ROYAL NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES ARMY

DESPITE THE OCCUPATION OF BOTH THE NETHERLANDS AND ITS FAR EAST COLONIES, DISPLACED DUTCH TROOPS CONTINUED TO FIGHT THE JAPANESE IN CAMPAIGNS THROUGHOUT INDONESIA

Founded in 1814, the Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger (Royal Netherlands East Indies Army) was the military force that maintained Dutch colonial rule in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI). Abbreviated to ‘KNIL’, the army’s remit at the start of WWII was to provide security to an Indonesian archipelago that was home to over 60 million people. The NEI was also materially rich in rubber, tin, quinine and oil. The latter was important to the Japanese who defeated the Dutch during a swift campaign in 1941-42.

The KNIL had already been weakened by the German occupation of the Netherlands. At the beginning of the war, its volunteer force consisted of around 85,000 personnel with most of the officers and NCOS being European Dutchmen. Many of these were taken prisoner by the Japanese and so guerrilla fighting was often left to indigenous soldiers, many of whom were Javanese.

Largely cut off from external Dutch assistance, the KNIL were supplemented by Dutch expatriates and mostly came under the command of Australians. This force, although small in number, took part in the Battle of Timor during 1942-43 as well as the New Guinea and Borneo campaigns. During the Battle of Tarakan, the KNIL contribution consisted of an indigenous infantry company from Ambon Island that was commanded by Dutch officers as well as a unit that was responsible for civil affairs.