Fort Pendem Important Used.

Road to Fort Cilacap .

Fort with European style in the Peninsula it turned out to mimic the shape of Cilacap Rijnauwen fort , the largest fort in the Netherlands .
Cilacap , a small town in southern Java coast most of the area consists of the island of Nusa Kambangan veil as a fierce protector of the South Seas . Many experts argue that the best place to Cilacap defense system in southern Java . Then , on December 4, 1830 , the Dutch decided to set Nusa Kambangan heading into the small garrison on the island of Java . For the sake of it placed a lieutenant , two sergeants , two corporals Europeans plus two sergeants , two corporals , one drummer and drums as well as 53 soldiers armed with rifles .

Furthermore, on 29 November 1847 , the Governor General JJ Rochussen (1845-1851) decided that the opening of the port of Cilacap not solely for trade purposes only, but for the military and defense . Then in 1853 issued a decision to build a large castle with European style in Cilacap Peninsula . The fort is a replica in a smaller form of the Fortress Rijnauwen . Rijnauwen is the largest fort in the Netherlands ( ± 31 ha ) which was built about the same time that can accommodate 540 soldiers and 105 cannons .

The government then established the Dutch East Indies army artillery barracks that to 17 in Cilacap on February 15, 1855 . Also helped built watch towers on Mount Cimering , Nusa Kambangan in 1857 . This lookout is the only traces of history that I have not found in physical form in Nusa Kambangan .

Construction of the fort in Cilacap Peninsula is not running smoothly as expected .

The main obstacle is the cost increasing each year . At that time , the Dutch East Indies government also is handling the construction of the fort in some areas . All development suffer the same fate , halting.
After nearly 20 years in Cilacap fort still unfinished , eventually the officers and ministers of the colonies made ​​a deal to complete the construction of the fort . However , costs incurred to complete the construction should be reduced by reducing the complexity of defense systems approaching the mainland side . Finally in 1880 the fort was completed. Fort called by locals as the Citadel fortress Pendem - buried - because when viewed from the outside it looks just fort land without buildings on it . Meanwhile, according to the blueprints , Fort Pendem referred to as " op de Landtong Kustbatterij Tjilatjap te " or " Coastal Battery in Cilacap Peninsula " .
Pendem fort is part of the New Dutch Waterline defense system equipped with a 6 iron cannon size 24 cm, 16 bronze cannon size 12 cm, 14 cm size 8 small cannon, 4 mortars and 29 cm in size . With such combat equipment , Pendem Castle fort was named as one of the most modern heavy combat equipment in Indonesia at that time .
As per the concept adopted, the New Dutch Waterline, then a pentagon (polygon) on the castle refers to standards set by the Marquis Marc René de Montalembert
(1714-1800), the maestro of the New Fortification system . The polygon system is the second system of Montalembert that he designs in 1777 .

Fortress with pentagonal base plan consists of soldiers barracks, Haxo Casemate, tunnels , canals , spaces used for storage of ammunition , logistics , and health , as well as bunkers used for the benefit of World War II .In the period 1880-1890 the castle used in high intensity , but there is one big problem for the garrison stationed there . Natural Cilacap less friendly at the time. Swamp is located on the west side and north-west of the city into a nest of mosquitoes spreading malaria . Malaria became endemic disease that is almost evenly in Cilacap , especially in January, February , and December . Quinine is becoming preventive medicine is not yet popular at that time .

The opening of the train line between Yogyakarta and Cilacap in 1887 allows to send a garrison to a healthier location . So on that period in Cilacap garrison was evacuated . While the garrison evacuated , a small group of local soldiers settled to keep the fort . Garrison re- formed in Cilacap on 1 November 1904 which consisted of about 300 soldiers and eight officers .

In 1892 , a study of the defense system in Java to the conclusion that Java will be maintained by the troops based in the western part of the island . Several forts including Fort Pendem and Nusa Kambangan not have significant military value again and removed from the list in the defense system of the Dutch East Indies .
Fortress Pendem reappear in the background of the history of World War II , 40 years later . It all started with the fall of the Netherlands in the power of Germany in May 1940 . In the archipelago , the Dutch East Indies government prepares to face the war with Japan . Cilacap appear again become a place that is more important than ever before due to being the only port in Java, which can be easily reached from Australia .
Pendem the fort was used as a barracks after being left without a garrison and then re-occupied . Built bunker , cannon for coastal warfare and defense needs to dispel fighter with lights mounted viewfinder . Cannon also sent to Fort Karang Bolong .
On February 28, 1942 , the Japanese landed almost unopposed in three places on the north coast of Java . Cilacap port to be very busy . Many boats come and go . City becomes very crowded with refugees who want to escape to Australia . However , many ships were intercepted by the Japanese fleet operating on the south coast of Java .
Cilacap bombed three times by Japanese aircraft . Oil tank fired and burned . That event changed the port of Cilacap be like hell . Dutch leadership ordered to destroy and leave the harbor and coastal defense system . The battle ended before the first Japanese troops arrived . On March 9, 1942 , the Dutch East Indies government surrendered .
Now , the lake of fire at the Cilacap Peninsula lived the story . The situation in the Pendem Castle located adjacent to the Pertamina oil refinery complex is mostly empty . Fort occasionally enlivened by the student study trips . The rest fort visited by couples who simply pay the entrance fee of Rp 4,000 , - but free to do anything inside the castle . The absence of an integrated program to turn the castle make more pent Pendem Castle with its history .

Haxo Casemate : Is one type of curved space to put the gun and the shooter is widely adopted by the European system of fortifications in the 19th century . Inventor of this type is the French military officer , François - Nicolas - Benoit Haxo . Haxo Casemate is a classic type , equipped with a window for the cannon , and the arches are composed of solid brick and covered by a layer of soil . It is usually under - rampart - street patrol .

Thank you for reading this article.  Written and posted by Bambang Sunarno.
sunarnobambang86@gmail.com
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name: Bambang Sunarno.
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DatePublished: January 7, 2014 at 14:37
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Tag ; Benteng Pendem.