Date of birth:

July 8th, 1915 (Rotterdam/South Holland, Netherlands)

Date of death:

April 8th, 1949 (Keluang/Sumatra, Dutch Indies)

Buried on:

Dutch War Cemetery Pandu
Plot: V. Grave: 293.

Nationality:

Dutch

Maj. 5-3 R.I.

Frans was born on 8 July 1915 in Rotterdam. He lived with his wife Joanna Soesbergen in Breda, where he worked as a branch manager.

After the end of the Second World War, Frans was sent to the Dutch East Indies to restore peace and Dutch authority due to the outbreak of violence during the Indonesian struggle for independence. He was assigned to the 5-3 Infantry Regiment, which was established in Bergen op Zoom in October 1947 and departed for the East on the Sloterdijk in early December 1947. Frans eventually attained the rank of major, making him a senior officer in his unit. The battalion was deployed to maintain order in the troubled South Sumatra. After arriving in Palembang, the battalion was trained by KNIL units with the aim of eventually taking over their posts in and around Palembang.

On 19 December 1948, the Second Police Action began. Ten days later, Frans' battalion advanced from Kararingin through the interior to the oil fields of Mangoendjaja. In the days that followed, cleansing operations were carried out along the Moesi River to drive the revolutionary fighters out of the area. In the difficult and inhospitable terrain, frequent use was made of “standing patrols”: small groups that were stationed in remote locations for short periods of time and constantly changed. After the end of the Action on 5 January 1949, Frans' unit was divided and deployed in South Sumatra and Lampung.

Like the First Police Action in the summer of 1947, the Second Police Action was a tactical success, but the victory proved illusory. The Dutch troops were exhausted and had to secure a much larger area with minimal reinforcements. It also became apparent that the revolutionary fighters had avoided confrontation during the Action and were able to resume the struggle from the interior with unprecedented ferocity.

Against the backdrop of this renewed violence, Frans was killed on 8 April 1949 in Tjepetan, near Keloeang. Frans was 33 years old and found his final resting place in Bandung at the Dutch military cemetery Pandu.

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• Photo 1: Oorlogsgravenstichting
• Photo 2: Oorlogsgravenstichting
• - Franciscus Henri Marie Hazelzett | Oorlogsgravenstichting
  - Frans Hazelzet | Brabantse Gesneuvelden
  

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