Tuchtiging of Lam-Krak Moekims (9–10 June 1896)

Properties2
tagsevent, dutch, achehnese, colonial, military, aceh-war
aliasesTuchtiging of Lam-Krak Moekims, Tuchtiging der Lam-Krak Moekims, Punitive expedition against Lam-Krak, 9–10 June 1896

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The Tuchtiging of Lam-Krak Moekims (9–10 June 1896) — the chastisement, punitive expedition of the long-feared Lam-Krak area (seven mukims west of Ana’ Galong) — was the major three-colonne operation ordered by the Regeeringscommissaris under the overall command of Kol. Stemfoort to reduce the principal Achehnese redoubt in the western sagi that had defied Dutch arms since 1893. The 1e colonne under Lt.-Col. Bisschoff van Heemskerck attacked Ateuh Raja and Baha; the 2e colonne under Lt.-Col. Van Heutsz attacked Lam-Soet / Lam-Tengah / Lam-Barih. The operation’s first day, 9 June 1896, saw the Battle of Ateuh Raja — a continuous assault by the 9e Bataljon under Lt.-Col. Veeren, in which European fusilier v. Dongen (No. 28365) was first on the borstwering and received a fatal chest shot from the last Achehnese defender, who was in turn shot by European fusilier v. Castricum — and the Combat at Baha, where the maréchaussée brigades under Lt. Hulstijn and Lt. Campioni stormed the benting “Baha” and a newly-built koeta with missigit. The second day, 10 June 1896, saw the Battle of Lam-Soet — a sharp engagement on the retreat in which Luit.-Adj. Romswinckel rode forward repeating the identification signal “9e bataljon” until he realised the Achehnese were using him as a target, and in which European fusilier Klaassens (No. 40093) was killed, his body not recovered despite a ¾-hour search. The Afghan adventurer Habib Koeala van Pedir — Said Anajatoellah — was killed in the operation.

Background

The Lam-Krak area — a cluster of seven mukim lying west of Ana’ Galong — had been the principal Achehnese redoubt in the western sagi since the conquest of Ana’ Galong of 30 November 1893, when Teuku Umar — guided by superstition (a prophecy of death in Lamkrak) — had refused to advance further. The Dutch had launched no fewer than three major operations against the Lamkrak area in the spring of 1896: the tuchtiging of Lam Goet of 14 April 1896 (a punitive expedition against the bendehoofd Toekoe Hoesin Lhongbatta, whose residence at Lam-Goet lay on the eastern approaches to the Lamkrak); the cancelled operation of 30 March 1896 (a planned three-colonne descent aborted because of the defection of 29 March 1896); and the battle of Senelop of 17 April 1896 (which had cost the Dutch a 7 c.M. A. veld-gun, a 12 c.M. mortar, and a mitrailleur-chest, but had killed the celebrated Habib Lhong and Panglima Nja Bintang). The Lamkrak mukims had remained, however, unsubdued.

By the second week of June 1896 the three-day offensive had broken Teungkoe Oemar’s stelling at Lam-Pisang, the razing of Lam-Asan was complete, and the operations in the IV and VI Moekims had cleared the northern coastal stretch. The Regeeringscommissaris now resolved to chastise the Lam-Krak area in force. Three colonnes were assembled under the overall command of Kol. Stemfoort: the 1e colonne under Lt.-Col. Bisschoff van Heemskerck (the same officer who had commanded the 1e Colonne at the tuchtiging of Lam Goet); the 2e colonne under Lt.-Col. Van Heutsz (the same officer who had commanded the Bergcolonne at the Slag bij Tjot Tjako); and a substantial force of maréchaussée — 12 brigades under Kapt. Jhr. Graafland (4 officers, 12 European under-officers, 207 minderen).

First Day — 9 June 1896: The Battle of Ateuh Raja

On 9 June 1896 the 9e Bataljon under Lt.-Col. Veeren attacked Ateuh Raja in one continuous assault. The 1e compagnie under Kapt. H. T. de Moulin hit the breastwork behind the Kroeng Ateuh and was attacked by 2de luit. W. A. Engelbrecht. European fusilier v. Dongen (No. 28365) was the first on the borstwering and received a fatal chest shot from the last Achehnese defender; that Achehnese was in turn shot by European fusilier v. Castricum — a sequence that captured, in microcosm, the brutal close-quarter character of the fighting. The 2de and 3de compagnieën — the 3de under Kapt. J. A. M. M. von Schauroth — drove the enemy from Tjot Lepong. The 3e compagnie then attacked two redoutes near the northern rand of Lam-Krak (Lam-Djamé) on von Schauroth’s own initiative; both bentings were taken. European fusilier Blankenstein (No. 39189) and Kuipers (No. 39193) were first in, shooting the last defenders. Von Schauroth received a light grazing shot along the belly. Kapt. Jansen’s compagnie talso three small works in the western rand of Lam-Oeri. The losses of the day: 1 dead, 17 wounded (including 2e luit. Boerrigter).

