Attack on Selarong

Attacks on Selarong (1825)
Part of Java War
Date 25 July – 4 November 1825 Location Selarong Cave [id] Result Javanese victory
Belligerents
Netherlands	Javanese rebel
Commanders and leaders
Captain Bouwes Major Sellwinj Lt.Col Aachenbac	Diponegoro
Strength
Thousands	Hundreds
Casualties and losses
215 surrendered Hundreds were killed.	Few troops were killed

Attacks on Selarong was a series of Dutch military expeditions to storm Diponegoro's primary base at Selarong Cave. The expedition was divided into three phases. All of the expeditions resulted in Dutch failure and showed the ineffective pressures on Siege of Yogyakarta

Background

After Diponegoro's main base at Tegalreja burned, Diponegoro was prepared and established a new base at Cave Selarong. Diponegoro always used this base to plan strategies against the Dutch. This base also produced weapons including mortars, which were useless for fighting in Selarong Cave. After the Dutch learned the location of the cave, they prepared an expedition to the cave.^[1][2]

Expedition

The first expeditions were led by Captain Bouwes on 25 July 1825. When the Bouwes forces came into the cave, they did not find Diponegoro and his families. After they retreated, the Diponegoro force and the Javanese forces deployed guerilla attacks on the Bouwes forces. Bouwes and his forces attacked the Diponegoro forces with mortars and rifles, but it wasn't effective because the 215 Dutch soldiers surrendered and Bouwes with his remaining troops retreated.^[3]

The second and third expeditions were led by Maj. Sellwinj and Lt. Colonel Achenbac; the expedition occurred on 4 November 1825. The expedition ended in failure when Dutch infantry attacked Diponegoro and his family; the prince and his family disappeared and in the rear of Dutch flanks, the Javanese forces attacked, causing heavy casualties to Dutch.^[4]

Aftermath

The expedition ended in failure for the Dutch, and when the Dutch attacked Cave Selarong, Diponegoro relocated to his primary base on Dekso. The British historian Peter Carey said, "The failure of this expedition proved ineffective Dutch pressures on te siee of Yogyakarta which remained under siege until 20 September 1825".^[5]

References

1. Widya, Lestari Ningsih (2022-04-04). "Gua Selarong, Persembunyian Pangeran Diponegoro". kompas.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2025-03-16.
2. Ruslan (2018-08-08). "Gua Selarong-Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya Provinsi Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta". kemdikbud.go.id. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
3. Yohanes, Demo (2022-09-29). "Mengenal Gua Selarong, Tempat Pangeran Diponegoro Atur Siasat Hadapi Kelicikan Serdadu Belanda". nasional.okezone.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2025-03-16.
4. Trisna, Purwoko (2021-08-22). "Legenda Gua Selarong Tempat Persembunyian Pangeran Diponegoro Melawan Belanda". yogya.inews.id. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
5. Peter, Carey (2007). The Power of Prophecy: Prince Dipanagara and the End of an Old Order in Java, 1785-1855. Brill. p. 641. ISBN 9789067183031.