Pakuan Building Yard Bombed: A Sign Of Dutch Surrender To Japan

The Pakuan building, which is now the official residence of the Governor of West Java, was bombed by the Japanese, which marked the defeat of the Dutch. (Doc. Kemdikbudristek)

JAKARTA - The emergence of Japan as a great power in Asia was unexpected. His power was underestimated by many. Including the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies, Alidius Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer (1936–1942).

Japan managed to make a surprise. The archipelago was ruled in a matter of months. The center of Dutch power in Batavia in particular. Tjarda also chose to flee to Bandung. He made the Pakuan Building a hiding place. Japan is not standing still. Bombs were dropped on the Pakuan Building yard.

Japan's guts in World War II was so great. They were feared by European countries. Moreover, after the Japanese destroyed Pearl Harbor. The dignity of Asia in World War II was lifted. New dreams are soon drawn up. Japan wants to immediately liberate countries in Southeast Asia that are still colonized. Bumi Nusantara, one of them.

The greatness of Japan was heard by high-ranking officials in the Dutch East Indies. They then warned their leader, Tjarda, that Japan would soon control the archipelago. The warning was not heard. Japan took advantage of the situation. The negligence of the Dutch colonial government was used to control one city after another in the archipelago.

Pakuan Building in the Dutch East Indies. (Wikimedia Commons)

Kalimantan was then chosen by the Japanese as the entrance. Slowly the Japanese began to control the city on the island. From Tarakan, Balikpapan, Pontianak, Samarinda, Banjarmasin, to Palembang. Japan did not immediately get excited. Strong attacks on other cities in the Dutch East Indies continued. The island of Java is the next target.

On March 1, 1942, Japan began to land troops in three places at once. Banten, Indramayu, and Bojonegoro. Four days later, the Japanese had taken control of Batavia, then Buitenzorg (Bogor). The owner immediately fled to Bandung, including Tjarda. The strategy was considered to be able to hold back the Japanese resistance. If the Allied Forces entered the Dutch East Indies.

“The troops that landed in Banten Bay were led directly by the commander of the 16th Army, Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura. Previously there was an event that somewhat disrupted the landing. Two Allied ships, Houston and Perth, trying to escape from Tanjung Priok bound for Australia, encountered Japanese torpedo boats. In the exchange of fire, the two Allied ships opened fire on and sank the loose transport ships.”

“One of the passengers was Lieutenant General Imamura. He threw himself into the sea and managed to land on the coast of Banten Bay. After the landings, the capital city of Batavia (Jakarta) was announced on 5 March 1942 as an "open city", meaning that the city would not be defended by the Dutch. Immediately after the fall of the city of Batavia into their hands, the Japanese expeditionary army immediately moved south and succeeded in occupying Buitenzorg (Bogor)," explained Nugroho Notosusanto et al in the book National History of Indonesia Volume IV (2008).

Bomb in Pakuan Building Yard

Tjarda's move to Bandung also marked the transfer of the Dutch center of power from Batavia to Kota Parijs van Java. In Bandung, Tjarda chose the residence of the resident Priangan (now: Gedung Pakuan) as a place to evacuate and run the government. The building was impossible to trace, he thought.

In fact, the strategy did not last long. The magnificent building which is now the official residence of the Governor of West Java is rather striking for its size as a place of refuge. Moreover, previously the residence, which was built from 1864 to 1867, had become a famous location. Every state guest who comes is welcomed at the Pakuan Building.

The King of Siam Chulalongkorn and French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau have visited the Pakuan Building. In fact, comedian Charlie Chaplin who came to Bumi Priangan in 1927 also had the opportunity to see firsthand the splendor of the Pakuan Building.

The smell of the popularity of the Pakuan Building actually became a weapon for the Dutch to eat. The Japanese military did not have to bother to dig up the whereabouts of the top leaders of the Dutch East Indies. They immediately bombarded the city of Bandung arbitrarily from the air.

The Dutch army surrendered to the Japanese which ended the 350 years of Dutch colonialism in the archipelago. (Wikimedia Commons)

The practice brought results. Many of the Dutch soldiers died because they were targeted by gunfire. One of the air bombs hit the Pakuan Building yard. The bomb was an early sign that the Dutch would surrender to the Dutch. Instead of defending, Tjarda was confused.

He immediately fled to another place. Japan did not remain silent. He threatened to re-bomb from the air to all areas of Bandung, if the Dutch did not want to surrender. Therefore, Tjarda, who had lost a lot of troops and ammunition, surrendered and immediately handed over his control in the Dutch East Indies to Japan through the Kalijati Agreement on March 8, 1942.

“This Empire Stijl-style building was designed by the Chief Engineer of the Van Burgeljke Openbare Werken Department (now: a kind of public works department) assisted by the 8th Regent of Bandung RA Wiranatakusumah IV (1846-1874) as well as residents of Babakan Bogor and Balubur Hilir. Because it is the only official residence of the most magnificent, before the collapse of the Dutch East Indies in March 1942, this building was used as a refuge for the Governor-General of AWL Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer from Batavia.”

“Friday morning, March 6, 1942, from where did the Japanese pilots get the information, the Governor-General who had just evacuated last night was shocked by a huge explosion. That morning, Japanese warplanes dropped bombs on the grounds of the Pakuan Building which was used as a shelter. The Governor-General hastily moved to the Mei Ling Villa in Dr. de Grootweg (now Jalan Siliwangi), belongs to the rice trader Kan who is a member of the Volksraad," concluded Her Suganda in his book Wisata Parijs van Java (2011).