People / group

Defenders of the Homeland

1943–1945 · 20th century · Also known as Pembela Tanah Air

The Defenders of the Homeland, known as PETA, was a volunteer army of Indonesians raised by the Japanese occupiers in Java in October 1943 to help resist an Allied invasion. Its units revolted at Blitar in February 1945. Disbanded after the Japanese surrender, it provided many officers of the new Indonesian army, including Sudirman and Suharto.

Defenders of the Homeland
Image: Pembela Tanah Air, Vectorization: Jeromi Mikhael · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Defenders of the Homeland. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/defenders-of-the-homeland
MLA
“Defenders of the Homeland.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/defenders-of-the-homeland. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Defenders of the Homeland.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/defenders-of-the-homeland.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Defenders of the Homeland’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/defenders-of-the-homeland (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