General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Simon Hendrik Spoor (; 12 January 1902 – 25 May 1949) was the

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

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 ...

and the

Royal Dutch Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutch ...

in 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 ...

, from 1946 to 1949, during the

Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during Aftermath of WWII, postw ...

Career

Spoor was educated at a secondary school in The Hague, the cadet school in

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...

and the Royal Military Academy in

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

. In 1923 he was appointed as second lieutenant of infantry and was seconded to the

from 1924 in Dutch Borneo. From 1929 to 1932 he studied at the Higher War College 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 ...

. After having served in the General Staff in

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

for two years, in 1934 he took a position as teacher of strategy and tactics at the Royal Military Academy in

. In 1938, Spoor returned to the Dutch East Indies, as Head of the Political Affairs Department of the General Staff and the Higher War College in Bandung. He taught

Laws of war The law of war is the component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (''jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of warring parties (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territor ...

and East Indies

Martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

. He was also an employee of the military 'Javabode'.

World War II

In March 1942 Spoor belonged to the select group of senior officials and military staff who after the capitulation of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army high command in Java to the

Japanese Imperial Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

emigrated to Australia. He was charged with building the Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS). He became a staff member to the American General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

during the

New Guinea campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 Jan ...

and was also present at the invasion with General MacArthur.

Indonesian National Revolution

By Royal Decree of 19 January 1946, the then 44-year-old Colonel Spoor was appointed army commander in the Dutch East Indies with the temporary rank of lieutenant general. On 31 January, he took over the command of Lieutenant General L H van Oyen. In March 1946 Major General D C Buurman van Vreeden, as well as Spoor former staff officer of the KNIL, were assigned to him as

, Major

Julius Tahija Julius Tahija (13 July 1916 – 30 July 2002) was an Indonesian businessman, politician and soldier. He was a recipient of the Military Order of William for his actions in the Dutch East Indies campaign while serving in the Royal Netherlands Eas ...

became his personal

Adjudant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commissioned ...

. Operationally the army commander functioned in the Dutch East Indies, until autumn 1946, under the Allied

South-East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War. History Organisation The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir A ...

(SEAC) (under

Mountbatten The Mountbatten family is a British dynasty that originated as an English branch of the German princely Battenberg family. The name was adopted on 14 July 1917, three days before the British royal family changed its name to “Windsor”, by ...

), such that only small numbers of Dutch troops were allowed in Java. From September 1946 the integration of the Dutch troops coming from 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 ...

into the

KNIL 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 ...

troops required a large and cumbersome organization. He led the two large Dutch military offensives ( nl,

Politionele acties ' ( en, police actions) refers to two major military offensives undertaken by the Netherlands on Java and Sumatra against the Republic of Indonesia during its struggle for independence in the Indonesian National Revolution. In Indonesia they ar ...

) into Java against Indonesian Republican positions;

Operation Product Operation Product was a Dutch military offensive against areas of Java and Sumatra controlled by the Republic of Indonesia during the Indonesian National Revolution.Vickers (2005), p. 99 It took place between 21 July and 4 August 1947. Referr ...

and

Operation Kraai Operation Kraai (Operation Crow) was a Dutch military offensive against the ''de facto'' Republic of Indonesia in December 1948 after negotiations failed. With the advantage of surprise the Dutch managed to capture the Indonesian Republic's t ...

Death

General Spoor died unexpectedly on 25 May 1949. He was buried on 28 May 1949 in the Ereveld Menteng Pulo Dutch Cemetery in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, among 'his men'. Some critics say he was poisoned, the Dutch historian Jaap de Moor explains in his biography about General Spoor that he was just an 'overworked man'.

Ranks

*31 July 1923: 2nd Lieutenant *31 July 1926: 1st Lieutenant *23 November 1934: Captain *27 May 1943: Major *10 January 1944: Lieutenant-Colonel *17 February 1945: Colonel *19 January 1946: Major General (temporary Gen.-Maj., also Army Commander) *2 September 1946: Lieutenant General *23 May 1949: General

Awards and decorations

* Commander of the

Military William Order The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William (Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Oran ...

(posthumously, June 1949) * Knight of the

Order of the Dutch 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 ...

* 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 ...

with Swords *

Bronze Lion The Bronze Lion ( nl, Bronzen Leeuw) is a high Royal Dutch award, intended for servicemen who have shown extreme bravery and leadership in battle favouring The Netherlands; in some special cases it can be awarded to Dutch or foreign civilians. It ...

Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

in bronze (United States) * Officer's Cross * Mobilization Cross 1914–1918 *

War Commemorative Cross The War Commemorative Cross ( nl, Oorlogsherinneringskruis) is a Orders, decorations, and medals of the Netherlands, military award of the Netherlands. The medal was established to commemorate service to the Kingdom of the Netherlands during World ...

with Dutch East Indies 1941–1942 clasp *

Decoration for Order and Peace The Decoration for Order and Peace ( nl, Ereteken voor Orde en Vrede) is a military award of the Netherlands. The medal was established on 12 December 1947 by royal decree of Queen Wilhelmina. The medal commemorates at least three months of servic ...

with clasps for 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, and 1949 In April 2009, his widow, Mans Spoor-Dijkema, gave Spoor's medals to

Bronbeek Bronbeek is a former Royal palace in Arnhem, Netherlands. It is now a museum and a home for elderly soldiers. Bronbeek was built early in the 19th century. In 1845 the Dutch King William III bought it. He donated it to the Dutch state in 1859 ...

museum where his uniform was already exhibited.

References

* Generaal Spoor: Triomf en tragiek van een legercommandant, J.A. de Moor, Boom, Amsterdam,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spoor, Simon 1902 births 1949 deaths Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Graduates of the Koninklijke Militaire Academie Knights Commander of the Military Order of William Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Military personnel from Amsterdam Dutch people of the Indonesian National Revolution Recipients of the Bronze Lion Recipients of the Medal of Freedom Royal Netherlands East Indies Army generals