A. Bangert — Kapitein (Captain) of the artillery of the K.N.I.L. (Royal Netherlands East Indies Army) — was the commander of the 4e Bergbatterij (4th Mountain Battery) throughout the 1896 campaign in Groot-Atjeh, in which capacity he participated in every major Dutch field operation of the year, from the relief of Biloel and Lamkoenjit on 8 April 1896 through the great tuchtiging of the IV and VI Moekims of 23–25 May 1896 to the tuchtiging of the V Moekims Montassik of 16–17 June 1896. He is one of the principal Dutch artillery officers of the 1896 campaign in ATJEH ‘96 (1913).
The 4e Bergbatterij under Bangert
The 4e Bergbatterij was, on 1 January 1896, composed of three officers, forty-seven European and thirty-one Native men, with four vuurmonden (guns), three officers’ horses (rijpaarden), and thirty-eight draught and pack animals (trek- en draagdieren). Bangert commanded the battery throughout the year. The Tweede Deel of ATJEH ‘96 records the battery’s reduced strength later in the year as two lieutenants, fifty-nine men, thirty horses, and four guns, reflecting the wear of the campaign. The 4e Bergbatterij was one of the three principal mountain batteries of the Military Command of Atjeh and Dependencies in 1896, alongside the 1e Bergbatterij under Kapitein Nauta and the 2e Bergbatterij under Kapitein Dibbets.
The 1896 campaign
Bangert’s 4e Bergbatterij was, throughout 1896, one of the principal Dutch artillery units in Groot-Atjeh. The 1e Deel of ATJEH ‘96 records the battery’s participation in:
- the relief of Biloel and Lamkoenjit on 8 April 1896;
- the bombardment of Lampisang of 27 April – 23 May 1896;
- the great tuchtiging of the IV and VI Moekims of 23–25 May 1896;
- the tuchtiging of the V Moekims Montassik of 16–17 June 1896;
- the tuchtiging of the Lam-Krak Moekims of 9–10 June 1896.
The Tweede Deel records the battery’s participation in the tuchtiging of the V Moekims Montassik and other operations of the second semester. In each engagement Kruisheer records the expenditure of Granaat (shells) and Granaat-Kartets (shrapnel) by the battery.
Significance
Bangert is one of the principal Dutch artillery officers of the 1896 campaign and the commander of the 4e Bergbatterij throughout the year. His battery was one of the principal Dutch artillery units in Groot-Atjeh and participated in every major operation of the first semester. The mountain guns of the 4e Bergbatterij — light, mobile pieces capable of operating in the broken country of the Atjehnese interior — were the principal Dutch artillery support for the infantry and marechaussée columns of the 1896 campaign.
See Also
- ATJEH ‘96 (book by A. Kruisheer)
- Bergbatterijen
- 1896
- Groot-Atjeh
- Relief of Biloel and Lamkoenjit (8 April 1896)
- Bombardment of Lampisang (27 April – 23 May 1896)
- Three-day Dutch offensive of 23–25 May 1896
- Tuchtiging der V Moekims Montassik (16–17 June 1896)
- Tuchtiging of Lam-Krak Moekims (9–10 June 1896)
- G. J. E. Nauta
- P. J. Dibbets
- Korps Marechaussee van Atjeh en Onderhorigen
- Aceh War
Source
ATJEH ‘96. 1e Deel, door A. Kruisheer, Kapitein der Infanterie O.I.L. (Weltevreden: N.V. Boekhandel Visser & Co, 1913), Hoofdstuk I, p. 78: 4e Bergbatterij, Commandant: Kapitein A. Bangert, sterk: 4 officieren, 47 Eur. en 31 inl. minderen, 3 officiersripparden en 38 troepenpaarden; Hoofdstukken I–II passim.
ATJEH ‘96. Tweede Deel (2c Deel), door A. Kruisheer (Weltevreden: N.V. Boekhandel Visser & Co, 1913), Hoofdstuk III, p. 46: 4e Bergbatterij (2 sectiën) Comdt. Kapt. A. Bangert. Sterkte: 2 Luit. 59 minderen 30 rijpaarden, trek- en draagdieren met 4 vuurmonden.