Lokop was a Dutch bivak of the 1ste Garnizoensbataljon — later of the Vde Divisie Maréchaussee — in the upper oostkust hinterland of Atjeh, in the afdeling Oostkust van Atjeh between Lho Seumawé and the central-Atjeh hoogvlakte. In the Dutch staff history’s account (Deel VI, Hoofdstuk V), Lokop is the oostkust bivak whose defensietaak — the beveiliging of the vernielingswerken of the olieterreinen — placed it in the operational chain of the Dutch central-Atjeh defence in March 1942.
Pre-war garrison
As of 1 January 1940, Lokop held four brigades of the 1ste Garnizoensbataljon. In the 1941 reorganisations the Lokop brigades were given a defensietaak: “de beveiliging der vernielingswerkzaamheden van de olieboor-terreinen in de omgeving van deze plaatsen” — Lokop, Lho Seumawé and Koeala Simpang. The Lokop brigades were not equipped with automatic weapons.
March 1942 reorganisation and transfer to Blangkedjeren
In February 1942 the Lokop and Lho Seumawé Infanterie detachments, “die eveneens met een defensietaak waren belast, zouden naar hun bivaks terugkeren” — that is, the Infanterie brigades were restored to Lokop and Lho Seumawé after a temporary reduction. The Maréchaussee brigades that had relieved them at Koeala Simpang “kregen eveneens een defensietaak.”
After the Japanese landings of 12 March 12 March, “het detachement Lokop voerde eerst door het terrein naar de weg, die van de kust naar deze plaats afboog, marcheerde en daarna in de richting van Blangkedjeren.” The Lokop brigades were eventually “naar Blangkedjeren verplaatst,” where they formed part of the consolidated Dutch force under Lt-Col Blogg and Captain Van Nues at the Blangkedjeren capitulation of 28 March 1942.
Significance
Lokop is, in the staff history’s Atjeh chapter, the oostkust bivak whose defensietaak — the beveiliging of the olieterreinen — placed it in the operational chain of the Dutch central-Atjeh defence. The staff history’s emphasis on the Lokop brigades’ transfer to Blangkedjeren in March 1942 frames Lokop as the staff history’s principal narrative instance of the Dutch oostkust defensietaak’s absorption into the central-Atjeh theatre — the bivak whose original mission (oil-installation defence) was superseded by the broader Dutch consolidation at Blangkedjeren.
See Also
- Nederlands-Indië contra Japan
- 1ste Garnizoensbataljon
- 5de (Vde) Divisie Marechaussee
- Lho Seumawé
- Koeala Simpang
- Blangkedjeren
- Sumatra capitulation (28 March 1942)
- 1942
Source
Nederlands-Indië contra Japan, Deel VI: De strijd op Ambon, Timor en Sumatra, bewerkt door C. van den Hoogenband en L. Schotborgh (‘s-Gravenhage: Staatsdrukkerij- en Uitgeverijbedrijf, 1959), Hoofdstuk V (“De strijd in Noord-Sumatra (Atjeh)”), pp. 115, 117, 143.