N o . Name of Chudancho Chudan Daidan Social Background
1 GPH Djatikusumo I Ska nobility of KS
2 KPH Hamidjojo Sarosa II Ska nobility, son of
Mangkunegoro VII
3 R. Sunarto Kusumodirdjo III Ska middle priyayi
4 RMTH Sumodiningrat IV Ska nobility of KS
5 KPH Hamidjojo Santosa
replaced by
I Wg nobility, son of
Mangkunegoro VII
5A Soekarto a KNIL member
6 Suhardi II Wg member of legion of MN
7 Mursito III Wg middle priyayi
8 Soewarniman IV Wg middle priyayi
*Source: (1) Interview with Sumodiningrat, 2 August 1979; Sunarto
Kusumodirdjo, 1 August 1979; (2) 'Hal Pradjoerit Tentara Soekarela
Pembela Tanah Air dan H e i h o ', Bendel Djaman Djepang 1943-1944, no.46,
AMN; (3) an oral source collected in the 'Sejarah Perjuangan Rakyat
Klaten Kabupaten Klaten', p.49. Note: Ska = Surakarta; Wg = Wonogiri;
KS = Kasunanan; MN - Mangkunegaran.
The other was Noto Hapsoro, a newphew of Prince Mangkunegoro who became a shodancho.
Apparently, however, the social backgrounds of the shodancho
were more varied than those of chudanchö. Shodancho officers were
students from high school, policemen, members of KNIL or the Legion Mangkunegoro, middle priyaryi, and members of other social classes. Generally speaking, they were more radical than the chudanch5,
something that become obvious when shodancho officers of the Wonogiri daidan established an illegal organization called IPTAS (Ikatan Putera
I O Q
Tanah Air Sejati - the True Sons of the Fatherland Association). Its two most prominent leaders were Sutarto and Kusmanto. Sutarto's background is as follows: he was born in 1914, in the city of Solo
(Surakarta), and only attended the Sekolah Rakyat (elementary 'People's School') until the third class. His father, Wirosunarto, was a
c o m m o n e r ! W h e n he was about fourteen years old, Sutarto joined an illegal national youth movement in Semarang. *1 In the 1930s Sutarto
was the leader of the Madiun branch of the SPI (the Suluh Pemuda Indonesia - Torch of Indonesia Youth), the radical youth affiliate of Per.didikan hasional Indonesia. -^2
Although they did not rebel against the Japanese as did a similar Peta group at Blitar, the members of IPTAS nevertheless became the core of local military power in the early revolutionary period in Surakarta. The AMT (Angkatan Muda Tentara - Army Youth Generation), established by Sutarto in August 1945, was a continuation of IPTAS. It is not surprising, given his personality and
organizational skills, that Sutarto became the foremost leader among the shodanchö. His important role on the local military scene will be detailed at some length in the chapters that follow.
On 8 December 1943, the Surakarta K5chi Chökan established the BPP (Badan Pembantu Prajurit - the Board to Assist the Soldiers)
129 Interview with Sumodiningrat, 2 August 1979; Sunarto Kusumodirdjo, 1 August 1979; see also Panitya Pembangunan Monumen Perjoangan
'45 Klaten (ed.), op.cit., p.51; cf. Parikesit, 'Sekitar Pembentukan dan Perkembangan Pasukan Peta Didaerah Surakarta dan Jogjakarta', MA thesis, Faculty of Arts, University of Gadjah Mada, Jogjakarta, 1970, pp.60-61.
l.jO 'Riwajat Almarhum Kolonel Sutarto', typescript, Dinas Pemeliharaan Pemakaman Tentara, Divisi Diponegoro (compiled by Sutopo);
Surakarta, 1 July 1955. 131 Ibid.
132 For the SPI, see Biro Pemuda Departemen PD & K (ed.), Sedjarah Perdjuangan Pemuda Indonesia (Djakarta, Balai Pustaka, 1965), pp.72-75; for Sutarto, ibid., p.73; see also Benedict R.O'G. Anderson, Java in a Time of Revolution: Occupation and Resistance,
to support Lho Peta and hoi ho. Its members wore drawn from tho nobility, priyayi pancjroh p raja, teachers, and tho woatorn-oducated intelligentsia.
