GENERAL
SOEDIRMAN
Full
Name : Raden Soedirman
Place
of Birth : Bodas Karangjati,
Purbalingga,
Central Java
Date
of Birth : Monday, January 24th
1916
Passed
away on : January 29th, 1950
Tomb :
Taman Makam Pahlawan Semaki
General Soedirman is known as one of The National
Heroes of Indonesia. He was born on January 24th 1916 in Rembang, a
small village in Purbalingga. His father’s name is Karsid Kartowirodji and Siyem
is his mother’s name. Soedirman’s father was a worker in The Sugar Factory of
Kalibagor, Banyumas meanwhile his mother is a descendant of the Nobility of
Rembang. Soedirman was brought up by Raden Tjokrosoenarjo and his wife,
Toeridowati.
Soedirman took an education course in HIK. He
went there for a year. He went there after finishing his education in Wirotomo.
Soedirman was elected General in the military when he was 31 years old. Not
only he became the First General of Indonesia, he also was the youngest. Since
his childhood, he was a smart kid and he liked participating in organizations.
He had already showed his leadership ability and charisma since joining an
organization in his school.
In Junior High, he began to
show his ability to lead and organize. He was also very respected because he
was a pious Muslim. In 1936, he quit his education on HIK but his active
role in The Scouts Hizbul Watan made him mandated as a teacher of a
Muhammadiyah elementary school in The Regency of Cilacap. Later he was
appointed as The Headmaster. He became
the leader of The Youth of Muhammadiyah in 1937. Even when Japan occupied and colonized
East Indies in 1942, he kept teaching. In 1944, he joined the army of PETA (Pembela Tanah Air/Homeland Defender),
and was appointed as a battalion commander in Banyumas. During his tenure, he organized
some rebellions but was then exiled to Bogor.
Soedirman escaped from the prison in which he was being jailed at after Indonesia proclaimed its independence on August 17th, 1945 and then he went to Jakarta to meet The President, Soekarno. He was mandated by Soekarno to supervise the process of Japanese army surrender in Banyumas, which was done after he built a local division of Badan Keamanan Rakyat (People’s Security Agency). His troop was then included as a unit of The Fifth Division on October 20 by the interim commander, Oerip Soemohardjo with Soedirman as the leader of the troop.
Soedirman escaped from the prison in which he was being jailed at after Indonesia proclaimed its independence on August 17th, 1945 and then he went to Jakarta to meet The President, Soekarno. He was mandated by Soekarno to supervise the process of Japanese army surrender in Banyumas, which was done after he built a local division of Badan Keamanan Rakyat (People’s Security Agency). His troop was then included as a unit of The Fifth Division on October 20 by the interim commander, Oerip Soemohardjo with Soedirman as the leader of the troop.
On November 12th, 1945 Soedirman was chosen as The
Great Commander of Tentara Keamanan
Rakyat (People’s Security Army) at an election in Yogyakarta, meanwhile
Oerip, which had been active in military long before Soedirman, was then
mandated as The Head Chief. While waiting for the official appointment,
Soedirman ordered his army to attack the British and Dutch troops in Ambarawa.
This battle and the British troops’ retreat amplified the support from the
local populace, and he was finally appointed as The Great Commander on December
18th.
For the next
three years, Soedirman became the witness of the negotiation failures between
Indonesia with The Dutch, first of which was Liggarjati Agreement –which was also arranged by Soedirman– and the second was Renville Agreement –which made Indonesia obliged to return its areas
which was occupied in The Dutch Military Agression to The Dutch and withdraw
35000 personnel of its army. Soedirman also had to face an internal rebellion
and there was also a coup d'etat
attempt in 1948. He blamed all those events as the cause for his tuberculosis.
Because of the infection, his right lung had to be deflated on November 1948.
On December 19th, 1948 The Dutch launched their
second military aggression towards Indonesia to occupy Yogyakarta, several days
after Soedirman’s discharge from the hospital. While some politician big shots
took cover behind the wall of Sultan’s palace, Soedirman, his personal doctor
and a small group of his army, marched southwards and started a guerilla resistance
for seven years. At first, they were followed by the Dutch troops, but
Soedirman and his troop managed to escape their pursuit and built a temporary
headquarters at Sobo, near The Lawu Mountain.
There, Soedirman was able
to command the military activities in Java, including The Public Attack of March
First 1949 in Yogyakarta, which is led by lieutenant colonel Soeharto. When The
Dutch began to retreat, Soedirman was called to return to Yogyakarta on July
1949. He wanted to keep his resistance towards The Dutch but was prohibited by
The President, Soekarno because his tuberculosis relapsed. He was then retired
from the army and moved to Magelang
AFTER-WAR AND HIS DEATH
In the beginning of August, Soedirman approached
The President and asked him to continue the guerilla war. Soekarno, however did
not meet his demand whick shocked him greatly. Soedirman blamed the government’s
inconsistency as the cause of the relapse of his tuberculosis and Oerip’s death
in 1948 and threaten to resign, but Soekarno also threaten to resign if
Soedirman were to. Thinking that his resign would bring instability to the
country, Soedirman continued his duty as The Great Commander and ceasefire all
over Java was enacted on August 11th, 1949.
