The Westkustcolonne was a Dutch column of nine brigades of garrison infantry — drawn from the 1ste Garnizoensbataljon detachments at Tapatoean, Meulaboh and Tjalang on the Westkust van Atjeh — formed in 1940 as part of the pre-invasion Dutch force drawdown, equipped with automatic weapons, and transferred out of Atjeh to the Oostkust van Sumatra for the guard of the German internee camp at Lawe Sigalagala. In the Dutch staff history’s account (Deel VI, Hoofdstuk V), the Westkustcolonne is the principal single instance of the structural abandonment of the Westkust as a Dutch theatre of independent operation.
Formation (1940)
In 1940, shortly after the outbreak of war with Germany in May 1940, the outposts at Bireuën, Langsa and Kotatjane were evacuated by the units stationed there — totalling 12 brigades — and assigned to a wartime task outside Atjeh. At the same time, a so-called “Westkustcolonne” was formed, consisting of 9 brigades of garrison infantry — equipped with automatic weapons — drawn from the detachments at Tapatoean, Meulaboh and Tjalang.
The Tapatoean and Meulaboh detachments were dissolved outright by the formation of the colonne; the Tjalang detachment was reduced by one brigade. The Westkustcolonne was moved to the Oostkust van Sumatra, and some months later was designated as the guard detachment for the camp for interned Germans at Lawe Sigalagala.
Disposition
The Westkustcolonne was stationed at Lawe Sigalagala for the duration of its existence. The soldiers of the colonne never returned to Atjeh, while their families were moved to Kotaradja. The separation of the Westkustcolonne soldiers from their families — who were moved to Kotaradja — is the staff history’s first mention of the family separation that would become a major cause of demoralisation in the March 1942 campaign.
Significance
The Westkustcolonne is, in the staff history’s Atjeh chapter, the principal single instance of the structural abandonment of the Westkust as a Dutch theatre of independent operation. The colonne’s removal to Lawe Sigalagala — and the dissolution of the Tapatoean and Meulaboh detachments — left the Westkust with only 11 brigades of Maréchaussee (four at Koeala Bee, three at Djeuram, four at Meulaboh) by December 1941, and reduced the Westkust’s capacity to mount sustained resistance to the F. beweging rising or to the Japanese Westkust march of March 1942. The colonne’s permanent removal from Atjeh — never to return — also prefigures the permanent loss of the Westkustcolonne’s Atjeh-experienced officers and NCOs to the Atjeh theatre.
See Also
- Nederlands-Indië contra Japan
- 1ste Garnizoensbataljon
- Tapatoean
- Meulaboh
- Tjalang
- Lawe Sigalagala
- 2de (IIde) Divisie Marechaussee
- Captain L. H. J. Kloprogge
- K.N.I.L.
- 1940
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. 116–117.
The Westkustcolonne was a Dutch column of nine brigades of garrison infantry — drawn from the 1ste Garnizoensbataljon detachments at Tapatoean, Meulaboh and Tjalang on the Westkust van Atjeh — formed in 1940 as part of the pre-invasion Dutch force drawdown, equipped with automatic weapons, and transferred out of Atjeh to the Oostkust van Sumatra for the guard of the German internee camp at Lawe Sigalagala. In the Dutch staff history’s account (Deel VI, Hoofdstuk V), the Westkustcolonne is the principal single instance of the structural abandonment of the Westkust as a Dutch theatre of independent operation.
Formation (1940)
In 1940, shortly after the outbreak of war with Germany in May 1940, the outposts at Bireuën, Langsa and Kotatjane were evacuated by the units stationed there — totalling 12 brigades — and assigned to a wartime task outside Atjeh. At the same time, a so-called “Westkustcolonne” was formed, consisting of 9 brigades of garrison infantry — equipped with automatic weapons — drawn from the detachments at Tapatoean, Meulaboh and Tjalang.
The Tapatoean and Meulaboh detachments were dissolved outright by the formation of the colonne; the Tjalang detachment was reduced by one brigade. The Westkustcolonne was moved to the Oostkust van Sumatra, and some months later was designated as the guard detachment for the camp for interned Germans at Lawe Sigalagala.
Disposition
The Westkustcolonne was stationed at Lawe Sigalagala for the duration of its existence. The soldiers of the colonne never returned to Atjeh, while their families were moved to Kotaradja. The separation of the Westkustcolonne soldiers from their families — who were moved to Kotaradja — is the staff history’s first mention of the family separation that would become a major cause of demoralisation in the March 1942 campaign.
Significance
The Westkustcolonne is, in the staff history’s Atjeh chapter, the principal single instance of the structural abandonment of the Westkust as a Dutch theatre of independent operation. The colonne’s removal to Lawe Sigalagala — and the dissolution of the Tapatoean and Meulaboh detachments — left the Westkust with only 11 brigades of Maréchaussee (four at Koeala Bee, three at Djeuram, four at Meulaboh) by December 1941, and reduced the Westkust’s capacity to mount sustained resistance to the F. beweging rising or to the Japanese Westkust march of March 1942. The colonne’s permanent removal from Atjeh — never to return — also prefigures the permanent loss of the Westkustcolonne’s Atjeh-experienced officers and NCOs to the Atjeh theatre.
See Also
- Nederlands-Indië contra Japan
- 1ste Garnizoensbataljon
- Tapatoean
- Meulaboh
- Tjalang
- Lawe Sigalagala
- 2de (IIde) Divisie Marechaussee
- Captain L. H. J. Kloprogge
- K.N.I.L.
- 1940
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. 116–117.