The March 1st, 1949, general attack: A defining point of recognition of Indonesia’s Sovereignty

Abstract

The General Attack of March 1, 1949, conducted by the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia against the Dutch remains an interesting issue in Indonesia today because many of its aspects are yet to be fully revealed. The contemporary issue related to the event is the omission of Lt. Col. Suharto’s name, one of the key leaders in the struggle for independence, in the consideration of Presidential Decree No. 2/2022 concerning the Day of the Enforcement of Sovereignty, while the names of other well-known figures are written in the decree. How does the General Attack of March 1, 1949, relate to the context of the struggle for independence? What was the role of the civilian and military figures involved in the event? To answer these questions, a historical research approach was used by applying critical historical methods that include four stages, namely heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The results show that the general attack of March 1, 1949, was an important event in the struggle for independence because it marks the milestone of the achievement of sovereignty on December 27, 1949. Initiated by Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX, the attack was approved by General Soedirman and was carried out under Lt. Col. Suharto as Commander of Wehrkreise III—Yogyakarta. The study also observes that despite the controversy surrounding his role in the March 1st Attack, the name of Lt. Col. remains cemented in Indonesia’s history.

Keywords

• the attack of march 1st, 1949
• Dutch occupation
• Indonesian sovereignty
• independence revolution
• international diplomacy
• round table conference