Blogg was a lieutenant-colonel of the Netherlands Indies Army who, as the outgoing Territoriaal Commandant of Midden-Sumatra (see Hoofdstuk IV of the staff history), found himself at Blangkedjeren in late March 1942 with the survivors of the central-Atjeh detachments, and in that capacity acted as the senior Dutch officer present at the general capitulation of 28 March 1942. In the Dutch staff history’s account (Deel VI, Hoofdstuk V), Blogg is the officer to whom Colonel Gosenson — having reached Blangkedjeren on 23 March 23 March 1942 — handed the encadrement of the reconstituted Blangkedjeren detachment, and the officer who took the final decision to capitulate.
Hand-over to Van Nues
When Gosenson arrived at Blangkedjeren on 23 March 23 March 1942, he found about 500 men of various onderdelen under Blogg’s command. After “veel passen en meten” Gosenson and Blogg formed “11 brigades Infanterie, 1 sectie mortieren en 1 sectie mitrailleurs” under Captain Van Nues. Blogg, as the senior lieutenant-colonel on the spot, retained the overall bevelsgebied of the Blangkedjeren troops.
The desertion of the sarong en koepiah
Before the Van Nues detachment’s march on 25 March 25 March 1942, the kader noticed that the indigenous militairen had packed a sarong and a koepiah in their ransel — preparations for desertion and disappearance into the civilian population. Blogg “adviseerde hierin te berusten, omdat er toch niets aan te doen was.” The staff history notes this as the formal Dutch acceptance of the collapse of indigenous-troop morale in the Blangkedjeren theatre.
The 28 March capitulation
On 28 March 28 March 1942, after Captain Van Nues’s stelling had been outflanked and the detachment reduced to 25 men, Van Nues returned to Blangkedjeren to consult with Blogg. “Daar vernam hij dat tot de overgave besloten was.” Blogg then sent Van Nues northward with a white flag to offer the capitulation to the Japanese. The capitulation closed the regular campaign in Noord- and Midden-Sumatra: “Nog geen 3 weken na de Japanse landingen, was aan de geregelde strijd in Noord- en Midden-Sumatra een einde gekomen.”
Significance
Blogg’s role at Blangkedjeren is, in the staff history’s Atjeh chapter, primarily that of the senior officer present — the officer whose formal decision to capitulate closed the regular campaign. The staff history treats Blogg’s capitulation as inevitable given the collapse of indigenous-troop morale and the Overakker capitulation of the same day; the attribution of the decision to Blogg rather than to Gosenson is presented as a matter of operational fact rather than of moral judgment.
See Also
- Nederlands-Indië contra Japan
- G. F. V. Gosenson
- F. J. van Nues
- A. van der Waag
- J. F. Westerweel
- Sumatra capitulation (28 March 1942)
- Blangkedjeren
- 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. 143, 148–150.
Blogg was a lieutenant-colonel of the Netherlands Indies Army who, as the outgoing Territoriaal Commandant of Midden-Sumatra (see Hoofdstuk IV of the staff history), found himself at Blangkedjeren in late March 1942 with the survivors of the central-Atjeh detachments, and in that capacity acted as the senior Dutch officer present at the general capitulation of 28 March 1942. In the Dutch staff history’s account (Deel VI, Hoofdstuk V), Blogg is the officer to whom Colonel Gosenson — having reached Blangkedjeren on 23 March 23 March 1942 — handed the encadrement of the reconstituted Blangkedjeren detachment, and the officer who took the final decision to capitulate.
Hand-over to Van Nues
When Gosenson arrived at Blangkedjeren on 23 March 23 March 1942, he found about 500 men of various onderdelen under Blogg’s command. After “veel passen en meten” Gosenson and Blogg formed “11 brigades Infanterie, 1 sectie mortieren en 1 sectie mitrailleurs” under Captain Van Nues. Blogg, as the senior lieutenant-colonel on the spot, retained the overall bevelsgebied of the Blangkedjeren troops.
The desertion of the sarong en koepiah
Before the Van Nues detachment’s march on 25 March 25 March 1942, the kader noticed that the indigenous militairen had packed a sarong and a koepiah in their ransel — preparations for desertion and disappearance into the civilian population. Blogg “adviseerde hierin te berusten, omdat er toch niets aan te doen was.” The staff history notes this as the formal Dutch acceptance of the collapse of indigenous-troop morale in the Blangkedjeren theatre.
The 28 March capitulation
On 28 March 28 March 1942, after Captain Van Nues’s stelling had been outflanked and the detachment reduced to 25 men, Van Nues returned to Blangkedjeren to consult with Blogg. “Daar vernam hij dat tot de overgave besloten was.” Blogg then sent Van Nues northward with a white flag to offer the capitulation to the Japanese. The capitulation closed the regular campaign in Noord- and Midden-Sumatra: “Nog geen 3 weken na de Japanse landingen, was aan de geregelde strijd in Noord- en Midden-Sumatra een einde gekomen.”
Significance
Blogg’s role at Blangkedjeren is, in the staff history’s Atjeh chapter, primarily that of the senior officer present — the officer whose formal decision to capitulate closed the regular campaign. The staff history treats Blogg’s capitulation as inevitable given the collapse of indigenous-troop morale and the Overakker capitulation of the same day; the attribution of the decision to Blogg rather than to Gosenson is presented as a matter of operational fact rather than of moral judgment.
See Also
- Nederlands-Indië contra Japan
- G. F. V. Gosenson
- F. J. van Nues
- A. van der Waag
- J. F. Westerweel
- Sumatra capitulation (28 March 1942)
- Blangkedjeren
- 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. 143, 148–150.