occurrence she took Yanto and run home to inform what she had seen.
All of us got out from the house and we heard
distance sounds of thuds. Suddenly the sounds were followed by squeaking, then sounds of leaves and trees being shaken
and then bang…bang…bang, explosions of projectiles around us. We laid face
downward on the ground and waited till the shooting ceased. The cannoning
lasted for about 15 minutes.
Suddenly aunt Wiwi, Abdulsalam’s wife turned up in her
panting for breath explaining that mbok Hardjo’s leg was hit and bled. Uncle Salam and
my father run to where mbok Hardjo was sprawled. My father tied a Tourniquet around
her thigh to stop the flowing blood.
Uncle Salam, my father and some villagers carried mbok Hardjo to Boro Catholic Hospital about 20 km from Bligo.
The Dutch canonized us from Cebongan sugar factory and
Medari, both were Dutch platoon stations.
Too many refugees in Mangunredjo’s house, Abdulsalam
family moved to Prawirosentono’s house not far from Mangunredjo’s house.
Feeling that the war be still a long time to end and
the jewelry brought with grandfather Wirjo
was used up. On mid of February he decided to go back to Tegal, with Suwarti
and Supiah, joining with families of Siliwangi Division going to West Java. At
7 pm we separated with grandfather and my aunts aged 14 and 16, who under the
wet-season shower must go. It was very
embitter for all of us. They had been
together with us since before July 1947, and together we experiencing
the misery of war and we didn’t know whether they’ll reached Tegal or not.
Grandfather Wirjo planned to separate with Siliwangi
Division when they were near to Tegal.
During these aggravating months our meals were
uncertain, but we still could eat small amount of rice at least once a day. To
satisfy our need of calories we bought cassava as a supplementary, foraged for
fallen Gnetum (Gnetum gnemon) flower,
cooked Limnocharis rice weed and ate rice snails
My father made tempeh sold to Public Kitchen.
Public Kitchen was a kitchen managed by villagers to supply the food for the guerrilla members.
But those efforts were not enough. The most promising effort to maintain
life was by rearing ducks and selling the eggs. We reared 30 ducks for about
five months.
I often cried feeling
hunger pain before our duck eggs were sold and had money to buy food.
Feeling that Bligo was not safe, my father thanked
Mangunrejo and sought a safer one and was accepted by Sumoloso, also a well to
do farmer and a tobacco trader at Bligo Kolodanan. This kampong is located further
to the Progo river. In that kampong, my mother was offered to teach in one class room of emergency
village school. My mother was a teacher before the war. She was graduated from
the Dutch Indie Teacher School (Kweekschool).
By my mother becoming a teacher we had a better supply of rice.
When we go to the school, we often saw floating human
corpses with wound and telltale of tortures or bullets floating
in Mataram irrigation canal which flow across Bligo. We didn’t know who
they were, whether traitors or patriots. People didn’t take the corpses for burying
because too many corpses afloat in a month. People just let it flowed
downstream.
After the assault of Yogyakarta by the Dutch, Sultan
Hamengku Buwono IX, formerly student of Breda Military Academy, ailing General
Sudirman who led the guerrilla warfare, A.H. Nasution, Soeharto and T.B.
Simatupang as the high ranking leaders
of Indonesian army planned a counter attack on the Dutch to prove that
Republic of Indonesia is still exist.
On March 1, 1949 under Soeharto as the leader of the
raid, Indonesian Army occupied Yogyakarta for half a day. This sudden attack
was not anticipated by the Dutch army. Emergency Indonesian Radio in Sumatera
was relayed by Indian supporters broadcasted the news worldwide. This news made
Security Council of the UNO in a tumult and ordered the Dutch to withdraw from
Yogyakarta and the rest of Indonesia. The US, most important Dutch's friend in the WW II symphatized Indonesian army which ten months before had crushed the communist rebellion in Madiun, East Java without any foreign help.
On July 1949 the Indonesian guerillas with more
seriously ill General Sudirman entered Yogyakarta.
