Bergcolonne

The bergcolonne — the mountain column of the Dutch colonial military geographers — was a combined-arms column built around the marechaussée corps and the mountain batteries of the K.N.I.L. in Groot-Atjeh, designed for operations in the broken country of the Atjehnese interior, and commanded throughout the 1896 campaign by Lt.-Kol. J. B. Van Heutsz with Kapitein G. C. E. Van Daalen of the General Staff as his chief of staff. The bergcolonne is the principal Dutch manoeuvre formation of the 1896 campaign in ATJEH ‘96 (1913).

Composition

The bergcolonne was built around the marechaussée corps and the mountain batteries, with attached infantry, engineers, cavalry, and medical service. The composition varied according to the operation; for the great tuchtiging of the IV and VI Moekims of 23–25 May 1896, the bergcolonne under Van Heutsz included the 3rd, 6th, and 7th Battalions, the marechaussée brigades, the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Bergbatterijen, and the engineers and medical service. For the surprise of Ana’ Galoeng of 29 June 1896, the bergcolonne was reduced to the marechaussée corps under Kapitein Van Kappen with detachments of the 3rd, 6th, and 14th Battalions.

Tactical method

The bergcolonne was the operational formation within which the tactical method developed by Van Heutsz and Van Daalen in 1896 was applied. The method had four elements:

1. small, mobile, combined-arms forces;
2. marechaussée as the principal manoeuvre element;
3. night marches to maximise surprise;
4. operations aimed at the destruction of the enemy’s fortified positions (bentengs) and the burning of his villages, not at the occupation of territory.

The method was applied most famously in the surprise of Ana’ Galoeng of 29 June 1896 — a night march followed by a dawn assault with the klewang (cutlass) that carried the benteng with 110 enemy dead at negligible Dutch cost.

The 1896 operations

The bergcolonne under Van Heutsz participated in every major Dutch operation of the 1896 campaign:

• the great tuchtiging of the IV and VI Moekims of 23–25 May 1896;
• the tuchtiging of the Lam-Krak Moekims of 9–10 June 1896;
• the tuchtiging of the V Moekims Montassik of 16–17 June 1896;
• the surprise of Ana’ Galoeng of 29 June 1896;
• the expedition to Lepong of August 1896;
• the first Selimoen expedition of September 1896;
• the second Selimoen expedition of November 1896;
• the expedition to Indrapuri of October 1896.

Significance

The bergcolonne is the principal Dutch manoeuvre formation of the 1896 campaign in ATJEH ‘96 and the formation within which the tactical method that would close the Atjeh-oorlog by 1903 was developed. The bergcolonne under Van Heutsz and Van Daalen participated in every major Dutch operation of the 1896 campaign and served as the model for the marechaussée-and-column method that would, under Van Heutsz as Civiel en Militair Gouverneur (1898–1904), bring the war to its close.

See Also

• ATJEH ‘96 (book by A. Kruisheer)
• 1896
• J. B. van Heutsz
• G. C. E. van Daalen
• Korps Marechaussee van Atjeh en Onderhorigen
• Derde Bataljon (Atjeh-Bataljon)
• 6e Bataljon Infanterie
• 7e Bataljon Infanterie
• 14e Bataljon Infanterie
• Bergbatterijen
• Three-day Dutch offensive of 23–25 May 1896
• Surprise of Ana’ Galoeng (29 June 1896)
• Excursie to Lepong and Lohong (10–14 August 1896)
• First Selimoen Expedition (6–11 September 1896)
• Second Selimoen Expedition (3–6 November 1896)
• Temporary Occupation of Indrapoeri (28 October 1896)
• Klewang
• Civiel en Militair Gouverneur
• Aceh War
• 1903

Source

ATJEH ‘96. 1e Deel, door A. Kruisheer, Kapitein der Infanterie O.I.L. (Weltevreden: N.V. Boekhandel Visser & Co, 1913), Hoofdstuk II, p. 154: de z.g. bergcolonne; Hoofdstukken I–II passim.

ATJEH ‘96. Tweede Deel (2c Deel), door A. Kruisheer (Weltevreden: N.V. Boekhandel Visser & Co, 1913), Hoofdstukken III–IV passim.