The Netherlands East Indies, today known as Indonesia, consist of some 13,667 islands and islets stretching over 3000 miles (5000 km) from Sabang in the west to portions of New Guinea in the east. Most of the islands, except Borneo, are part of an island arc, with volcanic mountain chains running east to west and reaching to over 12,000' (3600 meters). There is more volcanic activity here than in any other region on Earth, with about 400 volcanic peaks of which over 100 are active. However, under the volcanoes lies a basement complex of sedimentary rock that included numerous oil fields. Conquest of the oil fields of the Netherlands East Indies was the initial Japanese war objective.
The Netherlands had controlled this region since the seventeenth century, and the island of Java was virtually a second homeland to the Dutch people. Although Holland itself was overrun by the Germans in 1940, the Dutch government fled to Britain to continue the struggle. Much of the funding for the exiled government came from the oil fields of the Netherlands East Indies, but the Dutch military forces in the area were not strong, consisting of the equivalent of about three divisions of indifferently trained infantry (mostly militia), perhaps 150 largely obsolete aircraft, and naval forces whose largest units were light cruisers.
Historically, the Dutch had been fairly heavy-handed in their treatment of the native peoples. However, by the early 20th century, the Dutch had shifted to a policy of more enlightened rule. This did little to satisfy the Indonesian nationalist movement, led by Sukarno, which welcomed the Japanese and their promise of independence. However, the Japanese slogan of “Asia for the Asians” rang hollow as the Netherlands East Indies were brutally exploited to support the Japanese war effort. Many of the Indonesian nationalists ended up fighting the Japanese, and even the “collaborationist” forces turned on the Japanese after the August 1945 armistice. These same forces would resist the Dutch just as fiercely after they arrived to take over from the Japanese.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007-2008, 2010 by Kent G. Budge. Index
