Frontier War: Difference between revisions
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Despite all these pressures Soenda did not tolerate Pinang her existence and in late 1976 they intended to do it. the Borneo republic was the first example of what Pinang could expect, Soendanese formations bashed the rogue KNIL unit and local militia leading to a massive slaughter. This put Pinang on high alert as they had noted a rapid increase in border skirmishes and attacks on the fleeing Chinese, that were making their way to Pinang.
==== Gerik corridor ====
Almost immediately after declaring their independence, the forces of the Vrystaat van Pinang were confronted by the Soendanese. It started on the 5th of January when a squadron of Soendanese fighters attempted a raid at Willemshaven. The raid was intercepted by air patrols and destroyed. It was not the only attack tho and Soendanese forces came in from the east throughout the town of Gerik, a critical road junction.
On the 5th of January, the KNIL garrison that was stationed there came under attack by Soendanese artillery. What started then was an all-out battle for the town as the Soendanese pushed to get closer, to secure the roads leading to the mountain passes, while the KNIL garrison of some 500 soldiers held out, holding of a force three times their number. They held out, calling for reinforcements to come and rescue them.
==== Battle of Gerik ====
What started out as a simple breach of “Pinang” lines, would rapidly escalate into a full on battle. With the Gerik garrison calling for aid the 58th Battalion “Huzaren van Bernard” (armored) responded. A force of 34 armored cannons, 70x armored vehicles moved out to provide aid to the garisson, in total the force numbered 770 soldiers. They arrived within 5 hours and it was then that the fighting began to escealate.
It quickly became clear that the garrison was holding out in the principal fortress, where numerous chinese refugees where shelted. The soldiers of the 58th battalion smalled into the Soendane’s lines who where surprised by the armored forces. What followed was a tactical withdrawal of Soendanese forces, while at first the KNIL thought they had won this incursion it turned out it was just the start. [[File:Neushoorn A8 klein.jpg|thumb|A Neushoorn A8 in the outskirts of Gerik, 18 hours after the massacre ]]Soendanese forces had called in air support and seven CAS aircraft moved in to attack bomb Gerik. This forces the KNIL forces to take cover. During this CAS attack Soendanese forces moved into the edges of the town. It was only after 32 minutes of near constant bombardment that KNIL air assets came and created air superiority. This period of superiority in the air allowed the KNIL to properly engage the Soendanese that where now dug in.
The battle that followed was slow, metholoigcal but would be marked as very deadly. The KNIL under pressure from the Khongsi, decided to give evacuting the civilians priority. Gerik tho could not be lost thus the KNIL fought hard and eventually pushed the Soendanese out of the town. The battle costed the lives of 238 KNIL soldiers but 1100 Soendanese soldiers. It would mark the typical nature of the frontier war, with the KNIL being deadlier but with each casualty weighting higher due to a lack of manpower. [[File:Pinang fighter jets taking off.png|thumb|A pair of Koolhoven ZJ-71's taking of during the frontier war, these aircraft proved to vital in ensuring Pinang survival. ]]
== Course of the conflict ==
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