Departure of Vetter and Restoration of Civil and Military Governor (28 June 1896)

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tagsevent, dutch, colonial, military, diplomacy, succession
aliasesDeparture of Vetter, Restoration of Civiel en Militair Gouvernur, 28 June 1896, Vertrek van Vetter

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The Departure of Vetter and Restoration of Civil and Military Governor (28 June 1896) was the embarkation of Lt.-Gen. Vetter — Regeeringscommissaris voor Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden — and his adjudant Lt.-Col. J. F. Breijer for Batavia aboard the stoomschip Coen on 28 June 1896, and the simultaneous laying-down of the extraordinary office of Regeeringscommissaris and the restoration of the ordinary office of Civiel en Militair Gouvernur. Kol. Stemfoort was appointed (provisionally) as Civiel en Militair Gouvernur. Resident van Langen was relieved of his temporary functions as Civil Administrator of the Region. The departure of 28 June 1896 concluded the first semester of 1896 and the Vetter interregnum — the three-month extraordinary commission that had reversed the disaster of the defection of Teuku Umar and had restored the strategic initiative in the Atjeh-oorlog.

Background

The Regeeringscommissaris had arrived in Atjeh on 7 April 1896 aboard the steamer or Bantam with the 9th Battalion Infantry and had immediately relieved Gen.-Maj. Deykerhoff of his functions as Civiel en Militair Gouvernur. The mission that the metropolitan government had entrusted to Vetter was threefold: to retrieve the strategic situation provoked by the defection of 29 March 1896; to restore the Dutch political and military position in Atjeh; and to lay the groundwork for the resumption of ordinary civil-military government.

By the last week of June 1896 all three objectives had been accomplished. The evacuation of the buitenlinie had been completed; the three-day offensive of 23–25 May had broken Teungkoe Oemar’s stelling at Lam-Pisang and had destroyed his house; the tuchtiging of Lam-Krak and the tuchtiging of the V Moekims Montassik had reduced the principal Achehnese redoubts; the Ladoeng landing had completed the operational cycle. The political realignment was under way: Panglima Bintang had submitted on 20 June 1896, and the disarmament of the buitenlinie chiefs was in progress. The farewell parade of 27 June 1896 had been the ceremonial close of the interregnum. The time had come for Vetter to depart and for the ordinary civil-military government to be restored.

The Departure of 28 June 1896

On 28 June 1896 Lt.-Gen. Vetter — accompanied by his adjudant Lt.-Col. J. F. Breijer of the General Staff (the same officer who had arrived with him on 7 April 1896) — embarked for Batavia aboard the stoomschip Coen. The departure was, in ceremonial terms, a quiet affair — the public ceremonial had been discharged at the farewell parade of the previous day. The embarkation was, however, of considerable constitutional significance: with Vetter’s departure, the extraordinary office of Regeeringscommissaris — which had superseded the ordinary chain of command for three months — was laid down.

The ordinary office of Civiel en Militair Gouvernur was restored. Kol. J. W. Stemfoort — who had arrived with Vetter on 7 April 1896, had commanded the relief of Biloel and Lamkoenjit of 8 April 1896, had commanded the evacuation of the western buitenlinie of 17 April 1896, had commanded the three-day offensive of 23–25 May from his position as overall commander, and had commanded the tuchtiging of the V Moekims Montassik and the Ladoeng landing — was appointed (provisionally) as Civiel en Militair Gouvernur. The provisional character of the appointment — Stemfoort held the rank of Colonel, not Major-General, the rank ordinarily associated with the post — was a reflection of the unsettled political situation in Batavia and The Hague, and a permanent appointment would be made in due course.

Resident van Langen — Resident voor Atjehsche zaken en de scheepvaartregeling — was relieved of his temporary functions as Civil Administrator of the Region, functions that he had exercised since the arrival of Vetter and the dismissal of Deykerhoff on 7 April 1896. The relief of van Langen was a return to the ordinary division of civil and military responsibilities: the Civiel en Militair Gouvernur exercised supreme authority; the Civiel Bestuurder exercised the civil administration under his direction.

The Conclusion of the First Semester of 1896

The departure of Vetter and the restoration of the Civiel en Militair Gouvernur on 28 June 1896 concluded the first semester of 1896 — the period covered by Kruisheer’s ATJEH ‘96. The semester had begun, in January 1896, with the buitenlinie intact, the legioen of Teuku Umar in Dutch service, and the Gen.-Maj. Deykerhoff administration pursuing the native-allied policy of 1893–1896. It had been upended, in March 1896, by the defection of 29 March 1896. It had been retrieved, in April–June 1896, by the Vetter interregnum: the arrival of 7 April 1896, the relief of Biloel and Lamkoenjit of 8 April 1896, the evacuation of 12 April 1896, the tuchtiging of Lam Goet of 14 April 1896, the battle of Senelop of 17 April 1896, the completion of the buitenlinie lifting of 20 April 1896, the dismission of Oemar of 26 April 1896, the bombardment of Lampisang of 27 April–23 May 1896, the night surprise of Benting Batoe of 28 April–29 April 1896, the naval demonstration of 1 May–4 May 1896, the diversie to Montassik of 2 May 1896, the excursie to Lamtengah of 21 May 1896, the three-day offensive of 23 May–25 May 1896, the razing of Lam-Asan of 30 May–2 June 1896, the machtsvertoon in the IX Moekims and the machtsvertoon in the III Moekims Daroe of 29 May 1896, the operations in the IV and VI Moekims of 4 June–5 June 1896, the marine landing at Koeala Pantjoer of 5 June 1896, the tuchtiging of Lam-Krak of 9 June–10 June 1896, the tuchtiging of the V Moekims Montassik of 16 June–17 June 1896, the submission of Panglima Bintang of 20 June 1896, the disarmament of the Lam-Djamoe batteries of 12 June 1896, the reconnaissance to the Kroeng Raba bridge of 13 June 1896, the Ladoeng landing of 22 June–23 June 1896, the disarmament of the buitenlinie chiefs of mid-June 1896, and the farewell parade of 27 June 1896.

Significance

The Departure of Vetter and the Restoration of Civil and Military Governor on 28 June 1896 was the constitutional close of the Vetter interregnum and of the first semester of 1896. The departure was, in political terms, a declaration by the metropolitan government that the crisis provoked by the defection of 29 March 1896 had been retrieved and that the ordinary civil-military government could be restored. The appointment of Stemfoort as Civiel en Militair Gouvernur — provisional, but unequivocal — was a recognition of the role that Stemfoort had played in the recovery: as the overall commander of the three-day offensive, as the commander of the tuchtiging of the V Moekims Montassik, and as the commander of the Ladoeng landing. The relief of van Langen was a return to the ordinary division of civil and military responsibilities. The departure of 28 June 1896 was, in this sense, both a close and an opening: the close of the first semester of 1896 and the opening of the second — a semester in which the lessons of the Vetter interregnum would shape Dutch strategy in Atjeh for the remainder of the Atjeh-oorlog.

See Also

Source

ATJEH ‘96, door A. Kruisheer, Kapitein der Infanterie O.I.L., met 2 kaarten en 4 portretten (Weltevreden: N.V. Boekhandel Visser & Co, 1913). Instituut Kern, Leiden. OCR-filename: 20260715_163243_DLP-89-Atjeh_96_Met_2_kaarten_en4_DOORA_KRUISHEER_Kapiteinder_Infanterie_nemoretriever-ocr-v1_OCR.txt, p. 333.

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