C. J. Laceulle — Luitenant-Kolonel (Lieutenant-Colonel) of the Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger — was the commandant of the 5e Bataljon and the commandant der 3e colonne at the surprise of Ana’ Galoeng of 29 June 1896, the night attack on the benteng (fort) of Ana’ Galong — het hart van Groot-Atjeh (the heart of Great Aceh) — which opened the second semester of 1896 in Kruisheer’s ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel. As commandant der 3e colonne, Laceulle also served tevens Comd. van het 5e Bat. Inf. — simultaneously as commandant of the 5e Bataljon — and his force, with a strength of 14 officers and 445 ond. off. en minderen of infantry plus a section of Bergartillerie (Mountain artillery) under 1e Luit. Van der Waarden (31 men, 5 horses, 12 pack-animals) and a detachment of Genietroepen (Engineers) under 1e Luit. C. J. de Bruijn (17 men), formed the western arm of the three-colonne attack.
The 3e Colonne at the Surprise of Ana’ Galoeng
The composition of the 3e colonne at the surprise of Ana’ Galoeng is recorded by Kruisheer in detail. 3e colonne. Comd. Luit.-Kol. C. J. Laceulle tevens Comd. van het 5e Bat. Inf. Sterkte: 14 off. en 445 ond. off. en minderen. Artillerie. Eene sectie Bergart. Comd 1e luit. van der Waarden. Sterkte: 31 ond. off. en minderen, 5 rijpaarden 12 trek- of draagdieren. Genietroepen. Een detachement: Comd. 1e luit. C. J. de Bruijn. Sterkte: 17 minderen. Trein. Eéne ambulance. Laceulle’s colonne was thus the smallest of the three — a single bataljon with a section of mountain artillery and a small detachment of engineers — but it was assigned the most demanding mission in the operation’s cordon plan.
The role assigned to the 3e colonne was op den rechteroever der Atjeh-rivier — to cover the retreat of the 1e and 2e colonnes on the right bank of the Atjeh-rivier — and to this end it was zou zich vastzetten in den Oostrand van Lam-Oe — to fix itself in the eastern edge of Lam-Oe. Door signalen zou het verband tusschen die beiden worden onderhouden — the link between the two would be maintained by signals. The 3e colonne departed from Lambaroe at 6 AM, the last of the three colonnes to move, and was tasked with patrolling the kampongs between Tjot Goet and Belang, slechten der vijandelijke versterkingen Tjot Goet, Tjot Gloempang en Lamsoet (levelling the enemy fortifications Tjot Goet, Tjot Gloempang and Lamsoet) — for so far as this had not already been done — and de terugtocht op Siroen en Lambaroe in verband met de 2e colonne nemen (taking the retreat on Siroen and Lambaroe in conjunction with the 2e colonne). Branden en plunderen was voor deze colonne streng verboden — burning and plundering was strictly forbidden for this colonne — a notable restriction in an operation otherwise characterised by the tuchtiging (punitive burning) of Sibreh and Rahat.
The Operations of Late 1896
Laceulle’s command of the 5e Bataljon continued through the second semester of 1896, and the bataljon was engaged in the operations of the XXII Moekims and the XXVI Moekims in August and September 1896. The 5e Bataljon’s role in the trip to XXII Moekims of 23–27 August 1896 and in the subsequent operations based on the Blang Bintang camp placed Laceulle at the centre of the slow forward movement of the second semester — though the published text of ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel records fewer individual commands for Laceulle than for Soeters or Van Heutsz, reflecting the more static role assigned to his bataljon.
Significance
Laceulle’s significance in the documentary record of ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel is that of the commandant of the western arm of the surprise of Ana’ Galoeng — the officer whose colonne was tasked with the most geographically extended cordon role in the three-colonne attack, and whose branden en plunderen was voor deze colonne streng verboden distinguished his command from the punitive tuchtiging (punitive expedition) assigned to the 1e and 2e colonnes. The 5e Bataljon which he commanded was one of the principal Dutch infantry units of the second semester of 1896, and its presence in the operations of the XXII Moekims and XXVI Moekims in August and September 1896 places Laceulle at the centre of the slow forward movement which characterised the post-De Moulin period.
See Also
- ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel (book by A. Kruisheer)
- J. W. Stemfoort
- G. F. Soeters
- J. B. van Heutsz
- Van der Waarden
- C. J. de Bruijn
- 5e Bataljon
- Surprise of Ana’ Galoeng (29 June 1896)
- Tuchtiging of Sibreh and Rahat (29 June 1896)
- Trip to XXII Moekims (23–27 August 1896)
- XXII Moekims
- XXVI Moekims
- Lam-Oe
- Tjot Goet
- Tjot Gloempang
- Lamsoet
- Belang
- Lambaroe
- Aceh War
- 1896
Source
ATJEH ‘96. Tweede Deel (2c Deel), door A. Kruisheer, Kapitein der Infanterie O.I.L., met 3 kaarten en 6 portretten (Weltevreden: N.V. Boekhandel Visser & Co, 1913). Instituut Kern, Leiden. OCR-filename: 20260715_163243_DLP-90-Atjeh_96_DLP-89-Atjeh_96_Met_3_kaarten_en_6_DOORA_KRUISHEER_Kapiteinder_Infanterie_nemoretriever-ocr-v1_OCR.txt., pp. 7, 15–16, 80, 92.