The 1ste Garnizoensbataljon was a garrison battalion of the Netherlands Indies Army stationed in the gewest of Atjeh during 1940–1942, and one of the four garrison battalions (together with the 2de, 3de and 4de) that formed the Dutch garrison-infantry strength of Atjeh on the eve of the Japanese invasion of March 1942. In the Dutch staff history’s account (Deel VI, Hoofdstuk V), the 1ste Garnizoensbataljon is the Westkust- and Tapanoeli-oriented battalion whose progressive reduction through 1940–1941 is the staff history’s principal measure of the Dutch pre-invasion force drawdown.
Organisation as of 1 January 1940
As of 1 January 1940, the 1ste Garnizoensbataljon was grouped as follows:
- Staff: Kotaradja
- Tapatoean: 4 brigades
- Blang Pidië: 4 brigades
- Meulaboh: 4 brigades
- Tjalang: 4 brigades
- Lam No: 3 brigades
- Lokop: 4 brigades
- Kotatjane: 4 brigades
Total: 27 brigades (each brigade of garrison infantry numbering 21 men, for a battalion strength of about 567 men).
The battalion’s principal task was the maintenance of order and tranquillity in the Westkust and in the upper-Atjeh–Tapanoeli border outposts. The brigades were required to carry out intensive multi-day patrols of eight to ten days each month, principally as a show of force, and were well trained in the conduct of small warfare against indigenous insurgents.
Reductions of 1940–1941
In the course of 1940 the Westkustcolonne was formed from nine brigades of garrison infantry drawn from the Tapatoean, Meulaboh and Tjalang detachments (the Tapatoean and Meulaboh detachments were dissolved; the Tjalang detachment was reduced by one brigade). The Westkustcolonne was moved to the Oostkust van Sumatra and eventually to Lawe Sigalagala to guard the German internee camp. The soldiers never returned to Atjeh.
In 1941 the detachments at Blang Indië, Lam No, Lho’Nga, Seulimeum (the latter two not part of the 1ste Garnizoensbataljon), Padang Tiji, Meureudoe, Samalanga and Boeloe Blang Ara — totalling 28 brigades — were dissolved. Of the brigades thereby released, 15 were formed into a column for use outside Atjeh, and the remainder were used to reinforce the 2de Garnizoensbataljon at Kotaradja. The staff of the 1ste Garnizoensbataljon was moved to Medan. By the outbreak of war in December 1941, the corps consisted only of the troops stationed on the Oostkust van Sumatra and the detachments at Lokop and Lho Seumawé (the latter taken over from the 3de Garnizoensbataljon).
Significance
The 1ste Garnizoensbataljon is, in the staff history’s Atjeh chapter, the principal measure of the Dutch pre-invasion force drawdown. The battalion’s reduction from 27 brigades to a token force in 1940–1941 is presented by the staff history as the structural cause of the Dutch inability to suppress the F. beweging rising of February–March 1942 or to mount a sustained guerrilla after the Japanese landings. The transfer of the battalion staff to Medan in 1941 symbolised the formal Dutch abandonment of the Westkust as a theatre of independent operation.
See Also
- Nederlands-Indië contra Japan
- 2de Garnizoensbataljon
- 3de Garnizoensbataljon
- 4de Garnizoensbataljon
- Westkustcolonne
- K.N.I.L.
- G. F. V. Gosenson
- Lokop
- Tapatoean
- Meulaboh
- Tjalang
- Lam No
- 1940
- 1941
- 1942
Source
Nederlands-Indië contra Japan, Deel VI: De strijd op Ambon, Timor en Sumatra, bewerkt door C. van den Hoogenband en L. Schotborgh (‘s-Gravenhage: Staatsdrukkerij- en Uitgeverijbedrijf, 1959), Hoofdstuk V (“De strijd in Noord-Sumatra (Atjeh)”), pp. 114–118.
The 1ste Garnizoensbataljon was a garrison battalion of the Netherlands Indies Army stationed in the gewest of Atjeh during 1940–1942, and one of the four garrison battalions (together with the 2de, 3de and 4de) that formed the Dutch garrison-infantry strength of Atjeh on the eve of the Japanese invasion of March 1942. In the Dutch staff history’s account (Deel VI, Hoofdstuk V), the 1ste Garnizoensbataljon is the Westkust- and Tapanoeli-oriented battalion whose progressive reduction through 1940–1941 is the staff history’s principal measure of the Dutch pre-invasion force drawdown.
Organisation as of 1 January 1940
As of 1 January 1940, the 1ste Garnizoensbataljon was grouped as follows:
- Staff: Kotaradja
- Tapatoean: 4 brigades
- Blang Pidië: 4 brigades
- Meulaboh: 4 brigades
- Tjalang: 4 brigades
- Lam No: 3 brigades
- Lokop: 4 brigades
- Kotatjane: 4 brigades
Total: 27 brigades (each brigade of garrison infantry numbering 21 men, for a battalion strength of about 567 men).
The battalion’s principal task was the maintenance of order and tranquillity in the Westkust and in the upper-Atjeh–Tapanoeli border outposts. The brigades were required to carry out intensive multi-day patrols of eight to ten days each month, principally as a show of force, and were well trained in the conduct of small warfare against indigenous insurgents.
Reductions of 1940–1941
In the course of 1940 the Westkustcolonne was formed from nine brigades of garrison infantry drawn from the Tapatoean, Meulaboh and Tjalang detachments (the Tapatoean and Meulaboh detachments were dissolved; the Tjalang detachment was reduced by one brigade). The Westkustcolonne was moved to the Oostkust van Sumatra and eventually to Lawe Sigalagala to guard the German internee camp. The soldiers never returned to Atjeh.
In 1941 the detachments at Blang Indië, Lam No, Lho’Nga, Seulimeum (the latter two not part of the 1ste Garnizoensbataljon), Padang Tiji, Meureudoe, Samalanga and Boeloe Blang Ara — totalling 28 brigades — were dissolved. Of the brigades thereby released, 15 were formed into a column for use outside Atjeh, and the remainder were used to reinforce the 2de Garnizoensbataljon at Kotaradja. The staff of the 1ste Garnizoensbataljon was moved to Medan. By the outbreak of war in December 1941, the corps consisted only of the troops stationed on the Oostkust van Sumatra and the detachments at Lokop and Lho Seumawé (the latter taken over from the 3de Garnizoensbataljon).
Significance
The 1ste Garnizoensbataljon is, in the staff history’s Atjeh chapter, the principal measure of the Dutch pre-invasion force drawdown. The battalion’s reduction from 27 brigades to a token force in 1940–1941 is presented by the staff history as the structural cause of the Dutch inability to suppress the F. beweging rising of February–March 1942 or to mount a sustained guerrilla after the Japanese landings. The transfer of the battalion staff to Medan in 1941 symbolised the formal Dutch abandonment of the Westkust as a theatre of independent operation.
See Also
- Nederlands-Indië contra Japan
- 2de Garnizoensbataljon
- 3de Garnizoensbataljon
- 4de Garnizoensbataljon
- Westkustcolonne
- K.N.I.L.
- G. F. V. Gosenson
- Lokop
- Tapatoean
- Meulaboh
- Tjalang
- Lam No
- 1940
- 1941
- 1942
Source
Nederlands-Indië contra Japan, Deel VI: De strijd op Ambon, Timor en Sumatra, bewerkt door C. van den Hoogenband en L. Schotborgh (‘s-Gravenhage: Staatsdrukkerij- en Uitgeverijbedrijf, 1959), Hoofdstuk V (“De strijd in Noord-Sumatra (Atjeh)”), pp. 114–118.