Hein ter Poorten (21 November 1887 – 15 January 1968) was a Dutch

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

. He was the commander of the

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Ter Poorten was also

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

land forces commander in the

American-British-Dutch-Australian Command The American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allies of World War II, Allied forces in South East Asia in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II. The command consists of ...

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

during early 1942.

Early life

Hein ter Poorten was born on 21 November 1887 in Buitenzorg (now

Bogor Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

, which was at the time part of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. He was the son of Franciscus Hendricus ter Poorten, a

chief mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...

in the

Government Navy The Government Navy (''Gouvernementsmarine'' in Dutch or GM) was a Dutch naval force which stemmed from the Colonial Navy in the former Dutch East Indies. It existed from 1861 to 1949 and operated in a civil-administrative role alongside the Roy ...

, and of Clasina Ambrosina Kater. After having been sworn in as an artillery officer in 1911, he helped to found the army air force, and in 1919 began a course at the Hogere Krijgsschool staff college in 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 ...

. He was invested as a Knight 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 ...

with swords for his part in the development of military aviation in 1911.

World War II

He steadily rose up the ranks upon his return to the East Indies, and by July 1939, was the

Royal Netherlands Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. Th ...

(KNIL) chief of the general staff. Lieutenant General Gerardus Johannes Berenschot's death in a flying accident in October 1941 saw Ter Poorten, by now also a lieutenant general, promoted to commander in chief of the KNIL. Ter Poorten was regarded by his contemporaries in the army as a skilled commander with a firm understanding of military affairs in the East Indies, and thus was able to get on well with his subordinates and fellow officers; his relations with the civilian administration were less successful. In January 1942, following the outbreak of war with

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, Ter Poorten was appointed commander of land forces in the

, a short-lived unified command of all Allied forces in South East Asia. By March, Ter Poorten became the de facto head of all Allied forces on Java, following rapid Japanese advances and the break-up of ABDACOM. It was left to him to unconditionally surrender the island to the Japanese on 8 March 1942. Ter Poorten had no authority to sign the surrender and did not initially do so. After threats and under pressure of reprisals, Ter Poorten was forced to read a statement on the radio about an unconditional capitulation. Van Mook had already been appointed Lieutenant Governor General on 1 January 1942 by the government in exile in London. In this position he was the deputy of Governor General Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer. on 8 March 1942, the Dutch East Indies government in exile was already in Brisbane. Australia gave from Mook authority on those areas still unoccupied by the Japanese. Ter Poorten spent the rest of the war in various prisoner of war camps.

After the war

After his liberation in August 1945, Ter Poorten moved to the Netherlands. He requested his resignation as commander of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army and head of the Department of War in November 1945. His request was not granted right away, but he was eventually

honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

on 28 February 1946. Despite these honors, Ter Poorten believed that he was being

scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...

ed for the defeat in the Dutch East Indies. Ter Poorten died on 15 January 1968 in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, at the age of 80.

Military 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 ...

Officer of the

Medal for Long, Honest and Faithful Service * Legion Honneur Officier ribbon

Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

Royal Order of the Sword - Commander 1st Class BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poorten, Hein Ter 1887 births 1968 deaths People from Bogor Royal Netherlands East Indies Army generals Royal Netherlands East Indies Army officers Royal Netherlands East Indies Army personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Dutch prisoners of war in World War II Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Dutch people of the Dutch East Indies