First Day — 9 June 1896: The Combat at Baha

Concurrently, during the 1e colonne’s advance into Lam-Krak, the maréchaussée brigades under Lt. S. v. Hulstijn — commanding the 3e compagnie of the 3e Bataljon — advanced with the maréchaussée. The right peloton under Lt. M. Campioni faced the benting “Baha”; the left peloton faced a newly-built koeta with mosque. After volleys, the works were stormed. The koeta “Baha“‘s garrison of 5 Achehnese fled into the hands of the maréchaussée. One Achehnese fired on Ambonese fusilier Pelitimoe (No. 41233) and Sergeant Stemfoort (No. 40785); the Achehnese was killed. The other peloton had 1 killed in action — an Ambonese fusilier — and 1 mortally wounded — a forced labourer. The combat at Baha, though small, was a sharp engagement that demonstrated the continued determination of the Achehnese resistance even in the face of the convergent Dutch colonnes.

Second Day — 10 June 1896: The Battle of Lam-Soet and the Burning of the Lam-Krak Kampongs

On 10 June 1896 the 2e colonne under Van Heutsz — still believing Lam-Soet to be occupied by the 5e Bataljon — advanced in march column toward Lam-Soet. At approximately 100 m from Lam-Soet, shots from the benteng hit the foremost troops. Luit.-Adj. Romswinckel rode forward repeating the identification signal “9e bataljon” — until he realised that the Achehnese were using him as a target. The spits had 1 gesneuvelde; the body was not found despite a ¾-hour search. The dead man was European fusilier Klaassens (No. 40093); his body was not recovered. The enemy from the rand of Ana’ Batée and from thickets fired on the colonne, causing more wounded at the 6e Bataljon. The artillery came into batterij on the dyke; repeating carbines were fired. The last shot from Lam-Tengah came at 3:20 p.m.; half an hour later, the troops returned from Lam-Baroe to Koeta-Radja. The 2e colonne losses: 2 European fusiliers killed; 1 second lieutenant, 13 European, 2 Ambonese, 11 native wounded; the battery lost 1 muildier (mule). Ammunition expended: 11,528 Beaumont, 258 min. kal., 46 Gr., 21 G. K. T.

After the combat, both colonnes burned the kampongs of the Lam-Krak area. The 1e colonne: the 7e Bataljon and the 3e Bataljon (4 afdeelingen to the Zuidrand of the area to be tuchtigated, Blang Miraii); the 2e compagnie occupied Baha; at the signal, the burning proceeded northward. The 2e colonne: marched in combat formation in broad front through Lam-Lheuë toward Ana’ Batée; burned everything in the area. The Afghan adventurer Habib Koeala van Pedir — Said Anajatoellah — was killed in the operation, a significant loss for the resistance.

Significance

The Tuchtiging of Lam-Krak Moekims on 9 June–10 June 1896 was the long-delayed reduction of the principal Achehnese redoubt in the western sagi. The Lam-Krak area — which had defied Dutch arms since 1893 and which had been the objective of three previous operations — was at last chastised: the bentengs were taken, the kampongs were burned, the Afghan adventurer Habib Koeala van Pedir was killed, and the resistance was broken. The operation was also the most costly single engagement of the June campaign: the 2e colonne alone lost 2 European fusiliers killed and 27 wounded. The death of European fusilier Klaassens — whose body was not recovered despite a ¾-hour search — was a particular blow, and the episode was preserved by Kruisheer as an exemplar of the harshness of the fighting and the difficulty of recovering the dead in the broken terrain of the Lamkrak. The tuchtiging of Lam-Krak was, in strategic terms, the completion of the work begun at the three-day offensive: with the Lam-Krak area reduced and Oemar’s stelling at Lam-Pisang broken, the Dutch had recovered the strategic initiative and had established the conditions for the tuchtiging of the V Moekims Montassik and the Ladoeng landing.

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. 242–266.

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