400 years Netherlands-Australia: Allies: Operations: The Royal Netherlands Indies Army

KNIL and the Military Air Force Division servicemen from camp
St. Ives, July 1945. The men have camouflaged their faces to carry out a night patrol.

The Royal Netherlands Indies Army

In 1942, two companies of the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (KNIL), consisting of 260 troops, landed in Australia. In mid-1942 some of them were sent on expeditions to the Tanimbar, Kai and Aru islands. These expeditions were a complete failure and 32 soldiers were killed. In this period, a company of 150 KNIL soldiers was included in a garrison of 6,000 Australians and 1,000 Americans that was sent to Merauke in Dutch New Guinea to carry out patrols. The KNIL soldiers were not involved in active combat and mainly served as interpreters and guides for the Australians and Americans. The soldiers who remained in Australia followed a course at the Jungle Warfare School in Canungra, in southeastern Queensland.

It was not until May 1945 that KNIL troops saw active combat in the battle to retake Tarakan and Balipapan. The 2nd company of the 1st battalion was involved in the conquest of Tarakan in May 1945, and the 1st company of the same battalion was involved in the attack on Balipapan in July 1945. Both companies consisted of 160 soldiers – a number that stands in stark contrast to the 50,000 soldiers involved in these operations.

In early March 1944, a women’s division of the KNIL was established, known as the Women’s Corps. Recruitment campaigns were carried out in the major cities – Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and Brisbane – to encourage Dutch women to take part in the liberation of the Dutch East Indies. These campaigns bore fruit and 51 women signed up. Their training was not organised centrally in this early period because they lived all over the country and often had full-time jobs. Only in Melbourne and Sydney did military training begin as soon as the division was formed. The women also received general training, so that they could be deployed as nurses, drivers and cooks. In July 1945, most of the women began a central training course at Camp Columbia near Brisbane. The Women’s Corps had about 225 members in Australia, from the time it was created until it was sent to the Dutch East Indies in September 1945.

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	KNIL and the Military Air Force Division servicemen from camp St. Ives, July 1945. The men have camouflaged their faces to carry out a night patrol. The Royal Netherlands Indies Army In 1942, two companies of the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (KNIL), consisting of 260 troops, landed in Australia. In mid-1942 some of them were sent on expeditions to the Tanimbar, Kai and Aru islands. These expeditions were a complete failure and 32 soldiers were killed. In this period, a company of 150 KNIL soldiers was included in a garrison of 6,000 Australians and 1,000 Americans that was sent to Merauke in Dutch New Guinea to carry out patrols. The KNIL soldiers were not involved in active combat and mainly served as interpreters and guides for the Australians and Americans. The soldiers who remained in Australia followed a course at the Jungle Warfare School in Canungra, in southeastern Queensland. It was not until May 1945 that KNIL troops saw active combat in the battle to retake Tarakan and Balipapan. The 2nd company of the 1st battalion was involved in the conquest of Tarakan in May 1945, and the 1st company of the same battalion was involved in the attack on Balipapan in July 1945. Both companies consisted of 160 soldiers – a number that stands in stark contrast to the 50,000 soldiers involved in these operations. In early March 1944, a women’s division of the KNIL was established, known as the Women’s Corps. Recruitment campaigns were carried out in the major cities – Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and Brisbane – to encourage Dutch women to take part in the liberation of the Dutch East Indies. These campaigns bore fruit and 51 women signed up. Their training was not organised centrally in this early period because they lived all over the country and often had full-time jobs. Only in Melbourne and Sydney did military training begin as soon as the division was formed. The women also received general training, so that they could be deployed as nurses, drivers and cooks. In July 1945, most of the women began a central training course at Camp Columbia near Brisbane. The Women’s Corps had about 225 members in Australia, from the time it was created until it was sent to the Dutch East Indies in September 1945.



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