Temporary Occupation of Indrapoeri (28 October 1896)

Properties3
descriptionThe Temporary Occupation of Indrapoeri on 28 October 1896 — tijdelijke bezetting van Indrapoeri op 28 October — was the temporary Dutch occupation of the kampong of Indrapoeri in the XXII Moekims of Groot-Atjeh, undertaken in conjunction with the cooperation of the Blang Bintang (Tjot Mantjang) garrison for the capture of the Acehnese stelling called Kota Ba Teuē. The occupation was a temporary extension of the Dutch forward position, authorised under the modified postenstelsel policy of 18 July 1896.
tagsevent, aceh-war, 1896, occupation, indrapoeri, groot-atjeh, stemfoort, kruisheer-vol3, hoofdstuk-iii, forward-position, temporary
aliasestijdelijke bezetting van Indrapoeri op 28 October 1896, the temporary occupation of Indrapoeri, the Dutch occupation of Indrapoeri, the Indrapoeri occupation

5 min read

The Temporary Occupation of Indrapoeri — tijdelijke bezetting van Indrapoeri op 28 October 1896 — was the temporary Dutch occupation of the kampong of Indrapoeri in the XXII Moekims of Groot-Atjeh, undertaken on 28 October 1896 in conjunction with the samenwerking met de bezetting van Tjot Mantjang tot inname van de sterkte, genaamd Kota Ba Teuē (cooperation with the garrison of Tjot Mantjang for the capture of the fortification called Kota Ba Teuē). The occupation — a temporary extension of the Dutch forward position beyond the Blang Bintang camp — was authorised under the modified postenstelsel (system of posts) policy of the 18 July 1896 telegram of Governor-General Van der Wijck, which permitted the temporary occupation of points beyond the geconcentreerde linie (concentrated line) on condition that voortdurende aanvulling van troepen en dwangarbeiders steeds mogelijk zullen zijn (continuous replenishment of troops and forced labourers would always be possible).

The Strategic Context

By late October 1896, the Dutch, under Stemfoort’s second tenure, had established the permanent occupation of Kroeng-Raba (Lok-Nga) on 15 July 1896 and the construction of the Blang Bintang camp on 7 September 1896. The XXII Moekims — the sagi (territorial confederation (sagi)) of Panglima Polim — remained, however, only partially under Dutch control. The kampong of Indrapoeri — one of the principal kampongs of the XXII Moekims, and the site of an important Acehnese stelling — was the object of the temporary occupation of 28 October 1896. The occupation was undertaken in conjunction with the capture of the stelling Kota Ba Teuē, a strong Acehnese fortification which controlled the approach to Indrapoeri and which had resisted earlier Dutch probes.

The Cooperation with the Tjot Mantjang Garrison

The temporary occupation of Indrapoeri was undertaken in samenwerking met de bezetting van Tjot Mantjang — in cooperation with the garrison of Tjot Mantjang (Blang Bintang). The Blang Bintang garrison — which had been established on 7 September 1896 and which had served as the base for the first Selimoen expedition of 6–11 September 1896 — provided the southern arm of the operation, while a colonne from the geconcentreerde linie (concentrated line) provided the northern arm. The two forces converged on the kampong of Indrapoeri and on the stelling (fortification (stelling)) Kota Ba Teuē, and the cooperation of the two forces was the key to the capture of the stelling (fortification (stelling)) on 28 October 1896. The capture of Kota Ba Teuē opened the way for the trip to Ladoeng and Kroeng Raja of 30–31 October 1896 and the second Selimoen expedition of 3–6 November 1896.

The Temporary Nature of the Occupation

The occupation of Indrapoeri — like the occupation of Kroeng-Raba (Lok-Nga) and the construction of the Blang Bintang camp — was authorised as a voorloopige (provisional) occupation, under the modified postenstelsel (system of posts) policy of the 18 July 1896 telegram. The kampong was occupied by a Dutch garrison, but the occupation was not intended to be permanent — the Dutch sought only to deny the Acehnese the use of the kampong and its stelling, and to demonstrate the Dutch capacity for force projection into the XXII Moekims. The temporary nature of the occupation reflected the geen postenstelsel policy of the conference of 18 June 1896, which had specified that tot een postenstelsel, behalve dat van onze geconcentreerde stelling, niet mag worden overgegaan — no system of posts, other than that of the concentrated line, was to be undertaken.

Significance

The Temporary Occupation of Indrapoeri on 28 October 1896 is significant in the documentary record of ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel as the third Dutch forward position beyond the geconcentreerde linie (concentrated line) in the second semester of 1896 — after the occupation of Kroeng-Raba (Lok-Nga) of 15 July 1896 and the construction of the Blang Bintang camp of 7 September 1896. The occupation — undertaken in conjunction with the capture of the stelling Kota Ba Teuē — opened the way for the trip to Ladoeng and Kroeng Raja of 30–31 October 1896 and the second Selimoen expedition of 3–6 November 1896, and represented the slow, methodical extension of Dutch forward positions which characterised the pacificatie (pacification) of the second semester of 1896 under Stemfoort’s second tenure.

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, 124, 128, 137.

Graph View

Backlinks