The Campaign against the XXII Moekims of 23 March 1879 – 9 July 1879 was the Dutch military campaign in the Sagi der XXII Moekims of Atjeh, led by the governor Major-general K. van der Heyden personally, which began with the capture of Indrapuri on 24 March 1879 and culminated in the fall of Gleiêng on 9 July 1879, the fortified chief place of Panglima Polem. With the parallel campaign against the XXVI Moekims of early July and the Selimoen expedition of August, it completed the first conquest of Great Acheh.
The Governor-General’s Cabinet Letter of 21 March 1879
In his cabinet letter of 21 March 1879 the Governor-General Van Lansberge wrote to Van der Heyden: “One thing must be held by you in the first place before your eyes. The war must now come to an end, whether the expected submission is obtained, or such punishment is inflicted on the enemy that no doubt exists as to our overlordship and his defeat, and we can withdraw our fighting force within the limits to be designated for our definitive establishment.” If, contrary to expectation, the submission of the XXII Moekims did not follow upon the conquest of Indrapuri, further advance was to be made and the enemy sought out. If the population should seek to escape pursuit by flight, the punishment inflicted on their possessions should leave no doubt as to their defeat.
The Capture of Indrapuri, 24 March 1879
The troops, which had marched on 23 March [1879], reached on 24 March [1879] along the sultan’s road, now and then coming into fight with the enemy, Gle Kambing, opposite the missigit of Indrapuri. As the river proved not to be fordable, the guide was allowed, with five unarmed native soldiers, to swim across the river to set fire to some houses. “This bold deed indeed had the predicted effect; the enemy, already plagued from three sides by our fire, evidently got into the belief that part of the troops had crossed the river, ceased his fire and abandoned the missigit. But as this was not soon occupied by our men, he saw his mistake and occupied his fortification anew. When, however, some fifty soldiers, mostly Buginese, had swum across the river and charged the mosque at the double, the enemy abandoned it anew and it fell without a blow into our hands.”
The Continuation of the Campaign
The road from Anak Galoeëng to Gle Kambing had first to be put in good order and the enemy’s withdrawal cleared. For the conquest of Indrapuri did not lead to the desired submission. “On the contrary, it was as if the struggle, under the leadership of our embittered enemies — Panglima Polem, Imam Longbatta and others — flared up with new strength.” Heavy fighting followed at Djerreek, Redep, Panteh Karang. Djerreek was destroyed two, three times over, but each time fortified anew. On 6 May and 7 May [1879] great losses were inflicted on the Dutch here, but in the end the enemy was driven out and the population sorely punished. In the storming of 6 May [1879] at Panteh Karang, all the officers engaged were put out of action one after another. Repeatedly the storming, however often repeated, was repulsed, so that the enemy that day remained in fact master of the terrain. Only on 7 May [1879] did the fortress fall with the help of new reinforcement, and in the following days the enemy was driven from the neighbourhood.
The Capture of Gleiêng, 9 July 1879
As the operations for the submission of the XXII Moekims had to be continued, the troops on 31 May [1879] again advanced on Gléiëng, the fortified and well-armed chief place of Panglima Polem. “After a tiring march and repeated fights, this was at last reached and taken on 9 July [1879]. With this the campaign in the XXII Moekims was over and the objective fully attained. The enemy’s resistance was broken, and those who wished to continue the war had fled to the XXVI Moekims.”
Account from Verstege’s Een beroep op het Nederlandsche volk (1886)
Verstege’s review (after Kielstra, D. III) records the campaign as the model of what “oorlog te voeren op oorlogsmanier” (“to wage war in the manner of war”) could do in five months: the operations in the XXII Moekims were resumed on 23 March, on 24 March 1879 the strong missigit Indrapoerie — “het oude en vermaarde heiligdom der bovenlanden, dat door den onverzoenlijken Imam Longbattah was bezet” (“the old and famous sanctuary of the highlands, occupied by the irreconcilable Imam Longbattah”) — was taken with insignificant loss; May and June brought the operations against the fortified lines of Sihong (Djerir), Gleieng and other principal districts and focal points of resistance, “tot hoogst gewichtige resultaten” (“to most important results”). After the storm of Gleieng in the morning of 5 June (Verstege’s dating; cf. Capture of Gleiêng (9 July 1879)) the days of 9-10 June completed the success, “den vluchtenden vijand uit zijne schuilhoeken te verdrijven, en tot onderwerping te noodzaken” (“driving the fleeing enemy out of his hiding-corners and forcing him to submission”). When the veldtocht in the XXII Moekims ended, “de tegenstand des vijands in deze Sagie op alle punten gebroken” (“the enemy’s resistance in this Sagie broken at all points”), those who would fight on had made for the XXVI Moekims (see Van der Heyden’s pacification of Groot-Atjeh).
See Also
- K. van der Heyden
- J. W. van Lansberge
- Panglima Polim
- Imam of Longbatta
- XXII Moekims
- Capture of Indrapuri (24 March 1879)
- Capture of Gleiêng (9 July 1879)
- Campaign against the XXVI Moekims (July 1879)
- Selimoen Expedition (August 1879)
- Djerreek
- Redep
- Panteh Karang
- 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, pp. 102-105.
Een beroep op het Nederlandsche volk in zake het Atjeh-vraagstuk, door J. J. W. E. Verstege (Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy, 1886), pp. 60-61. OCR: DLP-158.