Pembela Tanah Air

Pembela Tanah Air
Colour used by PETA battalions
Active	3 October 1943 – 15 August 1945
Country	Indonesia
Allegiance	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Defending Indonesia from Allied Invasion
Size	66 Battalions in Java, 3 Battalions in Bali, and approx. 20,000 men in Sumatra
Nickname(s)	PETA
Colors	Purple, Green, Red & White

Part of a series on the
History of Indonesia
Timeline
Prehistory Java Man 1,000,000 BP Flores Man 94,000–12,000 BP Toba catastrophe 75,000 BP Buni culture 400 BCE
Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms Salakanagara Kingdom 130–362 Kutai Kingdom 350–1605 Tarumanagara Kingdom 358–669 Kalingga Kingdom 500s–600s Melayu Kingdom 600s Srivijaya Empire 600s–1200s Sailendra Empire 800s–900s Galuh Kingdom 669–1482 Sunda Kingdom 669–1579 Medang Empire 752–1006 Bali Kingdom 914–1908 Kahuripan Kingdom 1006–1045 Kediri Kingdom 1045–1221 Dharmasraya Kingdom 1183–1347 Singhasari Empire 1222–1292 Majapahit Empire 1293–1500
Rise of Muslim states Spread of Islam 1200–1600 Aru Kingdom 1225–1613 Ternate Sultanate 1257–1914 Samudera Pasai Sultanate 1267–1521 Pagaruyung Kingdom 1347–1833 Brunei Sultanate 1368–1888 Malacca Sultanate 1400–1511 Sulu Sultanate 1405–1851 Cirebon Sultanate 1445–1677 Demak Sultanate 1475–1548 Aceh Sultanate 1496–1903 Banten Sultanate 1526–1813 Kalinyamat Sultanate 1527–1599 Mataram Sultanate 1500s–1700s Johor Sultanate 1528s–1877 Siak Sultanate 1725–1946 Surakarta Sunanate 1745–1946 Yogyakarta Sultanate 1755–1945 Deli Sultanate 1814–1946 Riau-Lingga Sultanate 1824–1911
Christian kingdom Larantuka Kingdom 1515–1904
European colonisation Portuguese 1512–1850 Dutch East India Company 1602–1800 French and British interregnum 1806–1815 Netherlands East Indies 1800–1942 1945–1950
Emergence of Indonesia National Awakening 1908–1942 Japanese occupation 1942–1945 War of Independence 1945–1949
Independence United States of Indonesia 1949–1950 Liberal democracy 1950–1957 Guided Democracy 1957–1965 Transition 1965–1966 New Order 1966–1998 Reform 1998–present
By topic Archaeology Currency Economy Military
Indonesia portal

PETA (Indonesian: Pembela Tanah Air – Defenders of the Homeland) or Kyōdo Bōei Giyūgun (郷土防衛義勇軍) was an Indonesian volunteer army established on 3 October 1943 in Indonesia by the occupying Japanese. The Japanese intended PETA to assist their forces in opposing a possible invasion by the Allies. The word PETA itself means map in local language. By the end of the war, there were a total of 69 battalions (daidan) in Java (around 37,000 men) and Sumatra (approximately 20,000 men). On 17 August 1945, the day after the Indonesian Declaration of Independence, the Japanese ordered the PETA daidan to surrender and hand over their weapons, which most of them did. The Indonesian Republic's newly declared President, Sukarno, supported the dissolution rather than turn the organisation into a national army as he feared allegations of collaboration had he allowed a Japanese-created militia to continue in existence.^[1][2][3]

During the Indonesian National Revolution, former PETA officers and troops, such as Suharto and Sudirman, formed the core of the fledgling Indonesia armed forces.

Structure of PETA

Notable members of PETA

• Suharto
• Supriyadi
• Sudirman
• Gatot Soebroto
• Soewirjo

See also

• Pembela Tanah Air Museum
• 1945 PETA Revolt in Blitar

References

• Bachtiar, Harsja W. (1988), Siapa Dia?: Perwira Tinggi Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (Who is S/He?: Senior Officers of the Indonesian Army), Penerbit Djambatan, Jakarta, ISBN 979-428-100-X
• Sunhaussen, Ulf (1982) The Road to Power: Indonesian Military Politics 1945-1967 Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-582521-7
• Ricklefs, M.C. (1981) A History of Modern Indonesia, c. 1300 to the present. MacMillan, ISBN 0-333-24380-3