Operation Kraai
| Operation Kraai | |||||||||
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| Part of the Police Actions of the Indonesian National Revolution | |||||||||
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| Indonesia | Netherlands | ||||||||
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| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
Operation Kraai (lit. 'Operation Crow') was a Dutch military offensive launched in December 1948 against the Republic of Indonesia, after the failure of negotiations with the Republican government. The operation was one of two major offensives launched by the Netherlands during the Indonesian National Revolution, the other being Operation Product, and they are collectively referred to as the Police Actions.
With the advantage of surprise, the Dutch managed to capture the Republic of Indonesia's provisional capital of Yogyakarta along with many of its leaders, including President Sukarno and Prime Minister Mohammad Hatta. The initial offensive was followed by months guerrilla warfare against the Dutch at the hands of the Indonesian Army led by General Sudirman. Combined with diplomatic pressure from the international world, this led to negotiations which resulted in the Roem–Van Roijen Agreement. The agreement was followed by the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference which saw Dutch recognition of Indonesian sovereignty and the establishment of the United States of Indonesia.
Operation Kraai is often referred to by the Dutch as the Second Police Action (Dutch: Tweede Politionele Actie), while the military offensive is more commonly known as the Second Dutch Military Aggression (Indonesian: Agresi Militer Belanda II) in Indonesian history books and military records.