During his struggle against tuberculosis,
Soedirman did a check-up on Panti Rapih toward the end of the year and went out
of it on October; he was then moved to a sanatorium near Pakem. Because of his
sickness, he rarely showed his face in public. He was then moved to a house in
Magelang on December. At the sane time, the governments of Indonesia and The Netherland were having a long conference
for several months which ended up with The Dutch’s acknowledgement of Indonesia’s
sovereignty on December 27th, 1949. Although he was still sick, he
was appointed as The Great Commander of Tentara
Nasional Indonesia (Indonesia’s National Army), the leader of the army of a
new country named as Republik Indonesia
Serikat (Republic of United Indonesia). On December 28th,
Jakarta was once again designated as the capital of the nation.
On January 29th 1950 at 18.30, Sodeirman passed
away in Magelang; this sad news was reported on air via a special airing on the
national radio channel of RRI. After the news, Soedirman’s house was packed
with mourners, including all members of The Ninth Brigade which was in charge
of the area. The next day, Soedirman’s corpse was brought to Yogyakarta, which
was accompanied by the convoy of four tanks and eighty vehicles and thousands
of people at the road side. The convoy was organized by the mebers of The Ninth
Brigade.
In the evening, Soedirman’s body was buried in The
Great Mosque of Kauman, which was attended by many political and military
elites, includingPrime Minister Abdul Halim, Minister of Defence Hamengkubuwono
IX, Minister of Health Johannes Leimena, Minister of Justice Abdoel Gaffar
Pringgodigdo, Minister of Information Arnold Mononutu, and the Head Chief of TNI AU (Indonesia’s National Army Air
Force) Soerjadi Soerjadarma, Colonel Paku Alam VIII, and Soeharto. This
ceremony was ended with a procession of gun salute. Soedirman’s body was then
brought to Taman Makam Pahlawan
Semaki, with a group of mourners along two kilometres accompanying at the rear.
He was buried beside Oerip fter the procession of gun salute. His wife pour the
first soil to his grave, then followed afterwrds by the ministers. The
Government ordered the raisng of flags at half-mast as a sign of mourning
throughout the country, and promoted him as The General. General Lieutenant Commander
Tahi Bonar Simatupang was elected as the new head of the army. His memoirs were
published that year, while his speeches were published in 1970.
Pictures of General Sudirman
LEGACY
After his
death, many people remembered his heroic deeds. Yogyakarta daily newspaper,
Kedaulatan Rakjat, wrote that Indonesia had lost its “honest and brave hero.” Colonel
Paku Alam VIII, which was in charge of Yogyakarta, said to the central news
office Antara that Indonesian people, mainly the army, had lost “a father”
whose service was invaluable. A National Muslim Figure, Haji Abdul Malik Karim
Amrullah, portraited Soedirman as “The symbol of the awakening of Indonesia’s
heroic spirit”, while a muslim politician Muhammad Isa Anshary said that
Soedirman was “a son of revolution”.
In his
speech whis was aired via radio, Hatta said
that Soedirman is uncontrollable and thickheaded but always determined to do
what is right for his country. Hatta said that even though Soedirman disliked
the government, he still obeyed his orders. However, Hamengkubuwono IX said that trained
troop like Abdul Haris Nasution dan Tahi Bonar Simatupang was disappointed of
Soedirman because of his bad military background and technical knowledge.
Soedirman had received many sign of honors
posthumously, including Bintang Sakti, Bintang Gerilya, Bintang Mahaputra
Adipurna, Bintang Mahaputra Pratama, Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipurna, dan
Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipradana.
There are many museums which are dedicated to remember
Soedirman’s deeds. The house during his hildhood in Purbalingga is now changed
to Museum Soedirman, while his official residence in Yogyakarta was made Museum
Sasmitaloka Jenderal Soedirman. The house of his birth was made Museum
Soedirman, which was built on May 18th, 1967 and stores many of his
belongings.
Some other museums, like The Monumet
of Yogya Kembali in Yogyakarta and Museum Satria Mandala in Jakarta, have
special rooms dedicated for him. Some streets are also named after his name, including
a main road in Jakarta; McGregor stated that almost every city in Indonesia has
a road which is neamed Soedirman. Statues and monuments which are dedicated for
him are also spread throughout the country, most of which wwere built in 1970.In
1963, The University of General Soedirman was built in Purwokerto, Banyumas which
is named after his name.
On December 10th 1964, Soedirman was set as
a National Hero of Indonesia through Presidential Decree No. 314 Year 1964. Oerip was also set as a National
Hero in the same decree. Soedirman was promoted as The Great General on 1997.
·
The Institute of Taman Siswa
·
HIK (Teacher Education School) Muhammadiyah, Solo
·
Military Education of Pembela Tanah Air in Bogor
GENERAL SOEDIRMAN’S CAREER
·
Teaching at HIS Muhammadiyah in Cilacap
·
The Great Commander TKR/TNI, also a General
·
The Commander of The Fifth Division of Banyumas, as
a Colonel
·
Battalion Commander in Kroya
GENERAL SOEDIRMAN’S SIGN OF HONOR
·
National Hero of Indonesia (1964)
· The Great Posthumous Grand
General (1997)
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