NETHERLANDS INDIES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4534, 9 February 1942, Page 8

NETHERLANDS INDIES

THE JAPANESE THRUST COMPOSITE FORCES OF DEFENCE The development of Japanese strategy in the south-west Pacific has now brought them to a stage where any further land or sea attack southward brings them up against the chain of islands of the Netherlands East Indies, running eastward from Sumatra by Singapore to Tinjor, a little to the north-west of Australia. This chain of islands bars the enemy from fce* entry into the Indian Ocean and access to vital Allied supply lines of the Middle and Far East. For a number of years, so far as it has been within their power and resources, the Dutch authorities in the area have been preparing for such a situation, and an appreciable and wellequipped force is now engaged in heroic delaying actions in the more northerly islands of the Dutch territories in an endeavour to minimise the danger to the vital southern barrier. COMPOSITION OF ARMY Though the standing army is not numerically large by world-war standards, it is highly trained, and possesses a considerable number of armoured fighting vehicles, many locally built. This veteran standing army is, however, only the nucleus round which a considerably greater force of reserve troops, native and European, has in the past few years been organised. The standing army was recruited on a voluntary basis from members of the native island populations. There ate Sumatrans, Javanese, Amboinese, Menadonese from the Celebes, Timorese, and Macassars, as well as Europeans. The native soldiers have never been excluded from promotion, and in some cases lead European units. Some years ago, because of the prohibitive expense of recruiting an army, on the basis of long-term enlistment, a system of one to three-year enlistments was instituted. As these men completed their service they were transferred to the trained reserve, which has, as a result, become a potent force, supporting the standing army. All these men are, of course, now back with the colours, and with them are Europeans who since the . last war have come under compulsory military service laws. There is also a third line of land troops. These are the native auxiliary troops, serving in each island under the command of their own officers. They, like the regular army, are fully equipped and well-trained. All these sections of the army have recently been considerably expanded under compulsory military service laws which were enacted immediately after Holland was invaded in May, 1940. These laws affect both European and native populations.

AIR DEFENCE Ever since 1914 plans for the defence of the islands have paid great attention to the value of air power. Few islands can use military aviation to better advantage. Attack on them must necessarily come from the sea, and the sea lanes round them are narrow. Aeroplanes based on airports far enough inland to be safe from naval bombardment can seriously hamper the approach of enemy landing expeditions. The Netherlands East Indies Air Force has for the most part been built up with the United States aircraft. As long ago as 1915 the first negotiations with the Glenn Martin Company resulted in a supply contract, and to-day aircraft from this company fly side by side with Lockheeds, Curtisses, Brewster Buffaloes and Ryans. The number of craft has been greatly augmented in the past 18 months from the United States. Already the N.E.I. Air Force has done yeoman work in delaying the Japanese advance, notably, in partnership with the United States aircraft in the battle in the Macassar Strait. NAVAL STRENGTH With a major naval base at Surabaya, on the northern coast of Java, and a secondary base at Amboina—now being attacked by the Japanese—the Netherlands East Indies has a small but efficient fleet of cruisers, destroyers and submarines in action. The submarines in particular have met with considerable success against Japanese warships and transport vessels. The exact strength of the fleet has not been disclosed. When Germany invaded and occupied Holland, many vessels of the Dutch Navy escaped to Britain and have since been serving with the Royal Navy in coastal defence and convoy work in the Atlantic. How many of these vessels have been transferred to the south-west Pacific is not known, but it is possible that the East Indies fleet has received the support of a measurable number of them, and locally-built Vessels have also been commissioned. ALLIED SUPPORT

In the days immediately preceding the outbreak of hostilities in the Pacific and steadily since then, reinforcements of all arms have been reaching the Netherlands East Indies. There were reports that the local authorities had appealed to Australia for the support of units of the Royal Australian Air Force, and this was probably afforded. Again, when Portuguese Timor was taken under the military protection of the Allies, the protecting force from Dutch Timor was stated to be composed of both Dutch and Australian troops. In the Macassar Strait action the United States was represented by both naval and air units, showing that aid from that country has already begun to arrive in effective quantity, and, no doubt, every day sees this further augmented.

In the immediate future, however, the defence lines in all three elements —land, sea, and air—must of necessity be thin, since the stretch of territory and coastline is immense. Great spirit and fighting qualities have already been shown by the forces so far engaged, and, though hard fighting and bitter disappointments undoubtedly lie ahead, events in the past weeks give ground for every confidence that the Japanese will" meet solid and spirited resistance in each step they make in attempt to reduce the island chain before the Allies mass too powerful a force to oppose them.