Defenders of the Homeland
郷土防衛義勇軍 (Tentara Sukarela) Pembela Tanah Air
Colour used by PETA battalions
Active	3 October 1943 – 15 August 1945
Country	Dutch East Indies and British Malaya[1]
Allegiance	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Defending the Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies and British Malaya from Allied invasion
Size	66 Battalions in Java, 3 Battalions in Bali, c. 20,000 men in Sumatra, c. 2,000 men in Malaya
Nickname(s)	PETA
Colors	Purple,   Green,   Red, &   White
March	Mars Tentara Pembela[2]

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The Defenders of the Homeland (Japanese: 郷土防衛義勇軍, romanized: Kyōdo Bōei Giyūgun; Indonesian: (Tentara Sukarela) Pembela Tanah Air, PETA) was a volunteer army established on 3 October 1943 in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by the occupying Japanese. The Japanese intended PETA to assist their forces in opposing a possible invasion by the Allies. By the end of World War II, 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 Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, the Japanese ordered the PETA daidan to surrender and hand over their weapons, which most of them did. Indonesia's inaugural 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 to exist.^[3][4][5]

During the Indonesian War of Independence, former PETA officers and troops, such as Suharto and Sudirman, formed the core of the fledgling Indonesian National Armed Forces.

Structure of PETA

Malayan Volunteer Army

By April 1944, a Malayan Defenders of the Homeland Association (Ikatan Pembela Tanah Ayer Malaya),^[1] formally the Malayan Volunteer Army (Japanese: マライ義勇軍, romanized: Marai Giyūgun), was stationed in Johor Bahru in Japanese-occupied Malaya. It was staffed by some 2,000 Malays and Indians and modeled on the organization of the Indonesian PETA, intending to create a local pro-Japanese reserve force for the defense of Malaya and Singapore. It was reinforced by the part-time Malayan Volunteer Corps (Japanese: マライ義勇隊, romanized: Marai Giyūtai) and recruitment of local Heiho started in January 1945.^[6]

The commander of the Malayan PETA was Ibrahim Yaacob,^[6] who had been the founder and leader of the pro-independence Young Malays Union, which the Japanese had shut down over its ties to the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) and Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army.^[1] In his post-war autobiography, Yaacob claimed to have secretly continued communications with the CPM during the Japanese occupation.

After the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945, the Malayan Volunteer Army began marching towards Kuala Lumpur before disbanding in northern Johor.^[6]

Notable members

See also

• Collaboration with Imperial Japan
• Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies
• 1945 PETA revolt in Blitar
• Pembela Tanah Air Museum

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