West Coast of Aceh Action 1925–1927 was a military pacification campaign fought along the southwestern coast of Aceh between 1925 and 1927 to suppress a major resurgence of anti-colonial resistance.
Narrative of the Ambush and Heroic Defense
In 1925, anti-colonial resistance flared anew along the southwestern coast near Meulaboh and Bakongan. Independent Acehnese leaders, armed with klewangs and rifles, ambushed colonial patrols in the tall alang-alang grass plains and dense coastal jungle.
During one fierce engagement, a Marechaussee patrol commanded by Captain J. Paris was ambushed by a large Acehnese force. In the initial volley and hand-to-hand clash, Captain Paris, the European brigade commander, and five soldiers were killed, while twelve others received severe wounds.
With both officers dead, leadership fell upon wounded Javanese Marechaussee Kromo-di-Koro. Despite heavy blood loss, Kromo-di-Koro took charge, rallied the remaining twelve men, and ordered them to fire volley salvos into the high grass to prevent the attackers from overwhelming the survivors. When on the verge of collapsing from blood loss, Kromo-di-Koro formally handed command over to Menadonese Marechaussee Suwoek.
During the ongoing clash, Marechaussee Leleng, who had lost the functional use of his left hand from a blade wound, wedged his rifle between his knees and continued firing with his right hand. Meanwhile, Marechaussee Sumangkut spotted an attacker charging through the grass with a klewang; though badly injured, Sumangkut alerted Suwoek, who pursued and shot the insurgent at fifty meters distance. The small band successfully killed over twenty attackers, captured 26 klewangs, and held the position until reinforcements arrived.
Pacification and Resolution
To restore total order, the colonial government dispatched Colonel L. A. Snell (“Old Hand”) from Java to lead operations on the West Coast. Snell deployed mobile Marechaussee brigades that systematically tracked down insurgent bands. By late 1927, resistance was broken, and a new permanent Marechaussee division was established at Bakongan to preserve peace.
See Also
- J. Paris
- Kromo-di-Koro
- Suwoek
- Louis Adriaan Snell
- Meulaboh
- Bakongan
- Korps Maréchaussée te voet in Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden
Source
Het Korps Maréchaussée in Atjeh: De Atjehsche Garde 1890 - 2 April 1930, Het Nieuws van den Dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië, Extra Jubileum-nummer, Batavia, 2 April 1930, pp. 4–5, 8–9.