(Old page) East Indies Crisis - do not edit: Difference between revisions

The 9th of March 1972 marked the start of the final and most brutal phase of the war. Through the 5 years lull, the rebels had infiltrated and expanded their networks on Java the bastion of Dutch colonial control. That only had some small uprisings, in the beginning, some 9 years ago but since then had not seen one uprising or revolt. Yet on the 9th of march outside of the major urban area’s they rose up. Across the Java countryside Dutch Colonial officials, Eurasians, and everyone who looked a bit European were slaughtered as the countryside sprung into open revolt. At the same time, the rebels launched proper conventional attacks upon the Dutch positions in Sumatra and across the Malayan peninsula. This caught the Dutch off guard but unlike before they now responded rapidly and with a brutally so far unseen in the war. The conventional attacks upon the Dutch positions in Malaya and Sumatra were halted due to overwhelming air power and counter armored thrusts, fighting was brutal and lasted 2 months but the Dutch were able to secure their footholds and even regain parts of central Malaya and regained full control of southern Sumatra. The java uprising opened up a new front that of Java which was isolated and thus between July 1972 and January 1973 became the most deadly front for the rebels. In that period it’s estimated that 6//7 million men died directly of actions undertaken by the Dutch and another 4 million indirectly, this was out of a population of 76,086,320. On the other islands mainly celebs the fighting became more and more intense and large parts of its jungle were burned down and casualties continued to rise for the rebels but also for the Dutch. This was also the final years of the war as the fighting became more and more brutal and savage on both sides, and the Dutch increased their firebombing campaign of rebel positions.

From May 1975 the new government led by <u>Prime Minister [[Koen Haverman]]</u>, himself a veteran of the war, began what it called a “Scale down”. This scale-down was however not peaceful it was a scorched earth campaign. Malakka at that moment knowing what was to come declared itself independent on July 8th, 1975, this was the first sign of what the last months of the war were to be like. The Dutch began a scale down which came down to a withdrawal, the KNIL in these last months were to be the crack forces that held the line fighting as at the same time the Rebels began a grand offensive which was held back and repelled but the rebels now gave it they’re all. From November 1975 all the way up to February 1976 Dutch & KNIL forces withdrew but held the rebels off giving time and space for Dutch, Taulanders, Amerikaeners, Afrikaners, Eurasians, and others to flee from Sumatra Borneo and Celebs, and eventually, they held only to the ports and like the rest of the cities and infrastructure has bombed the ground once the last boat left. What followed in the cities on the islands once the rebels got their hands on it was pure slaughter and mass killings were started.