His guerrilla campaign has been credited with developing the army's esprit de corps, and the 100-kilometre (62 mi) long route he took must be followed by Indonesian cadets before graduation.

[1][4][5] Sudirman was raised with stories of heroic deeds and taught the etiquette and ways of the priyayi, or noble caste,[6] as well as the work ethic and simplicity of the wong cilik, or commoners.

[23] In 1936 he returned to Cilacap to teach at a Muhammadiyah-run elementary school, having been trained by his teachers at Wirotomo; that year he married Alfiah, a former schoolmate and the daughter of the rich batik merchant Raden Sastroatmojo.

In response, the Dutch colonial government – which had previously limited military training for native Indonesians – began teaching the populace how to deal with air raids.

This brought drastic changes in the governance of the archipelago and reduced the quality of life for non-Japanese in the Indies, many of whom suffered from widespread human rights violations at the hands of the Japanese.

Sudirman and his men were soon sent to a camp in Bogor, ostensibly for training; however, they were tasked with hard labour as a way to prevent a further uprising, and rumours circulated that the PETA officers would be killed.

After ordering the others to their hometowns, Sudirman made his way to Jakarta and met with President Sukarno, who asked him to lead resistance against Japanese forces in the city.

[49] In late August,[k] Sukarno established the People's Safety Bureau (Badan Keamanan Rakjat, or BKR), which united troops from the former PETA, Heiho, and KNIL.

[56] As the decreed Commander of the Armed Forces, Soeprijadi, failed to come forward,[l] chief of staff Lieutenant General Oerip Soemohardjo served as an interim leader.

[57] That October British-led forces, tasked with disarming Japanese troops and repatriating Dutch prisoners of war, arrived in Semarang, then made their way south to Magelang.

[59] On 12 November 1945, at the first general meeting of Army leadership, Sudirman was elected Commander of the Armed Forces (Panglima Besar) following two deadlocked votes.

[68] While waiting for his appointment to be confirmed, in late November Sudirman ordered the Fifth Division to attack Allied forces stationed in Ambarawa, once again with Isdiman in charge; the city was considered strategically important owing to its military barracks and training facilities dating from the colonial period.

On 21 July 1947 the Dutch forces – which had occupied areas left by the British during their withdrawal – launched Operation Product, and quickly gained control of large swaths of Java and Sumatra; the national government in Yogyakarta remained untouched.

[106] Shortly afterwards, Sjarifuddin was ousted in a vote of no confidence for his involvement in the Renville Agreement, and the new prime minister, Mohammad Hatta, worked to implement the rationalisation programme.

They agreed that guerrilla warfare, which had been applied on raids into Dutch-held territory since May, would be best suited for their needs; towards this goal, Sudirman issued a general order on 11 November,[112][113] with Nasution handling most of the preparations.

[116] Two days later, after a nighttime announcement that they were no longer bound by the Renville Agreement, on 19 December the Dutch launched Operation Kraai, an attempt to capture the capital at Yogyakarta.

After several days in Kretek, during which time Sudirman sent undercover troops into the Dutch-occupied city for reconnaissance and to ask his wife for jewellery to sell and help fund the guerrilla movement, he and his group travelled east along the south coast to Wonogiri.

Told that his men were right to guard their areas diligently, Fanani called a post in Kediri and ordered that a car be sent to pick up the general and his troops.

[125][127][128] Kesser was ordered to head south with a large company of soldiers, remove the clothes, and furtively return north, while Sudirman waited in Karangnongko.

Feeling weaker because of the physical hardships he had faced, including malnutrition, and believing the area to be safe, Sudirman decided that Sobo would serve as his guerrilla headquarters.

[53][132] Sudirman ordered Hutagalung to begin planning a full-scale assault, in which TNI soldiers – in uniform – would attack the Dutch and show their strength in front of foreign reporters and United Nations investigative teams.

Hutagalung, together with officers under his commander Colonel Bambang Sugeng and government officials under Governor Wongsonegoro, spent several days discussing ways to ensure the attack could be successful.

Troops under Lieutenant Colonel Suharto retook Yogyakarta for six hours before withdrawing, a successful show of force which caused the Dutch to lose face internationally; they had previously declared the TNI eradicated.

[136][137] The reporter Rosihan Anwar, who was present when the letter was delivered, wrote in 1973 that "Sudirman had to return to Yogyakarta to avoid any perceptions of a rift among the republic's top leaders".

[aa][145] Colonel Paku Alam VIII, in charge of the Yogyakarta area, told the national news agency Antara that all Indonesians, especially the armed forces, had "lost a father figure who did uncountable deeds for his country".

[53] However, Hamengkubuwana IX noted that KNIL trained soldiers such as Abdul Haris Nasution and Tahi Bonar Simatupang were disappointed in Sudirman because of his background and poor knowledge of military techniques.

Sardiman, a professor of history at Yogyakarta State University, writes that Sudirman was as lively a speaker as Sukarno, who was known for his fiery speeches,[153] and a devoted, incorruptible leader.

[154] The Indonesian historian and former Minister of Education and Culture Nugroho Notosusanto described Sudirman as "his only idol", citing the general's guerrilla period as the origin of the army's esprit de corps.

[155] The general's guerrilla campaign is emphasised in biographies of him because, during that period, the army had a greater role than the exiled political leadership;[155] beginning in the 1970s, all military cadets had to retrace the 100-kilometre (62 mi) long route prior to graduation, a "pilgrimage" meant to instill a sense of struggle.

[af][166] He featured as a major character in several war films, including Janur Kuning (Yellow Coconut Leaf; 1979) and Serangan Fajar (Dawn Attack; 1982).