Second Selimoen Expedition (3–6 November 1896)

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descriptionThe Second Selimoen Expedition (3–6 November 1896) — tocht naar Selimoen van 3 tot en met 6 November — was the second major Dutch expedition into the Selimoen highlands of southern Groot-Atjeh, undertaken between the handover of command from Stemfoort to Van Vliet. The expedition was a four-day reconnaissance-in-force, and was the last major operation of the second semester of 1896 before the cholera epidemic of December 1896 paralysed Dutch military action.
tagsevent, aceh-war, 1896, expedition, selimoen, groot-atjeh, stemfoort, van-vliet, kruisheer-vol3, hoofdstuk-iv, reconnaissance-in-force
aliasestocht naar Selimoen van 3 tot en met 6 November 1896, the second Selimoen expedition, the November Selimoen expedition, the second Dutch expedition to Selimoen

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The Second Selimoen Expedition — tocht naar Selimoen van 3 tot en met 6 November 1896 — was the second major Dutch expedition into the Selimoen highlands of southern Groot-Atjeh, undertaken between 3 November 3 and 6 November 1896. The expedition was undertaken in the transitional period between the arrival of Van Vliet on 8 November 1896 (which postdated the expedition) and the formal handover of command of 17 November 1896. The expedition was a four-day reconnaissance-in-force, building on the first Selimoen expedition of 6–11 September 1896 and the capture of Kota Ba Teuē of 28 October 1896, and was the last major operation of the second semester of 1896 before the cholera epidemic of December 1896 paralysed Dutch military action.

The Strategic Context

By early November 1896, the Dutch, under Stemfoort’s second tenure, had completed the temporary occupation of Indrapoeri and the capture of Kota Ba Teuē on 28 October 1896, and had undertaken the trip to Ladoeng and Kroeng Raja of 30–31 October 1896. The Selimoen highlands — the centre of Acehnese resistance in the south of Groot-Atjeh — had been the object of the first Selimoen expedition of 6–11 September 1896, but had not been permanently occupied. The second Selimoen expedition of 3–6 November 1896 was thus a reconnaissance-in-force — designed to consolidate the Dutch position in the Selimoen and to demonstrate the Dutch capacity for sustained force projection into the highlands.

The Bridge over the Kroeng Pengapit (8 November 1896)

The second Selimoen expedition was followed, on 8 November 1896, by the slaan van een brug over de Kroeng Pengapit — the construction of a bridge over the Kroeng Pengapit — which improved the Dutch lines of communication between the geconcentreerde linie (concentrated line) and the Blang Bintang / Selimoen region. The bridge — built by the Genietroepen (engineers) — was a significant logistical achievement, and reflected the Dutch commitment to the forward movement of the second semester of 1896. The construction of the bridge on the same day as the arrival of Van Vliet was a coincidence, but it symbolised the convergence of the military and administrative extensions of Dutch control which characterised the second semester of 1896.

Significance

The Second Selimoen Expedition of 3–6 November 1896 is significant in the documentary record of ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel as the last major Dutch military operation of the second semester of 1896. The expedition — undertaken in the transitional period between the Stemfoort and Van Vliet governorships — consolidated the Dutch position in the Selimoen and demonstrated the Dutch capacity for sustained force projection into the highlands. The expedition was followed, on 8 November 1896, by the construction of a bridge over the Kroeng Pengapit — a logistical achievement which reflected the Dutch commitment to the forward movement of the second semester. The second Selimoen expedition thus closed the military operations of the second semester of 1896, and the cholera epidemic of December 1896 would prevent the Dutch from undertaking any further operations until the new year.

See Also

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, 135, 143, 145.

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