Red Bridge

Jembatan Merah (Red Bridge) Surabaya

On October 30, 1945 in Jakarta there was a meeting among President Soekarno, Vice President Moh. Hatta, Information Minister Amir Syarifuddin, Governor Soerjo, Resident Soedirman with Mayjend. D.C. Hawthorn the headchief of the Ally forces.

The result of the meeting was a commission contact. It is hoped that this commission contact can make easy the relationship of the two sides.

It was also agreed that the firing weapons on the two sides would be stopped but the fact was that the firing went on.

At last, it was decided that the members of the commission contact would make an inspection. The place that was being visited was one of them around the red bridge.

There was the Internatio building on that area, which was the headquarter of the 49 Brigade command soldiers of England in Surabaya. Arek-arek Suroboyo soldiers were across the street around the red bridge.

Firing weapons was often happened on the two sides of that street. On October 30, 1945, the members of the commission contact tried to go to the Internatio building by cars. That place was declared by arek-arek Suroboyo to be emptied from the Ally forces that according to the agreement had to be drawn back to Tanjung Perak.

Among the members of the commission were Resident Soedirman, Doel Arnowo, T.D. Kundan, and Brigjend. Mallaby.

It was almost dark when that group went through the electrical trem stopping place, which was a few meters to the north of the red bridge across the Internatio building.

In that place, the car in which Brigjend Mallaby was on was exploded around 20.30 p.m. He then was found dead.

That killing incident was become one of the reasons for Mayjend. Mansergh, the person in charge for the Ally forces in East Java after Mallaby, to gave out an ultimatum on November 9, 1945. The ultimatum said that for Indonesian side in Surabaya that they had to surrender before 06.00 a.m. on November 10, 1945.

That ultimatum was rejected by the Indonesian side and at 06.00 a.m. on November 10, 1945, the British soldiers started to fire Surabaya city by warships, war planes and then the soldiers were moving from Tanjung Perak to the center of the city.

The Indonesian soldiers took a plan by moving back from the center of the city and continued the war from the other town.

Source: www.eastjavatourism.com