Battle of Dili

The Indonesian invasion of Dili occurred on 7 December 1975 when Indonesian marines and paratroopers landed in the East Timorese capital of Dili. The attack was the start of a military operation which resulted in the Indonesian occupation of East Timor.

Invasion of Dili
Part of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor
Date 7 December 1975 Location Dili, East Timor Result Indonesian victory
Belligerents
Indonesia	East Timor
Commanders and leaders
Soeweno	Paulino Gama
Strength
Initial invasion ~1,000 4 warships Following weeks 10,000–20,000
Casualties and losses
57 killed	122 killed 365 captured

Battle

Indonesian navy vessels consisting of frigate KRI Ratulangi, corvette KRI Barakuda, destroyer escort KRI Martadinata and repair ship KRI Jaya Wijaya arrived off the coast of Dili around 02:00. Two Portuguese Navy frigate NRP Afonso de Albuquerque and corvette João Roby were also present, but the ships had covered its cannons and did not engage the Indonesians. On 03:00, city lights of Dili were turned off - which the Indonesian commander took as a sign that the ships had been discovered - and the ships shelled the city.^[1][2] The landing ship KRI Teluk Bone was also present, carrying several hundred Timorese partisans and regular Indonesian marines.^[3]

Around 04:30, 400 Indonesian marines landed in amphibious tanks and personnel carriers in Kampung Alor beach. They faced minimal resistance, and by 07:00 they had secured the surrounding areas.^[3]

The paratroopers consisted of 550 soldiers in ten Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft which took off from Iswahyudi Air Force Base in Madiun. They originated from Kopassus' (then Kopasandha) paratrooper command and Kostrad's 501th infantry battalion. The planes approached Dili from the east and began dropping soldiers on 05:45. One loadmaster was killed by FRETILIN fire, and 72 soldiers aborted the drop.^[4][5][6] The paratroopers was shot at before they reached ground, following orders from Gama, and was exposed to friendly fire from the marines.^[7]: 73

After the first sortie was dropped, the planes returned to Penfui airfield in Kupang, and a second sortie comprising five planes was launched. The second wave of paratroopers, however, proceeded to fire at Indonesian soldiers moving towards Dili airfield while the marines began also fired upon them. According to official reports, the friendly fire incident resulted in no fatalities.^[2]

Casualties and aftermath

Following the battle, the Indonesian casualty count was 35 killed from the first sortie, and another 22 from the second sortie. On the FRETILIN side, Indonesian forces reported 122 killed and 365 captured. Three days after the battle, the city of Baucau was similarly attacked and captured.^[2]

Many Indonesian commanders complained about the inaccurate and poor-quality intelligence provided.^[8] The commander of the airborne task force remarked that he was informed of the enemy being "the equivalent of hansip".^[4]

Due to the invasion, Portugal broke diplomatic relations with Indonesia on the same day.^[9]

References

1. "Provokasi Di Lepas Pantai Dili". indomiliter.com (in Indonesian). 18 May 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
2. . Angkasa (in Indonesian). February 1999. Archived from the original on 2008-02-20. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
3. CAVR (2010). Chega 1 (INDONESIA) (in Indonesian). Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia. ISBN 9789799102447. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
4. Hidayat, Faiq (8 December 2015). "Cerita di balik Operasi Seroja, ada buaya dan hansip tak nyata". Merdeka (in Indonesian). Retrieved 19 October 2018.
5. Fadillah, Ramadhian. "Pertempuran sengit & berdarah di Dili, Kopassus Vs Tropaz". Merdeka (in Indonesian). Retrieved 19 October 2018.
6. CAVR (2010). Chega 2 (INDONESIA) (in Indonesian). Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia. ISBN 9789799102454.
7. Weldemichael, Awet Tewelde (2013). Third World Colonialism and Strategies of Liberation: Eritrea and East Timor Compared. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107031234. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
8. Abdulsalam, Husein (7 December 2007). Ahsan, Ivan Aulia (ed.). "Upaya Indonesia Mencaplok Timor Lorosae lewat Operasi Seroja". tirto.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 19 October 2018.
9. Lawless, Robert (1976). "The Indonesian Takeover of East Timor". Asian Survey. 16 (10): 948–964. doi:10.2307/2643535. ISSN 0004-4687. JSTOR 2643535.