The Cholera Epidemic in Atjeh in December 1896 — de heerschende cholera — was the prevailing cholera which prevented the colonne tegen Oemar (column against Umar) from taking the field in the closing month of 1896. The epidemic — which struck the Dutch and Acehnese populations of Groot-Atjeh in the early weeks of December 1896 — paralysed Dutch military action and forced the postponement of the planned operation against Toekoe Oemar, who had been located in Lohong by the excursie to Lepong and Lohong of 10–14 August 1896. The cholera epidemic was the closing event of ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel — the natural catastrophe which closed the second semester of 1896 and which prevented the Dutch from capitalising on the intelligence gathered over the preceding five months.
The Strategic Context
By December 1896, the Dutch, under Van Vliet’s new governorship (which had begun with the handover of 17 November 1896), had completed the trip to Tibang-Poei and Birah of 29 November 1896 — the operation to recover the artillery lost on 17 April 1896 during the battle of Senelop. The intelligence gathered on the excursie to Lepong and Lohong of 10–14 August 1896 — that Umar had moved to Lohong, that his band had been reduced to 100 men, and that he had fallen out with the kedjoeroean — formed the basis of the Dutch strategic planning for December 1896. The Dutch were thus preparing the uitrusten eener colonne tegen Oemar (equipping of a colonne against Umar) — the operation which would, it was hoped, finally capture or destroy the Acehnese resistance leader.
The Epidemic and its Effects
The cholera epidemic — de heerschende cholera belet de actie (the prevailing cholera prevents the action) — struck the Dutch and Acehnese populations of Groot-Atjeh in the early weeks of December 1896. The epidemic was not the first to affect the Dutch forces in Atjeh — cholera had been a recurring feature of the Atjeh-oorlog, and the heerschende cholera (prevailing cholera) of December 1896 was the latest in a series of epidemic outbreaks which had periodically paralysed Dutch military operations. The epidemic of December 1896 was, however, particularly severe in its timing — it struck at the very moment when the Dutch had completed their preparations for the colonne tegen Oemar, and it forced the postponement of the operation until the epidemic should subside. The Dutch command was thus obliged to remain inactive in December 1896, while Umar remained at large in Lohong and the Acehnese resistance retained its capacity for harassment.
The Postponement of the Colonne tegen Oemar
The postponement of the colonne tegen Oemar — the operation which the cholera epidemic of December 1896 prevented from taking the field — was a significant strategic setback for the Dutch. The intelligence gathered on the excursie to Lepong and Lohong of August 1896 had suggested that Umar was vulnerable — his band had been reduced to 100 men, he had fallen out with the kedjoeroean, and he was forced to hide his schatten en kostbaarheden with various well-to-do people in Lohong. The Dutch had hoped to capitalise on this vulnerability with the colonne tegen Oemar (column against Umar) in December 1896, but the cholera epidemic forced the postponement of the operation. The postponement gave Umar a further respite — a respite which he would use to rebuild his forces and to extend his operations in the western highlands of Groot-Atjeh. The colonne tegen Oemar (column against Umar) would eventually be undertaken in the new year, but by then the strategic situation had shifted, and the opportunity which the August intelligence had presented was lost.
Significance
The Cholera Epidemic in Atjeh of December 1896 is significant in the documentary record of ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel as the closing event of the volume — the natural catastrophe which prevented the Dutch from capitalising on the intelligence gathered over the preceding five months. The epidemic — which struck at the very moment when the Dutch had completed their preparations for the colonne tegen Oemar — forced the postponement of the operation and gave Umar a further respite. The cholera epidemic thus closed the second semester of 1896 on a note of frustration and unfinished business — a note which Kruisheer’s Besluit (Conclusion) on page 155 would seek to transform into a defence of the pacificatie (pacification) policy of the second semester, with the claim that men in 1896 den rechten weg tot pacificatie insloeg (the right path to pacification was entered in 1896). The cholera epidemic — by preventing the colonne tegen Oemar — demonstrated the limits of the Dutch pacificatie (pacification) policy, and the dependence of the Dutch strategic position on factors — like epidemic disease — which lay beyond the control of the colonial military command.
See Also
- ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel (book by A. Kruisheer)
- C. P. J. van Vliet
- J. W. Stemfoort
- Teuku Umar
- Lohong
- Lepong
- Excursie to Lepong and Lohong (10–14 August 1896)
- Trip to Tibang-Poei and Birah (29 November 1896)
- Handover of Command from Stemfoort to Van Vliet (17 November 1896)
- Geconcenteerde Linie
- Groot-Atjeh
- Aceh War
- 1896
- 1913
Source
ATJEH ‘96. Tweede Deel (2c Deel), door A. Kruisheer, Kapitein der Infanterie O.I.L., met 3 kaarten en 6 portretten (Weltevreden: N.V. Boekhandel Visser & Co, 1913). Instituut Kern, Leiden. OCR-filename: 20260715_163243_DLP-90-Atjeh_96_DLP-89-Atjeh_96_Met_3_kaarten_en_6_DOORA_KRUISHEER_Kapiteinder_Infanterie_nemoretriever-ocr-v1_OCR.txt., pp. 9, 151–155.