TheBattle of Medan, known locally as theBattle for the Medan Area (Indonesian:Pertempuran Medan Area) took place betweenAllied forces and theIndonesian Army inMedan,North Sumatra, and its surrounding area during theIndonesian National Revolution.^[1]

Battle of Medan Battle for the Medan Area
Part of theIndonesian National Revolution
Plaque commemorating those killed in the clashes following the incident that led to the Battle of Medan[a]
Date 13 October 1945 – April 1946 (6 months) Location Medan,North Sumatra,Indonesia Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Indonesia	United Kingdom  British Raj  Netherlands  Dutch East Indies
Commanders and leaders
Achmad Tahir	T.E.D. Kelly
Units involved
Indonesian Army	British Army KNIL NICA

As theSecond World War neared its end, theAllies agreed that post-war, theDutch East Indies would come under the authority of theSouth East Asia Command headed by BritishAdmiralLord Louis Mountbatten. Following thesurrender of Japan, British troops began landing in Sumatra and Java to release prisoners-of-war, repatriate Japanese troops and maintain law and order pending the return of the Dutch colonial authorities.^[2]

Meanwhile, on 17 August 1945,Sukarnoproclaimed Indonesia independence in Jakarta, and appointedMuhammad Hasan as governor of Sumatra. However, news of the proclamation was only announced by Hasan in Medan on 30 September.^[3] Anticolonial protests by the locals were soon held.^[4] The Allies, who had just liberated Indonesia from itsJapanese occupation, arrived at thePort of Belawan on 9 October and proceeded to centralMedan under the leadership of Brigadier-General Theodore Edward Dudley Kelly,^[5] with the intention of reestablishingDutch rule over the islands. Kelly also claimed a mission to evacuate Japanese detainess around Medan and the surrounding areas.^[6] Allied troops from theBritish Raj and the Netherlands were soon joined by theNetherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA), in preparation for a Dutch takeover. This angered many local Indonesians, who saw this as an attack on their country's new sovereignty.

On 13 October 1945, one of the Dutch officials following the British to the city centre stole a teenage boy's red-and-white (theflag of Indonesia's colours) badge just outside the Medan Hotel, located at Bali Road, and trampled on it. This sparked violent clashes, which turned into a battle. Similarly inBerastagi, a town several kilometres away, several British soldiers lowered the flag of Indonesia outside a government building, and the ensuing clashes killed them.^[6] TheIndonesian Army launched attacks against troops from the Allies and the NICA in an effort to seize government buildings formerly occupied by the Japanese. The British delegation issued an ultimatum to the Indonesian people to disarm and hand over their weapons to the Allies, which was promptly ignored.

On 1 December 1945, the Allies attempted to create abuffer zone and planted signs inscribed with the message "Fixed Medan Area Boundaries"^[b] in the outskirts of Medan. Nine days later, on 10 December 1945, the Allies and the NICA launched a massive attack against Indonesian troops stationed in Medan. The attack caused many casualties on both sides.^{[citation needed]} Kelly then handed control of the areas outside Medan to the Japanese generalMoritake Tanabe, while Medan was still under Allied control. While succeeding in making some Japanese soldiers flee, others resisted, leading to a four-day clash that killed around 3,000 locals and 250 Japanese.^[6] Violence in Medan continued until April 1946, when the Allies succeeded in occupying the city, and Indonesian forces retreated toPematangsiantar.^{[citation needed]} Gradually, the Dutch took over the entirety of Medan until the end of their rule in Indonesia in 1949, and the British withdrew.^[6]

Indonesia's local government established thePeople's Army Commando Regiment of Medan in order to continue their resistance against the Allies. Commander Initerus led troops in an insurgency against the Allies in Medan until 1949. Meanwhile on 30 July 1946, Kelly was promoted tosubstantive colonel, and on 1 August, he was awardedCommander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.).^[6]

• Biro Dejarah Prima, ed. (1976).Medan Area Mengisi Proklamasi, Jilid I (in Indonesian). Medan, Indonesia: Percetakan Waspada/PRIMA.
• Kahin, George McTurnan (1961) [1952].Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia. Ithaca, New York:Cornell University Press.
• Palmer, Robert (9 November 2021)."A Concise Biography of: T.E.D. Kelly"(PDF). Assisted by Stephen Heal. British Military History.Archived(PDF) from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved18 May 2024.
• Raliby, Osman (1953).Documenta Historica: Sedjarah Dokumenter Dari Pertumbuhan dan Perdjuangan Negara Republik Indonesia [Historical Documentation: Documentary History of the Growth and Struggle of the Republic of Indonesia] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Bulain-Bintag.
• Reid, Anthony (1971)."The Birth of the Republic in Sumatra"(PDF).Indonesia.12 (Oct):21–46.doi:10.2307/3350656.JSTOR 3350656.
• Reid, Anthony (2014),The Blood of the People: Revolution & the End of Traditional Rule in Northern Sumatra, Singapore: NUS Press,ISBN 978-9971-69-637-5
• Ricklefs, M.C. (2008) [1981].A History of Modern Indonesia Since c.1300 (4th ed.). London:MacMillan.ISBN 978-0-230-54685-1.
• Said, H. Mohammed (April 1973)."What was the Social Revolution of 1946 in East Sumatra"(PDF).Indonesia.15 (15). Cornell University: Indonesia Southeast Asia Program Publications:145–186.doi:10.2307/3350795.hdl:1813/53556.JSTOR 3350795.