By: Prabowo Subianto [taken from the Book: Military Leadership Notes from Experience Chapter I]
Major Daan Mogot, First Lieutenant Subianto Djojohadikusumo, Cadet Sudjono Djojohadikusumo, two officers from the Military Police and 33 soldiers were killed in the Battle of Lengkong. My two uncles, Subianto and Sujono, were only 21 and 16 years old at the time. Daan Mogot was only 17 years old.
Despite his early death, Daan Mogot was an officer of the Indonesian Army (TRI) with many achievements. He founded the Tangerang Military Academy and became its first director at the age of 17.
From Daan Mogot and the Battle of Lengkong, I have learned an eternal lesson since my childhood. The lesson is that the values of patriotism, idealism and unconditional support for Indonesia’s red and white flag can begin from a young age.
In this section, I want to share my two uncles’ stories before telling the story about their compatriots. When I was a child, my grandfather Margono Djojohadikusumo often told me about his two sons – my uncles Subianto and Sujono.
After independence, Subianto and Sujono enlisted in the Army. One was appointed as an officer straight away. He was from the Faculty of Medicine, and as such, they gave him an officer position. The other joined the Tangerang Military Academy.
At the residence of my grandfather Pak Margono, at Jalan Taman Matraman No. 10, now called Jalan Taman Amir Hamzah, in Jakarta, Subianto and Sujono’s rooms were still well-kept as if they had just left. Their backpacks, helmets, boots were still in the room. Nothing was taken away. Every time I came there on Sundays, my grandfather had Subianto’s tent set up. Pak Margono told me to play in the tents, and he took me to their room. My grandparent used to show me, ‘This is their backpacks, this is their boots, this is their helmet, that’s their bed’.
My two uncles died in a battle against the Japanese army in Lengkong, South Tangerang, in 1946, along with their compatriot Daan Mogot, a Major who commanded the Tangerang Military Academy at the age of 17.
Elias Daniel Mogot, popularly known as Daan Mogot, was an officer of the Indonesian Republic Army (TRI) whose career was brilliant. He became a Major at the tender age of 16 after attending the training for the Japanese-organised volunteer army Defenders of the Homeland (PETA) two years prior.
Daan Mogot was born in Manado in 1928. He joined PETA forces during the Japanese occupation in 1942. At first, he was not qualified because he had yet to turn 18.
However, he was known to be clever during his military education, and he was promoted to the assistant instructor of PETA in Bali in 1943. After being appointed PETA officers, Daan Mogot, Zulkifli Lubis and Kemal Idris, along with several others, established a school to train would-be PETA members in Bali.
In 1944, Daan Mogot was stationed as a staff at the PETA Headquarters in Jakarta until the Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945. After the proclamation of Indonesian Independence, Daan Mogot joined the People’s Security Agency (BKR) and was awarded the rank of Major. He was only 16 years old then.
Armed with his experience as a PETA instructor in Bali, Daan Mogot and his fellow officers initiated the establishment of a military academy. The idea was taken seriously by the Army Headquarters (MBT) in Jakarta, and in November 1945, the Militaire Academie Tangerang (TMA) was established.
Due to his tenacity and success in the army, he became the first director of the Tangerang Military Academy (TMA). He was tasked with educating would-be Indonesian officers to participate in the War for Independence.
In late January 1946, the Dutch and KNIL forces occupied Parung, West Java, to disarm the defeated and surrendered Japanese army in Lengkong, Bandung. On January 25, 1946, the troops under Daan Mogot comprising 70 TMA cadets and eight Gurkha soldiers were deployed. The mission was to prevent the Japanese army’s weapons from falling into the hands of the Dutch army.
At around 4 p.m., the troops arrived at the Japanese base. The presence of Gurkha soldiers convinced the Japanese that they were of the TKR and Allied Forces. Major Daan Mogot and several soldiers went to see Captain Abe to explain their intention.
Meanwhile, outside the base, the cadets under First Lieutenant Subianto and First Lieutenant Soetopo, without waiting for the negotiations to conclude, immediately disarmed the Japanese army. They successfully collected the Japanese weapons. But suddenly, there was an explosion. It triggered panic among Japanese soldiers who believed they were being ambushed, so they began firing at the TMA cadets.
The TMA cadets reciprocated, but the TMA cadets were no match for the Japanese soldiers. The battle ended at dusk. The Japanese soldiers captured the surviving soldiers; some even managed to escape. Major Daan Mogot, First Lieutenant Subianto Djojohadikusumo, Cadet Sujono Djojohadikusumo, two officers from the Army Police, and 33 soldiers were killed in the shootout. Subianto was 21, and Sujono was only 16 at the time. This event is now known as the Battle of Lengkong.
