Kozakkenposten (Dutch for “Cossack posts”) was the term used by Lieutenant-general Van Swieten in his note of 22 April 22 April 1874 to designate the small mobile posts that he proposed to establish in the immediate neighbourhood of Kota Radja as part of his active-defence policy for the Dutch hoofd-stelling. The kozakkenposten were to be sent out unceasingly, in the form of patrols, together with the offering of premiums for the laying down of armed Atjehers and the levelling of enemy fortifications near Kota Radja, in order to keep the enemy at a distance from the hoofd-stelling and to give early warning of his movements.
The Note of 22 April 1874
In his note of 22 April 22 April 1874 to his successor Colonel Pel, Van Swieten laid down his policy for the further conduct of the war. He wished the defence of Kota Radja itself to be made as active as possible:
“by the unceasing sending out of patrols, the establishment of kozakkenposten, the offering of premiums for the laying down of armed Atjehers and the levelling of enemy fortifications in the neighbourhood of Kota Radja. Apart from the foregoing, the defence must remain passive, that is, one must not seek the enemy in his well-built and defended positions, as long as they do not hinder us. His offensive strength is not great and will gradually diminish.”
The kozakkenposten were thus one of the elements of Van Swieten’s system of active defence of the hoofd-stelling, combined with passive defence elsewhere. The system was not, however, sufficient to bring the war to an end; as General Pel observed in his note of 30 April 30 April 1875, the enemy’s resistance had been far more stubborn than Van Swieten had imagined, and the war had to be carried into the enemy’s own country.
See Also
- J. van Swieten
- J. L. J. H. Pel
- Concentratie-linie
- Westerlinie
- Noorderlinie
- Zuidoosterlinie
- Noordoosterlinie
- Kota Radja
- Aceh War
Source
De geschiedenis van Nederland in onzen tijd, by J. A. de Bruyne, Directeur der Hoogere Burgerschool te Zierikzee. Deel IV. 1872-1883. Nieuwe uitgave. Schiedam: J. F. Dupont, 1912, Hoofdstuk I, p. 31.