Hein ter Poorten
| Hein ter Poorten | |
|---|---|
Hein ter Poorten in c. 1939–1942
|
|
| Born |
21 November 1887 Buitenzorg, Dutch East Indies |
| Died | 15 January 1968 (aged 80) The Hague, Netherlands |
| Allegiance |
 Netherlands
|
| Service/branch | Royal Netherlands East Indies Army |
| Years of service | 1908–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant general |
| Commands held | American-British-Dutch-Australian Command |
| Battles/wars | Dutch East Indies campaign |
| Spouse(s) |
Agneta C. Roqué (m. 1912–25) Anna Maria Bergman (m. 1934) |
Hein ter Poorten (21 November 1887 – 15 January 1968) was a Dutch military officer. He was the commander of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in World War II. Ter Poorten was also Allied land forces commander in the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command on Java during early 1942.
Hein ter Poorten was born on 21 November 1887 in Buitenzorg (now Bogor) on Java, which was at the time part of the Dutch East Indies. He was the son of Franciscus Hendricus ter Poorten, a chief mate in the Government Navy, and of Clasina Ambrosina Kater.
After having been sworn in as an artillery officer in 1911, he helped to found the army air force, and in 1919 began a course at the Hogere Krijgsschool staff college in the Netherlands. He was made a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau with swords for his part in the development of military aviation in 1911.
He steadily rose up the ranks upon his return to the East Indies, and by July 1939 was the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger or KNIL) Chief of the General Staff. Lieutenant General Gerardus Johannes Berenschot's death in a flying accident in October 1941 saw Ter Poorten, by now also a lieutenant general, promoted to Commander in Chief of the KNIL.
Ter Poorten was regarded by his contemporaries in the army as a skilled commander with a firm understanding of military affairs in the East Indies, and thus was able to get on well with his subordinates and fellow officers; his relations with the civilian administration were less successful.
In January 1942, following the outbreak of war with Japan, Ter Poorten was appointed commander of land forces in the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, a short-lived unified command of all Allied forces in South East Asia.
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