This article is part of the History of Indonesia series
See also: Timeline of Indonesian History
Prehistory
Early kingdoms
Tarumanagara (358-669)
Srivijaya (7th to 13th centuries)
Sailendra (8th to 9th centuries)
Sunda Kingdom (669-1579)
Mataram Kingdom (752–1045)
Kediri (1045–1221)
Singhasari (1222–1292)
Majapahit (1293–1500)
The rise of Muslim states
The spread of Islam (1200–1600)
Sultanate of Ternate (1257–....)
Malacca Sultanate (1400–1511)
Sultanate of Demak (1475–1548)
Aceh Sultanate (1496–1903)
Sultanate of Banten (1526–1813)
Mataram Sultanate (1500s to 1700s)
European colonialism
The Portuguese (1512–1850)
Dutch East India Co. (1602–1800)
Dutch East Indies (1800–1942)
The emergence of Indonesia
National awakening (1899–1942)
Japanese occupation (1942–1945)
Declaration of independence (1945)
National revolution (1945–1950)
Independent Indonesia
Liberal democracy (1950–1957)
"Guided Democracy" (1957–1965)
Start of the "New Order" (1965–1966)
The "New Order" (1966–1998)
"Reformasi" era (1998–present)
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The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL) was the army of the Netherlands in its former colony of the Netherlands East Indies (also known as the Dutch East Indies, and later known as Indonesia). The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force was its air arm. Along with the Royal Netherlands Navy, it comprised the Dutch armed forces in the Netherlands East Indies.

[edit] History

Artillery of the Royal Dutch East India Army in 1896.

Cavalry of the Royal Dutch East India Army in 1906 during the Dutch intervention in Bali (1906).

The KNIL was formed by royal decree on 10 March 1830. It was not part of the Royal Netherlands Army, but a separate military arm specifically formed for service in the Netherlands East Indies. Its establishment coincided with the Dutch drive to expand colonial rule from the 17th century boundaries to the far larger final boundaries of the Dutch East Indies, established seventy years later, which remain the present boundaries of Indonesia.^[1]

The KNIL was involved in many campaigns against indigenous groups in the Netherlands East Indies including the Padri War (1821–1845), the Java War (1825–1830), crushing the Puputan (the final resistance of Bali inhabitants to colonial rule) of 1849, and the prolonged Aceh War (1873–1904).

After 1904 the Netherlands East Indies were considered "pacified", with no large-scale armed opposition to Dutch rule until World War II, and the KNIL served a mainly defensive role protecting the Dutch East Indies from the possibility of invasion by foreign countries. Bali was finally taken under full control with the Dutch intervention in Bali (1906) and the final Dutch intervention in Bali (1908).

The Vickers light amphibious tank was used by Dutch forces in the East Indies

The KNIL was the main defense against the Japanese invading the Netherlands East Indies during World War II. Dutch forces had been severely weakened by the defeat and occupation of the Netherlands itself, by Nazi Germany, in 1940. Nevertheless, at the start of the Pacific War, in December 1941, Dutch forces in Indonesia numbered around 85,000 troops, a combination of European and indigenous regular soldiers, locally organised militia, territorial guard units and civilian volunteers. The KNIL air force, Militaire Luchtvaart KNIL (Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force (ML-KNIL)) numbered 389 planes of all types, but was largely outclassed by superior Japanese planes. The Royal Netherlands Navy Air Service, or MLD, also had significant forces in the NEI.^[2] The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941-42 saw the Dutch and associated allied (especially ABDA) forces quickly defeated.

Following World War II, the reconstituted KNIL was used in two large military campaigns in 1947 and 1948 to re-establish Dutch control of Indonesia. In the course of this "police action" accusations of war crimes were levelled against the KNIL and its Ambonese auxiliaries. Dutch efforts to re-establish their colony failed and Netherlands recognition of Indonesian sovereignty came on 27 December 1949.^[3]The KNIL was disbanded on 26 July,1950. However, its traditions are maintained by the Regiment Van Heutsz of the modern Royal Netherlands Army.

[edit] Recruiting

Decorated indigenous KNIL soldiers, 1927.

Until the Aceh War, the KNIL recruited Dutch volunteers, European mercenaries of other nationalities (especially Germans, Belgians and Swiss), native (South Moluccan, Timorese, and Manadonese) and even the Ashanti, an African tribe from the present Ghana for service in the East Indies.^[4]. The ratio of foreign and indigenous troops to those of Dutch origin was reported to be 60% to 40%. After the Aceh War, the KNIL consisted of Dutch regulars recruited the Netherlands itself, Indonesians, Indos (Eurasians), and Dutch colonists living in the East Indies doing their military service.

It was against the law to send Dutch conscripts from the Netherlands to the Netherlands East Indies but Dutch volunteers continued to enlist for colonial service. In 1890 a Colonial Reserve (Koloniale Reserve) was established in the Netherlands itself to recruit and train these volunteers and to reintegrate them into Dutch society upon the conclusion of their overseas service.

On the eve of the Japanese invasion in December 1941, Dutch regular troops in the East Indies comprised about 1,000 officers and 34,000 men, of whom 28,000 were indigenous.

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