Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Gerardus Johannes Berenschot (24 July 1887 – 13 October 1941) was Commander-in-Chief of the ''Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger'' (Royal Netherlands East Indies Army; KNIL). An

Indo Indo may refer to: * Indo-, a prefix indicating India or the Indian Subcontinent * Indonesia, a country in Asia ** INDO LINES, callsign of Indonesian Airlines ** Indo people, people of mixed European and Indonesian ancestry ** Indo cuisine, fusion ...

– as Eurasians of Indonesian and Dutch descent – Berenschot was the son of a Dutch officer in the KNIL. G. J. Berenschot was the son of Gerrit Hendrik Berenschot and Florence Mildred Rappa. At the age of 15, he was sent to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where he attended cadet school at Alkmaar. He later entered the Royal Military College, from which he graduated first in his class. He was the only commander of Indonesian descent (Indo) in the Dutch East Indies. Upon graduation, he returned to his native East Indies where he distinguished himself as a young subaltern serving in the KNIL during the bloody campaigns in Aceh. In 1934 he became the KNIL's Chief of the General Staff and, in July 1939, was promoted to Commander-in-Chief. Berenschot was regarded as a gifted officer with organisational skills and possibly the best Commander-in-Chief the KNIL ever had. Not only was he a skilled soldier, Berenschot also displayed an impressive understanding of politics and diplomacy. Following the fall of the Netherlands in 1940, Berenschot participated in conferences involving Allied leaders at Singapore, where he was well liked and well regarded by his British and US counterparts. On 13 October 1941, the plane carrying Bereschot back from a conference with British Air Chief Marshal

Robert Brooke-Popham Air Chief Marshal Sir Henry Robert Moore Brooke-Popham, (18 September 1878 – 20 October 1953) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. During the First World War he served in the Royal Flying Corps as a wing commander and senior staff o ...

crashed in the suburbs of

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

. There were no survivors. By order of the colonial authorities, all flags on public buildings were hung at half-mast. Berenschot's remains were buried in the cemetery at Bandung. Bereschot's post of Commander-in-Chief of the KNIL was given to Lieutenant General

Hein ter Poorten Hein ter Poorten (21 November 1887 – 15 January 1968) was a Dutch military officer. He was the commander of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in World War II. Ter Poorten was also Allied land forces commander in the American-British-Dutch- ...

, who had the difficult task of preparing the East Indies for the looming war with Japan. COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Begrafenis van generaal Berenschot op het Pandoe-kerkhof te Bandung TMnr 10001588

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Begrafenis van generaal Berenschot op het Pandoe-kerkhof te Bandung TMnr 10001588

Berenschot was married and with three children. His brother was Berend Willem Berenschot.

Awards and decorations

Order of the Netherlands Lion (Knight) - Ribbon bar

Knight of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

Order of Orange-Nassau ribbon - Commander

Commander of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

Baton, Ereteken voor Belangrijke Krijgsbedrijven

Expedition Cross The Expedition Cross ( nl, Expeditiekruis) officially known as the Cross for Important Military Operations ( nl, Ereteken voor Belangrijke Krijgsbedrijven) was a military decoration of Kingdom of the Netherlands. Created by royal decree on 19 Feb ...

with clasps "Atjeh 1906–1910" and "Atjeh 1911–1914" and "Honourable Mention" * Officierskruis baton

Medal for Long, Honest and Faithful Service

External links

Short biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berenschot, Gerardus Johannes 1887 births 1941 deaths People from Solok Royal Netherlands East Indies Army generals Royal Netherlands East Indies Army officers Royal Netherlands East Indies Army personnel of World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Indonesia Indo people Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1941