Gerardus Johannes Berenschot

Who was Gerardus Johannes Berenschot?

Lieutenant General Gerardus Johannes Berenschot was an Indo born in the Dutch East Indies. Berenschot was the son of Gerrit Hendrik Berenschot, a Dutch officer in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, and Florence Mildred Rappa. He was sent to the Netherlands at the age of 15, where he attended a cadet school at Alkmaar. He later entered the Royal Military College, from which he graduated first in his class. He was the only commander of Indian descent in the Dutch East Indies.

Upon graduation, he returned to his native East Indies where he distinguished himself as a young subaltern serving in the KNIL during the bloody campaigns in Aceh.

In 1934 he became the KNIL's Chief of the General Staff, and in July 1939 was replaced by Hein ter Poorten upon his promotion to Commander-in-Chief.

An extremely gifted officer with phenomenal organisational skills, Berenschot was perhaps the best Commander-in-Chief the KNIL ever knew. Not only was he well trained in the arts of warfare, but he also displayed an impressive understanding of politics and diplomacy.