The news reached seasonal market places around Bligo
Kolodanan and all of us refugees and
villagers were very happy. Once-a-week markets were places where war of gossips,
disinformation and intrigues were conducting between pro and anti Republic
agents.
This time the news of the withdrawal of the Dutch army
was a real fact. Nobody can deny it.
My uncle Abdulsalam and his family including mbok Hardjo who had been healed from her wound went back to Yogyakarta. We thanked Sumoloso family for their kindness and we went
back to Yogyakarta at that very month together with my uncle's family.
We are lucky that we are still alive but during these
two aggressions, thousand of Indonesians
have died, maimed, physically defected, wives widowed and children
orphaned. World leaders who decide to invade and military attack other
countries are responsible for the miseries, deaths and adverse consequences experienced by the casualties
of the wars. They must be able to be brought to justice here or hereafter.
Picture 2: Dutch Army canoned the village of Bligo,
probably from Cebongan and Medari.
According to id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolusi_Nasional_Indonesia, Indonesian guerillas involved in the war were 83.000, Indonesian people volunteers 60.000, Dutch Army 20.000-180.000, Indonesian Dutch Army 60.000 and Allied Army 30.000.
Of which 25.000-100.000 (mixed of guerillas, volunteers and people) died in the war. Casualties of the Dutch Army 3084, Indonesian Dutch Army 3144 and Allied Forces 1200.
….and do no evil nor mischief on the (face
of the) earth.
Koran, 2:60
Does
man think that he will be left uncontrolled, (without responsibility).
Koran, 75:36
(Continuation episode of "The Dutch Army Arrested My Father, My Uncle and Others, 1948" at https://angudi002.blogspot.com)
After the war.
Grandfather
Wirjo, Suwarti and Supiyah were safe and reached their home in Tegal in 1949.
Later
Suwarti became an admisnistrative staff in Kodam VII Diponegoro, in C. Java.
Supiah
became elementary school teacher.
At
Bangirejo Taman 17, in 1951 Abdulsalam drew published historical strips “The Story of Yogya Assault” (Kisah
Pendudukan Yogya) and taught at
Indonesian Art Academy (Akademi Seni
Rupa Indonesia Yogyakarta). Probably this was the first struggle historical
comic strip published after the war of freedom. Then Abdulsalam was appointed
to the Netherland to draw Rp 2.5 rupiah for The
Javaasche Bank.
Wibowo,
his son, became Mariner Colonel of the Indonesian Navy.
Nani,
Abdulsalam’s daughter became the wife of a Gadjah Mada University (UGM) lecturer.
Abdullah
Angudi graduated as a Civil Engineer from Gajah Mada university (UGM)
in 1958. In 1960 he added and improved the data of Prof. W. J. van
Bloemmestein and Ir. Van Scravendijk on
the probability to build Jatiluhur Dam, the largest dam in Indonesia. He suggested
the government to manage the dam as a multipurpose dam.
I
was graduated as an agriculturist from Padjadjaran University in Bandung and
worked for ICI, Dow, and DuPont.
Isti
became the wife of a Colonel of the Indonesian Air Force.
Yanto
became an employee of a government owned company.
Umar
Khasan became Purwodadi Grobogan Bupati (Regent) in C. Java.
Marjanto
was graduated as a Bachelor of Law from Diponegoro University.
Margiono
was graduated as a Bachelor of Engineering from Diponegoro University.
Soerono
drew the arrest at Cebongan. The painting is exposed in an exhibition in Seni
Sono building in Yogyakarta in 1950. It is one of the President Soekarno’s
collection which was printed in a book named
Koleksi Lukisan Presiden Soekarno
published by the government of the People’s Republic of China. He then moved to
Bali and painted there.
Kasiyem
met her family in Cilacap.
Yatin
went home to Temanggung.
mbok Hardjo met her family again in Yogyakarta.
References:
id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perjanjian_Renville;id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perundingan_Linggarjati
id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agresi_Militer_Belanda_I;id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agresi_Militer_Belanda_II
World
War II United States Aircraft, Bill Gunston
Sardjono Angudi
11/05/2011 revised 25/02/2023
