Operation 17 Agustus

Operation 17 Agustus
Part of PermestaPRRI rebellion
Date17 April – 24 May 1958
(1 month and 1 week)
Location
Result
  • Indonesian Government victory
  • PRRI was successfully crushed.
Belligerents
 Indonesia PRRI
Commanders and leaders
Sukarno
Lt Gen. A.H Nasution
Col. Ahmad Yani
Syafruddin Prawiranegara
Assaat Dt. Mudo
Col. Maludin Simbolon
Lt.Col. Ahmad Husein
Strength
6,500 Indonesian army, navy, air force personnel Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown +- 500 Soldiers surrendered

Operation 17 Agustus (Indonesian: Operasi 17 Agustus) was a military operation led by Colonel Ahmad Yani which aimed to crush the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI) movement in West Sumatra, specifically in Padang. This military operation is a joint operation involving the Indonesian Navy, Army and Air Force. "August 17" refers to the password used by Colonel Ahmad Yani.

The deployment of military force to crush PRRI's power was the largest ever recorded in Indonesian military history For three years, there was a civil war between the central army and PRRI troops which resulted in many PRRI casualties. The number of victims resulting from the short PRRI conflict was far greater than the victims of the war with the Dutch during the independence revolution. Apart from that, many were not involved in PRRI but were victims of violence such as torture, robbery, and rape.