The history of Indonesia’s Army Strategic Command (Komando Strategis Angkatan Darat/KOSTRAD) in 1961 can’t be separated from West Papua, formerly known as Irian Barat. Soeharto, Indonesia’s former second president, had a significant role in this institution. Under his leadership during the Dutch’s occupation of Irian Barat, he planned and launched military attacks under different missions and operations.
One of his success stories can be seen today as West Papua reunites and belongs to Indonesia. He had succeeded too in his career until he became the president of Indonesia after Soekarno.
From The Land of Java to the West Papua
The Great General H. M. Soeharto was the second president of Indonesia who had served for 32 years. His charismatic persona made him called “The Smiling General” because he smiles a lot. He is the son of Sukirah and Kertosudira who was born in Sedayu, Bantul, Yogyakarta on June 8th, 1921.
He started his military career in 1942 when he was accepted to serve as a KNIL troop. When the Dutch left Indonesia, he joined PETA, a military force built by Japan in Indonesia. Since then, Soeharto kept continuing his career in the military until Indonesia achieved its independence. His mission in West Papua, formerly named Irian Barat, is one of the most important victories in Indonesia’s history.
Before serving as the first commander of the strategic army command, Major General Soeharto served as the Chief of Army Corps I or Army General Reserve (Korra/Caduad) on March 6th, 1961. Soeharto became commander in chief, and his rank was increased to Brigadier General. Four years later, the army reserves he commanded led the way in Indonesia’s history in 1965.
Soeharto’s Leadership in the Army Reserves
Though the given name was reserve/substitute army, the government has highly relied on these armies. The issue of Irian Barat, which was still a dispute with the Dutch, had made the existence of these troops so vital. Caduad was then united into Army Strategic Command (KOSTRAD) on August 15th, 1963. Soeharto remained served as its commander.
As a commander, Major General Soeharto became the second-most influential person in the army after Ministry/Army Commander Lieutenant General Ahmad Yani. After Yani passed away on October 1st, 1965, Soeharto became the most important general in the army and Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI).
Under Soeharto’s leadership, KOSTRAD has developed into a very powerful force. In the middle of 1980, KOSTRAD’s army forces were divided into two complete infantries, each supported by cavalry, artillery, engineers, transports, and so on.
Soeharto, As The First Commander of Army Strategic Command
On December 19th, 1961, Soekarno sparked an idea about Trikora. Through Trikora, a military operation to free West Papua land from the Dutch had started. Citing from Kesaksian Tentang Bung Karno (1999), the main vision of Trikora is to thwart Papua’s doll country’ and unite them with Indonesia.
Bung Karno then appointed Major General Soeharto as the commander of Mandala Command on January 2nd, 1962. Soeharto was given 7 months to build strength until to fly the Indonesian red-white flag in Irian Barat.
Based on Arsip Perjuangan Pembebasan Irian Barat 1949-1969, Soeharto had designed 3 plans, formed a joint army, built a military base, and monitored the Dutch’s force. Soeharto also launched military operations to free Irian Barat, which he divided into 3 phases.
First, the Infiltration Phase, which he had done until the end of 1962. During this phase, the open attacks called Jayawijaya Operation happened. Soeharto deployed 10 companies of troops around certain targets to form a de facto-free area.
The second is the Exploitation Phase. Soeharto conducted another open attack on the Dutch military troops in early 1963. The ultimate mission was to occupy every main defense post of the opposite party. Due to this attack, the Dutch started to tremble and surrender unconditionally. Irian Barat’s handover happened on March 1st, 1963, marked by the fly of Indonesia’s flag.
The third, after the Mandala Command Troops succeeded in defeating the Dutch military, Soeharto had done the Consolidation Phase in early 1964 under the operation of Wisnu Murti. The main goal of this phase is to uphold the absolute power of NKRI in Irian Barat without Dutch interference.
Summary
The liberation of Irian Barat was one of the most important eras in Indonesia’s history. The moment also raised Soeharto’s significant role in reclaiming the land back from the Dutch occupation. Several military operations had launched toward the Dutch army until they surrendered and Irian Barat, which is currently known as West Papua, reunited as a part of Indonesia. Of all the historical events that happened in the past to our nation and country, we can hopefully learn valuable lessons and share the stories with future generations.
