Following Indonesia's August 17, 1945 declaration of independence, Allied forces (principally British Indian troops) arrived in Surabaya to disarm Japanese soldiers. Tensions escalated into bloody clashes after Dutch civilians raised their flag at the Yamato Hotel and British Brigadier A.W.S. Mallaby was killed on October 30. When the British issued an ultimatum demanding unconditional surrender by dawn on November 10, the people of Surabaya refused. Armed with rifles, bamboo spears, and passionate resolve fueled by Bung Tomo's fiery radio broadcasts proclaiming 'Merdeka atau Mati' (Freedom or Death!), Indonesian militia and regular troops resisted fiercely for three weeks. Though heavily bombed, their courage forced the world to recognize that the Indonesian Republic was an irreversible reality.
Following Indonesia's August 17, 1945 declaration of independence, Allied forces (principally British Indian troops) arrived in Surabaya to disarm Japanese soldiers. Tensions escalated into bloody clashes after Dutch civilians raised their flag at the Yamato Hotel and British Brigadier A.W.S. Mallaby was killed on October 30. When the British issued an ultimatum demanding unconditional surrender by dawn on November 10, the people of Surabaya refused. Armed with rifles, bamboo spears, and passionate resolve fueled by Bung Tomo's fiery radio broadcasts proclaiming 'Merdeka atau Mati' (Freedom or Death!), Indonesian militia and regular troops resisted fiercely for three weeks. Though heavily bombed, their courage forced the world to recognize that the Indonesian Republic was an irreversible reality.
