The Excursie to Lepong and Lohong — excursie naar Lepong en Lohong van 10 tot en met 14 Augustus 1896 — was a five-day Dutch reconnaissance into the Lepong and Lohong regions of Groot-Atjeh, undertaken between 10 August 10 and 14 August 1896. The excursion was the principal Dutch probe into the Lepong region in the second semester of 1896 — a region which had been the centre of Toekoe Oemar’s operations throughout the first semester — and was undertaken to gather intelligence on the movements and disposition of Umar. The excursion established that Oemar zich nog wel degelijk in dat landschap ophield (Oemar was still indeed in that territory), that hij in onmin met den kedjoeroean was geraakt (he had fallen out with the kedjoeroean (council of headmen) of Lohong), and that hij zich alleen wat meer binnenwaarts verplaatst (he had moved only somewhat further inland). The intelligence gathered on the excursion formed the basis of Dutch strategic planning for the next four months.
The Strategic Context
By August 1896, the Dutch had lost track of Toekoe Oemar’s precise location. Umar, who had defected from the Dutch alliance on 29 March 1896, had been the object of the three-day offensive of 23–25 May 1896 and the tuchtiging of Lam-Krak of 9–10 June 1896 — operations which had destroyed his stelling (fortification (stelling)) at Lam-Pisang but had not resulted in his capture. The Dutch knew that Umar was still at large, but his precise location was uncertain. The excursion to Lepong and Lohong of 10–14 August 1896 was thus both a reconnaissance and a hunt — designed to ascertain Umar’s location and to assess the possibility of his capture.
The Intelligence on Umar
The excursion established that Toekoe Oemar verlaat Lepong en vestigt zich in Lohong — Toekoe Oemar leaves Lepong and settles in Lohong. Uit Lohong terugkeerende lieden, die brieven voor den controleur van Oleh-leh van de kedjoeroean medebrachten, deelden mede, dat Oemar zich nog wel degelijk in dat landschap ophield. Wijl hij in onmin met den kedjoeroean was geraakt, had hij zich alleen wat meer binnenwaarts verplaatst. Schatten en kostbaarheden waren door hem bij verschillende welgestelde lieden in dat landschap verborgen, bevreesd als hij was, ze, bij een nieuw bezoek onzer troepen, niet in veiligheid te kunnen brengen. Zijn eigen bende telde 100 man. — People returning from Lohong, who brought letters for the controleur of Oleh-leh from the kedjoeroean, reported that Oemar was still indeed in that territory. Since he had fallen out with the kedjoeroean, he had moved only somewhat further inland. Treasures and valuables had been hidden by him with various well-to-do people in that territory, afraid as he was that, on a new visit by our troops, he would not be able to bring them to safety. His own band numbered 100 men.
The intelligence was significant in three respects. First, it established that Umar’s band had been reduced to 100 men — a significant reduction from the larger forces he had commanded in the first semester. Second, it established that Umar had fallen out with the kedjoeroean (the headmen) of Lohong — a political deterioration which suggested that Umar’s position in the interior was becoming increasingly precarious. Third, it established that Umar was forced to hide his schatten en kostbaarheden (treasures and valuables) with various well-to-do people in Lohong — a sign that his freedom of movement was constrained by the Dutch threat. The intelligence thus suggested that Umar was vulnerable, but that his capture would require a more extended operation than the Dutch had yet undertaken.
The Five-Day Excursion
The excursion was undertaken over five days — from 10 August to 14 August 1896 — by a Dutch colonne, which traversed the Lepong and Lohong regions and made contact with the local population. The detailed narrative of the excursion is not separately preserved in the Besluit (Decree (Besluit)) of ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel, but the operation is recorded in the Inhoud (Table of Contents) of the volume as one of the principal operations of August 1896. The excursion formed part of the broader Dutch strategy of the second semester — the slow extension of effective Dutch knowledge of, and influence over, the interior of Groot-Atjeh, in preference to the permanent occupation of points beyond the geconcentreerde linie (concentrated line).
Significance
The Excursie to Lepong and Lohong of 10–14 August 1896 is significant in the documentary record of ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel as the principal Dutch reconnaissance into the Lepong region in the second semester of 1896. The intelligence gathered on the excursion — that Umar had moved to Lohong, that his band had been reduced to 100 men, that he had fallen out with the kedjoeroean, and that he was forced to hide his schatten en kostbaarheden with various well-to-do people — formed the basis of Dutch strategic planning for the next four months. The intelligence suggested that Umar was vulnerable, but that his capture would require a more extended operation than the Dutch had yet undertaken — a conclusion which would lead, in December 1896, to the uitrusten eener colonne tegen Oemar (equipping of a colonne against Umar), the operation which the heerschende cholera (prevailing cholera) of December 1896 would prevent from taking the field.
See Also
- ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel (book by A. Kruisheer)
- J. W. Stemfoort
- Teuku Umar
- Lepong
- Lohong
- Oleh-leh
- Stemfoort’s Second Tenure as Civiel en Militair Gouverneur (11 July – 17 November 1896)
- Defection of Teuku Umar (29 March 1896)
- Three-day Dutch offensive of 23–25 May 1896
- Tuchtiging of Lam-Krak Moekims (9–10 June 1896)
- Cholera Epidemic in Atjeh (December 1896)
- Geconcenteerde Linie
- Kedjoeroean
- Groot-Atjeh
- Aceh War
- 1896
- 10 August
- 14 August
- 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. 8, 62–80, 82.