The Van Mook Line, also known as the Status Quo Line, named after Hubertus van Mook was an artificial boundary which separated Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 and the Republic of Indonesia on Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

 during the Indonesian National Revolution

Indonesian National Revolution

The Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Indonesia and the Dutch Empire, and an internal social revolution...

. It was established following the Renville Agreement

Renville Agreement

The Renville Agreement was a United Nations Security Council brokered political accord between the Netherlands who were seeking to re-establish their colony in South East Asia, and Indonesian Republicans seeking to secure Indonesian independence during the Indonesian National Revolution...

 in January 1948 which ended the first Dutch police action

Politionele acties

"Politionele Acties" refers to two major military offensives undertaken by the Netherlands on Java and Sumatra against the Republic of Indonesia during its struggle for independence in the Indonesian National Revolution...

 Operatie Product

Operatie Product

Operatie Product, was the first of two major Dutch military offensives against the Republic of Indonesia during the Indonesian National Revolution. It took place following Dutch assertions that Indonesia cooperated insufficiently in the implementation of the Linggadjati Agreement, which had been...

.

The line was surrounded by a no man's land

No man's land

No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...

 which covered an area about 10–15 km wide. In late 1948, the Republic's military violated the armistice by infiltrating guerilla forces into Dutch-occupied ares. This prompted the Dutch to launch a second full-scale offensive known as Operatie Kraai

Operatie Kraai

Operatie Kraai was the code name for a Dutch military offensive against the newly formed Republic of Indonesia in December 1948 - January 1949...

in December 1948.