Learning from the Maritime Past: Indonesia

By Wombat | February 26th, 2006 | No Comments

In a follow up article to the Java Sea battle, Duncan Graham of IndonesiaNow, discusses what lessons can be learnt from the past.

Learning from the past

What lessons have been learned from the Battle of the Java Sea? Former Dutch naval officer Peter Steenmeijer, now the Indonesian director of the Netherlands War Graves Foundation, said the allied defeat showed the need for a balanced navy — surface ships, submarines, aircraft and marines.

“Navies need to train as they plan to fight,” Steenmeijer said. “They must coordinate and exercise regularly. This has to be (done) well in advance, especially when operating as a multinational or joint force. And never underestimate your adversary.”

All crew members knew the battle was an impossible mission with great risks but hardly any stayed behind, he said.

“Before the battle, the Dutch ships were damaged and already had casualties (aboard) from enemy encounters. The crews were extremely tired. Nevertheless they gave everything. In my eyes that made them all heroes.”

In Surabaya’s Kembang Kuning (Yellow Flower) cemetery, 5,000 victims of the war are buried. Relatives of the dead — Indonesian and Dutch — and the military representatives from the Netherlands and Japan will gather to remember the tragedy on 27 February.

A bell salvaged from the light cruiser Java will be unveiled at the ceremony.

The memorial has been inscribed with the names of all the sailors who perished. It also bears the battle cry of Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, the commander of the Dutch warship De Ruyter. Although Doorman signaled in English, “All ships follow me”, this was later translated into Dutch as: Ik val aan, volgt mij!”

Literally this means: “I attack, follow me!” and the phrase has become famous in the naval history of the Netherlands. (Duncan Graham)