Insulindia The Malay Archipelago is the archipelago between Mainland Southeast Asia and Australia, and is also called Insulindia or the Indo-Australian Archipelago. The name was taken from the 19th-century European concept of a Malay race, later based ...

Corps') was a Dutch Commando (special operations capable) established on 1 August 1942 in

British Ceylon British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...

, present-day

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The unit, originally called the Netherland Special Operations, emerged from the

Princess Irene Brigade During the Second World War, the Royal Netherlands Motorized Infantry Brigade, later known as the Princess Irene Brigade () was a Dutch military unit initially formed from approximately 1,500 troops, including a small group guarding German prison ...

alongside No. 2 (Dutch) Troop of the No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. The fought during

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 ...

against the Japanese occupiers of the Dutch East Indies. The corps was commanded by Major Frits Mollinger 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) and was stationed in Ceylon. It carried out a number of long-range penetration for infiltration and intelligence gathering operations in occupied

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. The corps was disbanded between November 1945 and early March 1946.

History

The 1st battalion of the Princess Irene Brigade, numbering 19 officers, 37 non-commissioned officers, 28 corporals and 70 soldiers, left for Ceylon. They departed by train from

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Gourock Gourock ( ; ) is a town in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a resort town, seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its ma ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

on 6 January 1942 and left the next day aboard the merchant ship HNLMS Colombia of the '' Koninklijke Nederlandse Stoomboot-Maatschappij'' (KNSM) from

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. The ship also carried torpedoes and was protected by a convoy. It arrived in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, British Ceylon on 7 March 1942, the day the Dutch East Indies fell to the Japanese. Lieutenant admiral Conrad Helfrich, Commander of the Armed Forces in the East (BSO), suggested that the brigade be returned to England, but this did not happen. Only Lieutenant general David van Voorst Evekink, brigade commander since 1941, returned to Europe on 10 June 1942. The Colombia stayed in Colombo. At the initiative of a number of soldiers of the Princess Irene Brigade, the battalion was transformed into a new unit, originally called "Netherland Special Operations", for clandestine operations in occupied Sumatra. The ''Korps Insulinde'' remained stationed in Ceylon and in turn became part of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Force 136 Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's O ...

for special actions in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

. In the summer of 1942 the corps began their commando training, followed by commando style raids training, gathering military intelligence training, irregular warfare training, jungle and mountain warfare training, parachute training, SERE training, and tactical first aid training. In 1943 and 1944, 17 (according to some sources 11) landings on the coast of Sumatra were carried out, often from a submarine. Not all of them were successful. Notably, Lieutenant H.E. Wijnmalen was taken

prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

and killed by the ''

Kenpeitai The , , was the military police of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The organization also shared civilian secret police that specialized in clandestine and covert operation, counterinsurgency, counterintelligence, HUMINT, interrogated suspects ...

'' after interrogation and torture. From May 1945, the ''Korps Insulinde'' was reinforced with 154 volunteers, including members of No. 2 Dutch Troop and the '' Bureau Bijzondere Opdrachten'' (BBO; 'Special Assignments Office'). In July 1945, a number of teams were deployed by parachute over Sumatra. After the

Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, ending the war. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of condu ...

on August 15, the corps was charged with securing the approximately 15,000

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese prisoners of war in Sumatra. The dissolution of the ''Korps Insulinde'' began in November 1945 and was completed in early March 1946.

Notable members

* Lieutenant R. van Aarem, recipient of the Bronze Cross * Captain Jhr. D. van den Brandeler, recipient of the Bronze Cross * Lieutenant C.A.M. Brondgeest, recipient of the Bronze Cross * Colonel Jhr.

mr. ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' (American English) or ''Mr'' (British English), is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. ...

M.W.C. de Jonge, recipient of the

Bronze Lion The Bronze Lion () is a high Royal Dutch award, intended for servicemen who have shown extreme bravery and leadership in battle favouring The Netherlands; in some special cases it can be awarded to Dutch or foreign civilians. It was first created ...

* Captain B.W. Lefrandt, recipient of the Bronze Lion * Lieutenant C.J. Overweel, recipient of the Bronze Lion * Lieutenant J.F. de Roo, recipient of the Cross of Merit * Captain W.J. Scheepens, recipient of the Bronze Lion * Captain C. Sisselaar, recipient of the Bronze Cross * Captain R.P.P. Westerling, future commander of the ''

Korps Speciale Troepen (KST; 'Special Forces Corps') was a Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) special forces unit that was established for deployment against the Indonesian revolutionaries during the Indonesian National Revolution. It was formed in 1948 with th ...

'' * Lieutenant H.E. Wijnmalen, recipient of the Bronze Lion (posthumous)

History

Notable members

See also

References

Further reading