10 November 1945 is a historic date for the Indonesian people. On that day the peak of the battle in Surabaya, between foreign troops and Indonesia took place. Because many fighters died that day, declared November 10 was a national day, namely Heroes' Day, through Keppres No. 316 Tahun 1959 Tanggal 16 December 1959. The battle on November 10, 1945, which is famous for its slogan "Freedom or Death", was the first battle that occurred after Indonesian independence, and was the biggest in the nation's history. The fighting was triggered by various things, including:
The Yamato Hotel incident
A month after proclaimed its independence, Indonesia was again rocked by various incidents. In Surabaya, the Dutch raise their country's flag at the Yamato Hotel. This incident made residents angry that they thought the Dutch did not appreciate the efforts of the Indonesian people who had proclaimed independence. The raising of the Dutch flag finally made the youths arguing with the Dutch. The fighters then climbed into the Yamato hotel and tore off the blue part of the flag so that only red and white remained. The Yamato hotel incident then became the beginning of the first battles between the Indonesians and the British army which began on 27 October 1945. Seeing the heated situation, General DC Hawthorn asked President Soekarno for help to calm the situation.
The killing of Brigadier General Mallaby
On 29 October 2019, the British and Indonesian parties signed a ceasefire agreement. The situation was stable but a misunderstanding occurred which resulted in the death of General Aubertin Walter Sothern Mallaby, leader of the British army for East Java. General Mallaby's death was a major factor in the fighting on 10 November.
Battle of 10 November
British troops were angry and asked the Indonesians to surrender weapons and stop fighting against the AFNEI army and the NICA administration. But the Indonesian people refused and put up a resistance, this resulted in the British carrying out "Bloody Cleansing" in all corners of the city on November 10, 1945. which began with air bombs on the Surabaya government buildings, deploying around 30,000 infantry, several aircraft, tanks, and warships.
Then, various parts of the city of Surabaya were bombarded and shot with cannons from sea and land. Indonesian troops and militia resistance then raged across the city. The fighting on that day lasted for several days and ended on 28 November 1945. The involvement of the population in this battle resulted in thousands of them becoming victims of the Allied military invasion.
In this battle of Surabaya, around 6,000 national heroes had died, 200,000 civilians fled their cities, and the slogan "Freedom or Death", for the struggle of the Surabaya people against the invaders, the government finally commemorated the event as Heroes' Day.
“A great nation is a nation that appreciates the services of its heroes.” and to appreciate the services of the fallen Heroes, let us continue the ideals and struggles of the heroes to continue and maintain the integrity of the nation, upholding a sense of nationalism and patriotism.
