Netherlands inexorably used heavy weaponry in Indonesia (1945-1949), accepting civilian deaths

25-pounders of the Dutch artillery in Indonesia firing projectiles (1948). Photo: Service Army Contacts / Netherlands Institute for Military History That the Netherlands was guilty of using excessive force during the Indonesian War of Independence (1945-1949) is well known nowadays. But that Dutch forces used state-of-the-art weaponry is a forgotten chapter, military historian Azarja Harmanny says. He researched the Dutch usage of artillery and air forces. The use of very heavy weaponry proved to be deliberate and large-scale, and the fact that these weapons caused civilian deaths was accepted. Artillery and air forces. After World War II, the Republic of Indonesia was proclaimed, but the Netherlands did not accept the declaration of independence.