Lamtoba column (1879)

Properties2
tagsorganization, military, column, knil, dutch, aceh-war, 1879
aliasesColonne Gerlach, Colonne Lamtoba, the Lamtoba column, Gerlach column, expeditie naar Lamtoba en Selimoen

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The Lamtoba column — the colonne Gerlach — was the composite Dutch field force assembled by Generaal K. van der Heijden in the last days of July 1879, a few days after the conquest of the XXVI Moekims, with the instruction to pursue the chiefs and the great part of the population fled, by the received intelligence, to the valley of Lamtoba at the foot of the Goudberg, to punish the district for the hospitality shown, and to compel the refugees of the XXII and XXVI Moekims as much as possible to return. Commanded by Luitenant-Kolonel Gerlach, it campaigned from 26 July to 4 September 1879, occupied the Lamtoba valley, carried out the march to Selimoen in concert with the column of Majoor Lubeck, and closed the first phase of the Atjeh-oorlog. Its complete order of battle is preserved in W. Cool and G. B. Hooijer’s Eene schoone bladzijde uit Atjeh’s geschiedenis (1889), pp. 5–7.

Order of battle

Staff of the expedition. Commandant: Luitenant-Kolonel Gerlach; adjudant: 1e Luitenant der Infanterie Popelier. Added as chief of the General Staff: 1e Luitenant der Genie W. Cool — promoted to Kapitein on 24 July 1879 — who received also the command of the detachment of Mineurs, its officer being sick. Chief of the recording brigade (opnemingsbrigade): 1e Luitenant G. B. Hooijer, with two sergeants-opnemers.

Infantry. Two battalions:

Artillery. A section of guns of the 18e Compagnie bergbatterij — the battery commander Kapitein A. B. C. Dom with a second officer (Luitenant Van Heutz), 36 men and 21 horses — and two sections of mortars under an adjudant-onderofficier with 23 men.

Engineers. Twenty Mineurs and Sappeurs, half of them natives.

Administration. One captain and two lieutenants, a clerk, and five opzichters (superintendents) over the convict labourers and coolies.

Medical service. Two medical officers, the chief the officier van gezondheid 1e klasse Lowe, with the officier van gezondheid Nöckedved, twenty orderlies, a military pharmacist — attached for the chemical testing of well-water, on account of rumours that the population of the district understood the use of poisons — and thirty tandoes, doolies for the sick (fifty were in fact taken).

Transport. 806 planned dwangarbeiders (convict labourers) and free coolies, distributed over the staff (2 horse-keepers), the infantry (88, of which 8 per company for the cook-gear), the artillery (168, of which 8 grass-cutters and the rest for the transport of the mortar sections), the Mineurs (30), the administration (250 for the carriage of the provisions and forage) and the medical service (68). In reality 984 coolies and convict labourers marched: the 178 extra men — misdirected from the dissolved second column of the XXVI Moekims to Oleh-leh — were retained by Gerlach, whose responsibility was afterwards easily given when the General remarked on them at Lamtoba; twice more the coolie strength had to be reinforced (see Transport and Coolie System in Aceh).

Guides and interpreters. Eight Achehnese and native auxiliaries (see Guides and interpreters of the Lamtoba column (1879)): Toekoe Ali, Toekoe Mas, Toekoe Ladang Baroe, Si Nja Garu, Oetoes Ja, Mas Saäd, Mas Daud, Nja Assan.

Totals. 46 officers, 1,104 non-commissioned officers and men, 5 superintendents, 984 labourers and coolies, and 26 horses. The column commander, both battalion commanders, the chief of staff, the brigade chief and the two artillery officers were mounted.

Equipment and supply

The column received fourteen days’ provisions and forage on board; every man carried on debarkation hard bread and sardines or salt pork for that day. Knapsacks were not taken; one change of clothing was reckoned sufficient. For ammunition each man carried one loose and two bound packets in the cartridge-pouch and two packets in the cartridge-box, while fifty rounds per man were held in reserve, packed in casks — partly carried by coolies for a first replenishment in action, partly remaining under the charge of the artillery. The unsuitability of these reserve casks of 1,500 cartridges for mountain marches, borne by three coolies at a bamboo pole who could not find room abreast on the narrow paths, is the subject of a tactical footnote of the book.

Operations

Embarkation at Oleh-leh and landing at Lampanas (26–27 July 1879) in the ships Merapi, Soerabaya, Borneo and Graaf van Bijland; the march to Lamtoba of 28–29 July; the fortnight’s occupation; the burning of Kepaja Doewa; the Kroeng Raija reconnaissance; the march to Selimoen of 13–18 August; the return march; the evacuation; the quarantine at Lampanas; and the embarkation of 2–4 September 1879 for Oleh-leh. One month after the column had marched out, its roll of 2,234 men showed 39 dead, 346 evacuated, 127 heavy sick in the ambulance and 267 quarter-sick — 769 in all, more than a third.

See Also

Source

Eene schoone bladzijde uit Atjeh’s geschiedenis, door W. Cool en G. B. Hooijer (‘s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1889), pp. 3-7, 69-71. OCR-filename: 20260720_115822_DLP-135-Eene_schoone_bladzijde_uit_Atjeh_s_geschiedenis_Nemotron_OCR_v2_OCR.txt.

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