Tiie total number of members was forty, plus twenty-two central committee members and fourteen advisors. The DPP had sections such as general section, finance section, propaganda and spirit section, assistance section and equipment section. The BPP ultimately became a useful channel for individual contacts between its civilian members and Peta officers. These contacts became particularly useful when Haji Mufti
(head of the finance section), Dr Kartono (head of the propaganda and spirit section) and Sumodiningrat (chudancho) headed the revolutionary regional government of Surakarta early in the revolution.133
The Peta and its legal and illegal offshoots gained much attention and following in the final years of the occupation, and they became a crucial focus early in the revolutionary period which
followed. They were not, however, the only military groups brought into existence by the Japanese. 'Two additional organizations, the Barisan Pelopor and the Hizbullah, were created in 1944.
The Barisan Pelopor was established as the result of a 134 decision of the Java Central Advisory Council in May 1944. Its
principal aim was to act as the spearhead for Hökökai in its nationalist propaganda efforts. Although not officially established until
September 1944, the principles of its formation were already fully 135
developed by August. According to Gatot Mangkupradja, the Barisan Pelopor was based on the Suishintai (Promotion Corps), the activist auxiliary of the Hökökai's Keibodan, and initially its leaders were, like Peta leaders, trained at the Renseitai of Bogor.136
133 For the BPP of Surakarta, see 'Hal Pradjoerit Tentara Soekarela Peta dan Ileiho', AM N .
134 H.J. Benda*, The Crescent, pp. 177-78; see also I.J. Brugmans et al. (eds), op.cit., p.63.
135 Sinar Matahari , 19 August 2604 (1944). 136 Raden Gatot Mangkupraja, op.cit., p.122
In Surakarta, the Barisan Pelopor began to spread out into the villages early in December of 1944. In general in the Surakarta area its leaders were teachers, pangreh praja and others who had at least passed through primary school. The bulk of its members, however, were illiterate farmers, most of them between twenty and forty-five years old. The structure of the organization followed a military model, with daitai (battalion) established at the Ken le^el, chutai
(company) at the Gun level, and shotai (platoon) at the Son level.138 Although the leaders of the Surakarta Barisan Pelopor had varied political backgrounds, the PNI and pro-Sukarno element was dominant. The leader in Solo was Soemokartiko (PNI), assisted by Surjokusumo (priyayi-Parindra), Hadisunarto (PNI, Gerindo), and Anwar
i 39
Santosa (son of a Muhainmadiyuh leader). This pattern seemed to be similar to the central loadorsV^ There were a few leaders in the Surakarta Barisan Pelopor who were actually in contact with central leaders like Dr Muwardi and Sudiro. Both Muwardi and Sudiro had a lot of opportunities to visit the Barisan Peloj^or at the residency level, including Surakarta, in their campaign to mobilize the masses behind the Barisan Pelopor. One of the Surakarta Barisan Pelopor leaders, Hartono, was sent to join the Barisan Pelopor Istimewa in Jakarta and attended political courses given by Ir. Sukarno, Mohammad Hatta and Sjahrir. At that time Hartono met D.N. Aidit, a young
137 Soekiman Martowirono, 'Laporan Pemeriksaan Barisan Pelopor', typesrcipt, 7 December 1944, p.l., AM N .
138 'Laporan Wonogiri ken Hookookai Kaityo', typescript, Wonogiri, 1944, AMN.
139 Detailed discussion of the leaders of thu Surakarta Barisan Pelopor who subsequently played an important role in Barisan Banteng is in Chapter III.
140 For example, Ir. Sukarno (PNI), the commander of the corps; Oto Iskandardinata (the Pasundan); R.P. Suroso (Parindra), Gatot Mangkupradja (PNI); Muwardi (Kepanduan Bangsa Indonesia), Sudiro (Taman Siswa), while others were from Gerindo. For
details on the central leaders of this corps, see Sudiro, Pengalaman Saya Sekitar 17 August '45 (Jakarta, Yayasan Idayu, 1972), pp.
communist activist who was also attending the course.^l
From early December 1944, the Barisan Pelopor of Surakarta based its activities on a special programme containing the following priorities:
1. to assist in recruiting romusha; 2. to cooperate with the Beta army;
3. To work closely with Keibodan, Seinendan, Tonari Gumi, the BPP and the pangreh praja;
4. to establish Markas Barisan Pelopor (Barisan Pelopor Command Post) in each Gun; and
142