The telegram of Wilhelmina and Emma to General Vetter was a message received by the army commander General Vetter from Amsterdam on 27 April 1896, the day the bombardment of Pakan Badak, Pasar Oleh Gli and Lampisang opened, conveying the appreciation of the Queen and the Queen Regent for the forces in Atjeh.
Text
P. H. R. Beuming reproduces it: Diner gisteren brachten hulde krijgsmacht Atjeh; geestdriftig toegejuicht. Met beste wenschen waardeering en volle vertrouwen volgen troepen en operaties. WILHELMINA EN EMMA.
Rendered: at yesterday’s dinner homage was paid to the armed forces in Atjeh; enthusiastically cheered. With best wishes, appreciation and full confidence we follow the troops and operations.
Effect
Beuming records that all who then formed part of the land and sea forces in Atjeh were deeply sensible of dit hooge bewijs van waardeering onzer geliefde vorstinnen — this high proof of appreciation from their beloved sovereigns — and that the telegram bracht weer nieuwe geestdrift in de gelederen — brought new enthusiasm into the ranks — as the men looked forward to the reckoning with Toekoe Oemar, the man who had brought them into all their misery and had cost the Government, besides treasure, a considerable number of human lives.
The telegram was received on the day Toekoe Oemar was formally dismissed as Panglima Prang-Besaar of the Government and as hoeloebalang of Lepong, and immediately before the three-day battle in the Beradin pass.
See Also
- J. A. Vetter
- Three-day battle in the Beradin pass (23-25 May 1896)
- Teuku Umar
- Lampisang
- Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
- 27 April
- 1896
Source
Schetsen uit den strijd op Groot-Atjeh, met speciaal vervaardigde kaart en toepasselijke photo’s, bewerkt door P. H. R. Beuming, oud-onderofficier van het Ned.-Indische Leger (Amsterdam, December 1911; uitgegeven ten bate van het te stichten Herstellingsoord voor Rijks-Ambtenaren). Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, Br N 82-144
Acknowledgement of sources. The material in this article derives from Schetsen uit den strijd op Groot-Atjeh, met speciaal vervaardigde kaart en toepasselijke photo’s, bewerkt door P. H. R. Beuming, oud-onderofficier van het Ned.-Indische Leger (Amsterdam, December 1911). Dutch passages are quoted in the original with an English rendering.