Storming of Pleret

Siege and storming of Pleret
Part of the Java War
Bestorming van Pleret (1900) by G. Kepper, depicting the Dutch assault on Pleret in 1826
Date 1826 Location Pleret Result Dutch victory
Belligerents
Netherlands	Javanese rebels
Commanders and leaders
Josephus Jacobus François de Stuers	Diponegoro
Casualties and losses
	700 killed [1]

The siege and storming of Pleret was a siege and storming that occurred in Pleret during the Java War. It was the first time that Diponegoro didn't avoid a pitched battle and it resulted in Dutch victory. ^[2]

Background and battle

Pleret was abandoned as a capital but still played another role during the Java War (1825–1830) between the Dutch and the Javanese forces under Prince Diponegoro. ^[3] Pleret was occupied by Diponegoro in 1825. ^[4] He kept his weapons and livestock there. Diponegoro used it as a base to attack convoys supplying the nearby Imogiri held by the Dutch. ^[3] In April 1826, the Dutch attacked Pleret under General Josephus Jacobus van Geen  [ nl ]. ^[3] Diponegoro did not engage in combat and withdrew to the west. ^[3] Van Geen entered Pleret and took the weapons and livestock kept there as booty. ^[3] Lacking forces to keep the town, he withdrew to Yogyakarta. ^[3] Thereafter Diponegoro reocuppied the town and fortified it. ^[3] Diponegoro gave particular importance to this city. ^[5] In June 1826, Dutch forces with a strong contingent of Madurese auxiliaries besieged the town. On 9 June, the besiegers detonated a mine under the ramparts, causing a breach through which they attacked. ^[3] After a day of "bloody fighting", the attackers completely occupied Pleret. ^[3] This battle was Diponegoro's first major defeat in the war. The Dutch left a garrison of 700 men, and there was no further attempt from Diponegoro to retake Pleret. ^[3]

See also

• Java War

References

1. Carey, Peter (2020). Noor, Farish A. (ed.). Racial Difference and the Colonial Wars of 19th Century Southeast Asia. Amsterdam University Press. p. 63. ISBN   9789048550371 . Retrieved 7 June 2022.
2. Tate, D. J. M. (1971). The Making of Modern South-East Asia: The European conques. Oxford University Press. p. 93. ISBN   9780196381138 . Retrieved 7 June 2022.
3. Dumarçay 1989, p. 197.
4. Dumarçay 1989, p. 191.
5. Aveling, Harry (1979). The Development of Indonesian Society (From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day). University of Queensland Press. p. 74. ISBN   9780702213472 . Retrieved 7 June 2022.

Bibliography

• Dumarçay, Jacques (1989). "Plered, capitale d'Amangkurat I^er". Archipel (in French). 37 (1). PERSEE: 189–198. doi:10.3406/arch.1989.2570 . Retrieved 13 April 2012.