Sudirman
Sudirman (24 January 1916 – 29 January 1950) was an Indonesian military commander who served as the first Panglima Besar (Commander-in-Chief) of the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI), leading the armed struggle against Dutch reoccupation during the Indonesian National Revolution from 1945 until the recognition of sovereignty in 1949.[1] Born in Purbalingga, Central Java, to modest origins, he transitioned from a teaching career and involvement in local defense militias under Japanese occupation to national military leadership, earning his position through decisive victories such as the Battle of Ambarawa against Allied and Dutch forces.[2][1] Despite advanced tuberculosis that required the surgical removal of a lung and confined him to a stretcher for much of the conflict, Sudirman orchestrated prolonged guerrilla campaigns across Java, personally traversing over 1,000 kilometers through rugged terrain to maintain troop morale and evade Dutch encirclement.[1] His insistence on uncompromising resistance, even as civilian leaders pursued diplomatic agreements like the Linggajati and Renville accords, underscored a strategy rooted in total military defiance that prolonged the revolution and contributed causally to the Dutch withdrawal, cementing his legacy as a symbol of sacrificial patriotism.[3]