The Lengkong incident was an incident that occurred on 25 January 1946, where cadets from the newly formed
Indonesian Military Academy
The Military Academy ( id, Akademi Militer or ) is a service academy of the Indonesian Army, part of the Indonesian National Armed Forces Academy (). Founded on the early stages of the Indonesian Revolutionary War and located in the city of Magel ...
and Japanese soldiers unexpectedly engaged in combat.
Events
In the afternoon of 25 January 1946, a group of newly enrolled
Indonesian Military Academy
The Military Academy ( id, Akademi Militer or ) is a service academy of the Indonesian Army, part of the Indonesian National Armed Forces Academy (). Founded on the early stages of the Indonesian Revolutionary War and located in the city of Magel ...
cadets in Tangerang led by Major
Daan Mogot
Major Daniel Elias Mogot (28 December 1928 – 25 January 1946) was a military officer involved in the Indonesian National Revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and ...
went to a Japanese base in Lengkong, in what is today
South Tangerang
South Tangerang is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the southwestern border of Jakarta, the city forms part of the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area. It was administratively separated from Tangerang Regency on November 26, ...
, in order to discuss disarmament of the Japanese troops and acquire their weapons.
The negotiations, which began with the transfer of some
Gurkha
The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India.
The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Go ...
prisoners of war, initially went well and the cadets began collecting the weapons, when a shot was fired – the culprit was unknown, with an account describing one of the Gurkhas having accidentally fired the weapon and another describing one of the cadets' weapons
firing accidentally.
After the shot, Japanese soldiers retook the seized weapons and began attacking the cadets.
In the ensuing shootout, 33 cadets and 3 of their officers, including Daan Mogot, were killed.
The
Indonesian Army
The Indonesian Army ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD), ) is the land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,000 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its r ...
later threatened to send in soldiers to Lengkong, prompting the Japanese garrison to surrender.
Aftermath
The dead cadets and officers were buried in a nearby forest, though they were later reburied on a plot of land near Tangerang's regimental headquarters, and the burial site is today known as the Cadet Heroes' Cemetery ( id, Taman Makam Pahlawan Taruna).
A monument was erected at the site of the incident in 1993, and in 2005
Army Chief of Staff Ryamizard Ryacudu
General Ryamizard Ryacudu (born 21 April 1950) is an Indonesian politician who served as the Minister of Defense of Indonesia from 2014 until 2019. He previously served as Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army
The Chief of Staff of the Indo ...
set 25 January, the date of the incident, as a commemoration day for the Military Academy.
References
{{Indonesian National Revolution
Indonesian National Revolution
Tangerang
Conflicts in 1946
Battles involving Indonesia
Battles involving Japan