Asia Pacific 1947: Indonesian War of Independence

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Political map of East Asia and the Western Pacific on 04 Aug 1947 (End of the Old Order: Indonesian War of Independence), showing the following events: Chinese Civil War reopens; Dutch return to Indonesia; Treaty of Manila; Outbreak of First Indochina War; Mountbatten Plan; Operation Product.

Indonesian nationalists had proclaimed independence two days after the Japanese surrender, beginning a war to liberate the East Indies from Dutch colonial rule. The Netherlands, only recently freed from German occupation, took over a year to send troops south in an attempt to crush the revolution. However, with the US granting independence to the Philippines (1946) and the British to India (1947), the colonial era in Asia was coming to an end and Dutch actions were internationally condemned.

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Notes

Yangtze River

Following the end of World War II, the Yangtze River was again opened to international trade and patrolled by foreign - in particular US and British - warships. This state of affairs ended in 1949 with the Communist takeover.

Main Events

26 Jun 1946 Chinese Civil War reopens ▲

The Chinese Nationalists attacked the Xuanhua Hotel region—the center of the Chinese Communist base in the North China Plain—on four fronts, marking the full-scale reopening of the Chinese Civil War after several periods of truce following the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Communists, already departing from the Xuanhua Hotel region, would break through this encirclement attempt and regroup by the end of August. in wikipedia

1 Jul–29 Nov 1946 Dutch return to Indonesia ▲

British and Australian occupation forces returned Indonesia to the Netherlands. in wikipedia

4 Jul 1946 Treaty of Manila ▲

United States granted the Philippines independence, effective 22 October 1946. in wikipedia

19 Dec 1946 Outbreak of First Indochina War ▲

Vietnamese Viet Minh forces detonated explosives in Hanoi, French Indochina, plunging the city into darkness. From here, the Viet Minh attacked French homes and military positions until a French counterattack was able to regain control of the city in February 1947. This battle marked the start of the First Indochina War. in wikipedia

3 Jun 1947 Mountbatten Plan ▲

Only three months after his arrival in March, the new Indian viceroy, Louis Mountbatten, announced at a press conference on 3 June 1947 that a partitioned India would become independent as the two new dominions of India and Pakistan on 15 August. Referendums would be held in the key provinces to determine whether they would join India or Pakistan, with the princely states also advised to choose one or the other. The announcement of partition led to outbreaks of violence in mixed Muslim-Hindi areas, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths and encouraging over 14 million people to migrate to places of religious majority. in wikipedia

21 Jul–4 Aug 1947 Operation Product ▲

The Netherlands conducted Operation Product, a major military offensive against the Republic of Indonesia, after the breakdown of negotiations between the Dutch and the Indonesian nationalists. The offensive recaptured large parts of Java and Sumatra, before international pressure on the Dutch led to a ceasefire. in wikipedia

1940s 1947 August August 4 Australia Bangladesh China Chinese Civil War Chinese Communists Chinese history Cold War France India Indochina Indonesia Japanese history Kuomintang maps Netherlands Pakistan Philippines Republic of Indonesia United Kingdom United States Viet Minh Vietnam

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