Razing of Lam-Asan (30 May – 2 June 1896)

Properties2
tagsevent, dutch, achehnese, colonial, military, aceh-war
aliasesRazing of Lam-Asan, Afgraven of Lam-Asan, Slechting van Lam-Asan, 30 May – 2 June 1896

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The Razing of Lam-Asan (30 May – 2 June 1896) — the large-scale destruction of the kampong of Lam-Asan and its fortifications — was a sustained four-day engineering operation undertaken by 2 sections of engineers, 800 forced labourers, and 400 Chinese coolies, under the protection of multiple battalions — the 12de, 15de, 6e, and 9e — in the immediate aftermath of the three-day offensive of 23–25 May 1896. The covering troops were commanded successively by Lt.-Col. Soeters on 30 May 1896 and by Lt.-Col. A. G. Hansen on 31 May 1896; on 2 June 1896 the 9e Bataljon under Lt.-Col. Veeren marched from Ketapan Doea along the foot of the gebergte. The operation was completed on 2 June 1896 at 2 p.m., with no enemy fire on the last day, and was accompanied by the beginning of the excavation, levelling of the grave-mounds at 225 m west of Lam-Djamoe.

Background

The three-day Dutch offensive of 23–25 May 1896 had broken Teungkoe Oemar’s stelling around Lam-Pisang and had driven his warriors behind the Kroeng-Raba. The kampong of Lam-Asan — the scene of the heavy combat of 23 May 1896, when the 7e Bataljon under Maj. Jacobs had stormed the south-eastern rand — was now in Dutch hands, but its versterkingen, loopgraven, and bentengs remained intact. The Regeeringscommissaris, Lt.-Gen. Vetter, resolved to raze the kampong and its works to the ground — both to deny the Achehnese the use of the position in any future operation and to demonstrate, in the most emphatic way possible, the cost of continued resistance. The operation would also mark the beginning of the excavation of the grave-mounds — the Islamic shrines that dotted the Achehnese landscape and that served as both religious sites and as fortified points of resistance — at 225 m west of Lam-Djamoe.

The engineering resources committed to the operation were substantial: 2 sections of engineers, 800 forced labourers — typically convicts or impressed men from the consolidated line, and 400 Chinese coolies — hired labourers from the Chinese community of Koeta Radja. The covering troops — multiple battalions drawn from the 12de, 15de, 6e, and 9e — were rotated daily to maintain freshness and to provide a continuous defensive perimeter.

The Covering Troops and the Daily Rotation

The covering troops were commanded successively by different senior officers. On 30 May 1896 the covering force was under Lt.-Col. G. F. Soeters — the same officer who had commanded the 12e Bataljon at the three-day offensive and who would, three weeks later, command the reserve colonne at the tuchtiging of the V Moekims Montassik. On 31 May 1896 the covering force was under Lt.-Col. A. G. Hansen — who had commanded the 3e Bataljon at the machtsvertoon in the IX Moekims of 29 May 1896 and would command the 3e Bataljon at the Ladoeng landing of 22 June–23 June 1896. On 2 June 1896 the 9e Bataljon under Lt.-Col. J. F. T. Veeren marched from Ketapan Doea along the foot of the gebergte — a wide flanking movement intended to discourage any Achehnese attempt to interfere with the razing.

The Engineering Operation

The engineering operation itself was systematic and thorough. The 2 sections of genietroepen supervised the 800 dwangarbeiders and the 400 Chinese koelies in the demolition of the versterkingen, the filling-in of the loopgraven, the dismantling of the bamboedoeri abatis, and the burning of the houses. The grafheuvels at 225 m west of Lam-Djamoe were excavated — a delicate operation, given the religious sensitivity of the Islamic shrines, but one that the Dutch considered necessary to deny the Achehnese the use of the mounds as fortified points. The work was slow, hot, and arduous: the climate of Atjeh in early June, the weight of the earth-works, and the constant threat of sniping from the surrounding kampongs combined to make the razing a trial of endurance for both the engineers and the labourers.

The operation was completed on 2 June 1896 at 2 p.m. — the fourth day of the razing. Remarkably, on the last day no enemy fire was directed against the working parties. The absence of fire was, in itself, a significant indicator: it suggested that the Achehnese had withdrawn their warriors from the immediate vicinity of Lam-Asan, either to conserve their forces for the defence of the interior stellingen or in recognition that the position was no longer tenable. The Dutch had, in the course of four days, accomplished the complete destruction of Lam-Asan and its works.

Significance

The Razing of Lam-Asan from 30 May to 2 June 1896 was the closing operation of the May phase of the Atjeh-oorlog and the most thorough single act of chastisement of the spring campaign. The commitment of 2 sections of engineers, 800 dwangarbeiders, and 400 Chinese koelies — protected by no fewer than four battalions of infantry — was a measure of the importance that the Regeeringscommissaris attached to the complete destruction of the position. The operation also marked the beginning of the afgraven of the grafheuvels — a policy that would be repeated elsewhere in the residency and that would, in the longer term, prove a significant source of Achehnese resentment. The razing was, in tactical terms, a defensive measure — the denial of a fortified position to the enemy; in strategic terms, it was a declaration that the Dutch intended to hold the ground they had taken at the three-day offensive and that the Achehnese could expect no respite. The absence of enemy fire on the last day was, in its way, the most significant outcome of the operation: the Achehnese had, for the moment, conceded the field.

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, pp. 227–230.

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