to both disease and enemy attacks. Unfortunately, Gerungan and 200 soldiers under him chose to head south. This would prove to be fatal for Gerungan as he joined the rebellion instigated by Abdul Kahar Muzakkar. In 1965, Gerungan was arrested, tried, and executed. Meanwhile, Operation Sapta Marga III successfully secured Sangihe and Talaud on 21 May 1958. Operation Sapta Marga IV is often called Operation Merdeka itself, because it was the largest operation that focused on the main base of Permesta in North Sulawesi. On 1 June 1958, a fleet departed Java for North Sulawesi. This fleet consisted of 17 navy ships and 10 ships from the government-controlled national shipping company PELNI and Djawatan Pelajaran (DJAPEL). The warships that participated in this fleet were the destroyer RI Gadjah Mada and the corvettes RI Hasanudin, RI Pattimura, and RI Pattiunus. In addition, there were troop transports RI Sawega and RI Baumasepe, and warships RI Baruna and RI Biscaya, and tankers RI Pladju and RI Tjepu. Six minesweepers were also part of the fleet. In terms of troops, the number of troops involved in this operation was 16 battalions. These battalions came from, among others, TT-II/Siliwangi, TT-IV/Diponegoro, TT-V/Brawijaya, and TT-XIV/Hasanuddin. The attack on North Sulawesi began on 13 June 1958, where two platoons of the Indonesian Army Commando Regiment (RPKAD or Resimen Para Komando Angkatan Darat) (now Kopassus) carried out landings and reconnaissance 12 kilometers north of Manado. Ironically, the idea for the formation of the RPKAD came from Kawilarang (and fellow officer Slamet Riyadi). Previously on 8 June 1958, Manado was bombarded by ALRI warships. Meanwhile the AURI attacked Mapanget airfield as well as Tomohon and Tondano on 11 and 13 June 1958. Then on 16 June 1958, a larger landing force consisting of one marine and two infantry battalions was made at Kema, which is about 30 kilometers southeast of Manado. The landings were supported by ALRI warships that were part of the Amphibious Task Force 25 (ATG-25) led by Lt. Col. John Lie, the commander of RI Gadjah Mada. Sumual had correctly anticipated that the landing would take place at Kema and led the defense there himself. However, he was injured when a mortar exploded nearby forcing him to retreat to Manado. The defense at Kema was quickly overcome by the landing TNI troops. In addition to heading to Manado, TNI troops also moved towards Bitung, which had a