The bombing of Sukabumi was an

aerial bombing An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

of the city of

Sukabumi Sukabumi () is a landlocked city surrounded by the Sukabumi Regency, regency of the same name (within which it is an enclave and exclave, enclave) in the southern foothills of Mount Gede, in West Java, Indonesia, about south of the national ca ...

West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...

in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

(present-day

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

) during the

Dutch East Indies campaign The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by forces of the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Allied forces attempted unsuccessfully t ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. On the morning of Friday, 6 March 1942, a formation of seven

Imperial Japanese The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to 19 ...

aircraft indiscriminately bombed and

strafed Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such a ...

government buildings, infrastructure, and residential areas, resulting in the deaths of around 70 people and destruction throughout the city.

The attack

Although an attack of this kind had been expected from the start of the Japanese invasion, the people of Sukabumi were taken by complete surprise. On the Dr. de Vogelweg (present-day Jalan Bhayangkara), the

police academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or to o ...

and the local

Muhammadiyah Muhammadiyah (), officially Muhammadiyah Society () is a major Islamic non-governmental organization in Indonesia.A. Jalil HamidTackle the rising cost of living longer New Straits Times, 30 October 2016. Accessed 1 November 2016. The organization ...

school were attacked, killing 26 children. In addition, the offices of the

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

bureau (), the

NIROM NIROM (''Nederlandsch-Indische Radio-Omroep Maatschappij''; Dutch East Indies Radio Broadcasting Corporation) was the privately funded territorial broadcasting, broadcaster of the Dutch East Indies. It was one of the precursors of Radio Republi ...

building, the

Sukabumi Regency Sukabumi Regency (; Sundanese: ) is a regency ''(kabupaten)'' in southwestern Java, as part of West Java province of Indonesia. The regency seat is located in Palabuhan Ratu, a coastal district facing the Indian Ocean. The regency fully encirc ...

offices, and a number of residences on the Wilhelminaweg (present-day Jalan R. E. Martadinata) were hit. The forester of the was among those injured. Due to poor functioning of the

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

force, the enemy aircraft were not discovered in time, although they had been noticed by a 'spotter' from the police academy. There, an alarm bell was sounded, but the air-raid siren was not activated, as an order to that effect was not given for unknown reasons. After the attack, the academy was permanently closed and its

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

and

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

staff transferred to the Sukabumi city police. During the first weeks of the occupation, non-

native Indonesian Native Indonesians, also known as ''Pribumi'' () are Indonesians whose ancestral roots lie mainly in the archipelago and consist of various ethnic groups, predominantly of Austronesian and Melanesian descent. In contrast are Indonesians of know ...

police officers were ignored by the Japanese, but on 22 April 1942 they would be

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

. Bombs dropped near the severed the railway line to

Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...

, and the native railway workers who operated the signals and switches had fled. Residential neighborhoods were also targeted and many people were injured. An officer of the city police, who was at home because he had worked a

night shift The shift plan, rota or roster (esp. British) is the central component of a schedule (workplace), shift schedule in shift work. The schedule includes considerations of shift overlap, shift change times and alignment with the clock, vacation, train ...

, was fatally struck by a bomb fragment. Elsewhere, a '' desa'' school was hit by a bomb, killing 43 people. The surviving students assisted the authorities in transporting the injured.

Reasons for the bombing

From the destruction wrought on strategic targets, it seemed clear that the Japanese intended to hinder troops of the 1st Division of the

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (; KNIL, ; ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The KNIL's air arm was the Royal Netherl ...

(; KNIL) during their retreat to the Bandung Plateau. As a result of the severing of the railway line, KNIL troops were stranded at Sukabumi train station, where they spent the night before continuing on foot and by confiscated vehicles. Other reasons for the bombardment are unclear; the bombing of schools and other civilian targets creates uncertainty. Three days after the bombing of Sukabumi the Dutch East Indies capitulated, and a week after the bombing the city was occupied by Japanese troops.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sukabumi, Bombing of 1942 in the Dutch East Indies Airstrikes conducted by Japan Conflicts in 1942 Explosions in 1942 Japanese war crimes in Indonesia Indonesia in World War II March 1942 Sukabumi 1940s in West Java World War II operations and battles of the Southeast Asia Theatre

World War II strategic bombing by populated place

The attack

Reasons for the bombing

See also

References