On the morning of November 1, 1946, thousands of Jakarta's citizens filled Manggarai Train Station, South Jakarta. They waited patiently for the train from Yogyakarta. Upon the train's arrival, cries of slogans of independence echoed throughout the station.

This was no ordinary train. One passenger was commander-in-chief of the Indonesian Army, General Sudirman. He was accompanied by dozens of escorts made up of cadets from the Military Academy, Mil