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Awas, ploppers! - Dutch East Indies, 1948

The history of the Dutch East Indies

The history of the Dutch East Indies starts around 1600. European countries sent ships all around the world for trading and power. One of the countries who sent ships was Holland. Like many other countries, the Dutch want a colony for their trading, and Indonesia becomes a Dutch colony, called Nederlands-Indië (the Dutch East Indies).

For many, many years the Dutch control the colony. However in World War 2, the Japanese managed to capture the colony after heavy fighting. The Dutch Air force, Navy and Army are simply outnumbered. Australian. New Zealand and British forces arrive to help the Dutch forces, but the Japanese are too strong. The Allied troops are killed or taken prisoner and many die during the years after in Japanese POW camps.

After the Second World War, the Dutch return to take control of their colony again. But a War of Independence began. From 1946 to 1950, Indonesian freedom fighters use guerrilla tactics to fight the Dutch troops.

My grandpa was sent there on Christmas day, 1947, and stayed there until 1950. He served, as already stated, in the Princess Irene brigade, as a part of the KNIL (Royal Dutch East Indies Army). The KNIL used British/Commonwealth weapons and equipment. Later in the war, the Dutch began to use their own camouflage ponchos, but they kept using British weapons and equipment,. The KNIL was not the only Dutch force in the area. The Dutch marines were fighting on the island of Java. The Dutch Marines used American marine equipment and weapons.

In 1950, the war ended because the United States threatened to stop their aid program with the Netherlands, which was necessary to rebuild the country again after World War 2 (the Netherlands received food, machines, building materials etc)

Research

Before I could start building I had to know first what my grandpa would remember from his time in the Dutch East Indies. So I needed reference material which could tell me this. And what's better reference material for this than his own photo album with photo's he or his friends made in the Dutch East Indies!

So, I borrowed his photo album and scanned all useful pictures. I saw several things here I wanted to include in my diorama:

• - Bren gun carriers
• - Vickers machineguns
• - British style jungle uniforms
• - Jungle plants
• - Road sign saying "End secured zone"

I also made contact with another Dutch East Indies veteran, Piet Albers, who gave me a lot of useful information I needed for my diorama.