E. C. O. von Bredow was an adjutant-underofficier of the Indies army who distinguished himself in the second Aceh expedition at the fight near kampong Lemboe on 25 December 25 December 1873, when, “with the oranje-vaandel in his hand, accompanied and followed by some officers and rank-and-file, he suddenly broke through the dense thorn-bushes, and thus planted the vaandel at the foot of the parapet of the enemy fortification.” His exploit, and the subsequent bringing-up of reinforcements by Captain Van Daalen, led to the carrying of the line and to the eventual approach to the Kraton.
The Fight at Kampong Lemboe, 25 December 1873
When Mas Soemo Widikdjo did not return and the enemy began to fire on the bivouac, it was decided on 25 December 25 December [1873] to make a reconnaissance in south-east direction, “with the plan of finding in south-east direction an open plain, which according to the reports collected before the campaign and also according to the assertion of the guides, lay on the right bank of the river opposite the Kraton, and was therefore probably a suitable place for our siege batteries.” The reconnaissance led to a fierce fight, as a whole series of enemy fortifications was encountered near kampong Lemboe.
The situation became almost untenable. The soldiers of the right half of the third bataljon, with incredible difficulty, reached the first of the enemy fortifications. With the kapmes they tried to hew a way through the heavy bamboe-doern verhakking of five metres’ width. “The situation of our men became, especially on the western face, almost untenable; continually greeted by a mostly invisible enemy with a deafening fire, the troops did not want to give way, but could not advance. Yet they would perhaps have been forced to give up the unequal fight, if the adjutant-underofficier E. C. O. von Bredow had not, with the oranje-vaandel in his hand, accompanied and followed by some officers and rank-and-file, suddenly broken through the dense thorn-bushes, and thus planted the vaandel at the foot of the parapet of the enemy fortification. But here too advance proved impossible; the little troop of brave men sat wholly stuck in the thorn-bushes.”
Captain Van Daalen, who was in front of the verhakking and observed the situation on his horse, exposed to a real rain of bullets, continually urged the soldiers to handle their kapmes diligently. To speak courage to the men at the vaandel, he forced his horse, rearing and springing, through the thorn-mass; on reaching the vaandel, he planted it in the slope of the parapet, and made all promise not to yield a thumb’s breadth, while he went to fetch reinforcements. The left half of the third bataljon, brought up by Van Daalen as reinforcements, was soon engaged in a fierce fight at a second fortification. When Van Daalen returned to his troops, the bushes had been cleared enough that more men could join the vaandel. The storming began, and after a stubborn fight the benting was taken.
See Also
- E. C. van Daalen
- J. van Swieten
- Mas Soemo Widikdjo
- Kraton of Aceh
- Lemboe
- Second Aceh Expedition (1873-1874)
- Capture of the Kraton (24 January 1874)
- Aceh War
- Oranje-vaandel
Source
De geschiedenis van Nederland in onzen tijd, by J. A. de Bruyne, Directeur der Hoogere Burgerschool te Zierikzee. Deel IV. 1872-1883. Nieuwe uitgave. Schiedam: J. F. Dupont, 1912, Hoofdstuk I, pp. 21-23.
E. C. O. von Bredow was an adjutant-underofficier of the Indies army who distinguished himself in the second Aceh expedition at the fight near kampong Lemboe on 25 December 25 December 1873, when, “with the oranje-vaandel in his hand, accompanied and followed by some officers and rank-and-file, he suddenly broke through the dense thorn-bushes, and thus planted the vaandel at the foot of the parapet of the enemy fortification.” His exploit, and the subsequent bringing-up of reinforcements by Captain Van Daalen, led to the carrying of the line and to the eventual approach to the Kraton.
The Fight at Kampong Lemboe, 25 December 1873
When Mas Soemo Widikdjo did not return and the enemy began to fire on the bivouac, it was decided on 25 December 25 December [1873] to make a reconnaissance in south-east direction, “with the plan of finding in south-east direction an open plain, which according to the reports collected before the campaign and also according to the assertion of the guides, lay on the right bank of the river opposite the Kraton, and was therefore probably a suitable place for our siege batteries.” The reconnaissance led to a fierce fight, as a whole series of enemy fortifications was encountered near kampong Lemboe.
The situation became almost untenable. The soldiers of the right half of the third bataljon, with incredible difficulty, reached the first of the enemy fortifications. With the kapmes they tried to hew a way through the heavy bamboe-doern verhakking of five metres’ width. “The situation of our men became, especially on the western face, almost untenable; continually greeted by a mostly invisible enemy with a deafening fire, the troops did not want to give way, but could not advance. Yet they would perhaps have been forced to give up the unequal fight, if the adjutant-underofficier E. C. O. von Bredow had not, with the oranje-vaandel in his hand, accompanied and followed by some officers and rank-and-file, suddenly broken through the dense thorn-bushes, and thus planted the vaandel at the foot of the parapet of the enemy fortification. But here too advance proved impossible; the little troop of brave men sat wholly stuck in the thorn-bushes.”
Captain Van Daalen, who was in front of the verhakking and observed the situation on his horse, exposed to a real rain of bullets, continually urged the soldiers to handle their kapmes diligently. To speak courage to the men at the vaandel, he forced his horse, rearing and springing, through the thorn-mass; on reaching the vaandel, he planted it in the slope of the parapet, and made all promise not to yield a thumb’s breadth, while he went to fetch reinforcements. The left half of the third bataljon, brought up by Van Daalen as reinforcements, was soon engaged in a fierce fight at a second fortification. When Van Daalen returned to his troops, the bushes had been cleared enough that more men could join the vaandel. The storming began, and after a stubborn fight the benting was taken.
See Also
- E. C. van Daalen
- J. van Swieten
- Mas Soemo Widikdjo
- Kraton of Aceh
- Lemboe
- Second Aceh Expedition (1873-1874)
- Capture of the Kraton (24 January 1874)
- Aceh War
- Oranje-vaandel
Source
De geschiedenis van Nederland in onzen tijd, by J. A. de Bruyne, Directeur der Hoogere Burgerschool te Zierikzee. Deel IV. 1872-1883. Nieuwe uitgave. Schiedam: J. F. Dupont, 1912, Hoofdstuk I, pp. 21-23.