Indonesia
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Dutch declared war on Japan. The Japanese Imperial Army invaded the Dutch East Indies on January 1, 1942 under the pretext of creating the Greater East Asia Coprosperity Sphere. During the last week of February 1942, the Japanese defeated American, British and Dutch forces in the Battle of the Java Sea. The Dutch lost the HNLMS De Ruyter, the HNLMS Java and the HNLMS Kortenaer. The victory allowed Japan to break the Allied defensive perimeter (the Malay Barrier) and drive the Allied naval forces out of Southeast Asia, extending Japanese control to what is now Indonesia.
The Japanese took Indonesia from the Dutch colonialists for the most part without a fight. The Dutch didn't have a large military force in the Dutch East Indies (the Netherlands was occupied by the Germans by that time). The Dutch navy in Indonesia was virtually destroyed. The Dutch colonial government abandoned Batavia (Jakarta) and surrendered it to Japanese forces in March 1942. Japanese soldiers marched into Batavia carrying the Indonesian "Red and White" flag along with the Japanese flag. The remnants of the Royal Dutch Indian Army were taken prisoner and transported to Singapore
Indonesia was not a major military theater in World War II. No major battles were fought there. After two months of heavy fighting the Dutch colonial army surrendered, the Dutch navy was virtually destroyed, and about 65,000 Dutch and Indonesian soldiers were sent to labor camps. Some ended up working on the Burma Death Railroad in Thailand. Others worked in mines in Japan.
Some scholars have suggested that even before Pearl Harbor, the U.S. was determined to go to battle with Japan because the American government feared that the Japanese would restrict their access to the vast natural resources found in the Dutch East Indies.
The 39.7mm X 40.2mm, bronze Dutch Remembrance Cross bears the bust of Queen Wilhelmina surrounded by laurel leaf wreath and the inscription, VOOR KRIJCSVERRICHTINGEN (War Actions). The reverse is inscribed KON-BEGEER VOORSCHOTEN and F.S. INV. The image above bears two 35mm bronze bars, the rare KRIJG TER ZEE 1940-1945 (War at Sea) and JAVAZEE 1941-1942 (Battle of Java Sea).
Dutch Remembrance Cross
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Dutch declared war on Japan. The Japanese Imperial Army invaded the Dutch East Indies on January 1, 1942 under the pretext of creating the Greater East Asia Coprosperity Sphere. During the last week of February 1942, the Japanese defeated American, British and Dutch forces in the Battle of the Java Sea. The Dutch lost the HNLMS De Ruyter, the HNLMS Java and the HNLMS Kortenaer. The victory allowed Japan to break the Allied defensive perimeter (the Malay Barrier) and drive the Allied naval forces out of Southeast Asia, extending Japanese control to what is now Indonesia.
The Japanese took Indonesia from the Dutch colonialists for the most part without a fight. The Dutch didn't have a large military force in the Dutch East Indies (the Netherlands was occupied by the Germans by that time). The Dutch navy in Indonesia was virtually destroyed. The Dutch colonial government abandoned Batavia (Jakarta) and surrendered it to Japanese forces in March 1942. Japanese soldiers marched into Batavia carrying the Indonesian "Red and White" flag along with the Japanese flag. The remnants of the Royal Dutch Indian Army were taken prisoner and transported to Singapore
Indonesia was not a major military theater in World War II. No major battles were fought there. After two months of heavy fighting the Dutch colonial army surrendered, the Dutch navy was virtually destroyed, and about 65,000 Dutch and Indonesian soldiers were sent to labor camps. Some ended up working on the Burma Death Railroad in Thailand. Others worked in mines in Japan.
Some scholars have suggested that even before Pearl Harbor, the U.S. was determined to go to battle with Japan because the American government feared that the Japanese would restrict their access to the vast natural resources found in the Dutch East Indies.
The 39.7mm X 40.2mm, bronze Dutch Remembrance Cross bears the bust of Queen Wilhelmina surrounded by laurel leaf wreath and the inscription, VOOR KRIJCSVERRICHTINGEN (War Actions). The reverse is inscribed KON-BEGEER VOORSCHOTEN and F.S. INV. The image above bears two 35mm bronze bars, the rare KRIJG TER ZEE 1940-1945 (War at Sea) and JAVAZEE 1941-1942 (Battle of Java Sea).
Dutch Remembrance Cross
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