P. Linck

Properties2
tagsperson, dutch, colonial, military, aceh-war
aliasesP. Linck, Kapitein Linck, J. P. Linck

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P. Linck — also written J. P. Linck, Kapitein Linck — Kapitein and commander of the 4e compagnie of the 5e Bataljon, was, in Kruisheer’s ATJEH ‘96, one of the most continuously engaged Dutch company commanders of the first semester of 1896, the officer whose compagnie stormed key Achehnese versterkingen in three of the principal engagements of May and June 1896. Linck’s command record includes the investigation of a bende south of Klat on 4 May 1896, the storming of the versterking Belang on 21 May 1896, the entry into Lam-Pisang on 24 May 1896 (right after 1e Luit. de Jongh), the attack on Lam-Goet on 17 June 1896, the command of two companies of 5e Bataljon through III Moekims Daroe on 20 June 1896, and the storm of the Kroeng-Kali benteng on 23 June 1896 — the culminating Dutch tactical success of the first semester. His compagnie’s role in the storm of the Kroeng-Kali benteng, with 2e Luit. Heyligers the first to enter, marks the high point of his command record and one of the most celebrated Dutch infantry assaults of the spring operations.

May 1896: The Versterking Belang and the Entry into Lam-Pisang

Linck’s first major command in ATJEH ‘96 is on 4 May 1896 during the second tocht to XIII Moekims Toengkoeb, when he was “sent to investigate a bende south of Klat” — a reconnaissance task which placed his compagnie at the forward edge of the Dutch advance into the eastern sector. His most famous May engagement was the excursie to Moekim Lamtengah on 21 May 1896, in which his 4e compagnie stormed the versterking Belang — the principal Achehnese fortification in the territory of Toekoe Tjoet Lamtengah. The excursie, under Lt.-Col. Bisschoff van Heemskerck with 6 brigades maréchaussée under Kapitein Graafland, two companies of the 5e Bataljon (including Linck’s 4e compagnie), a bergartillerie section under Kapitein Bangert, and genietroepen, was the Dutch response to the hollow goodwill professions of Lamtengah, whose territory had offered heavy fire to a Dutch column earlier that day. Three days later, on 24 May 1896, during the three-day offensive, Linck led his sectie into Lam-Pisang “right after de Jongh” — that is, immediately after 1e Luit. de Jongh of the 5e Bataljon had reached Umar’s verblijf at 10:35 AM. The capture of Umar’s house at Lam-Pisang was the principal tactical objective of the three-day offensive, and Linck’s entry immediately after de Jongh placed his compagnie at the centre of the culminating Dutch tactical success of the May operations.

June 1896: The Kroeng-Kali Benteng and the End of the First Semester

The June 1896 operations consolidated Linck’s reputation as one of the most capable Dutch company commanders of the spring. On 17 June 17 June he led the attack on Lam-Goet during the tuchtiging of V Moekims Montassik, occupying the Lam-Goet benteng without resistance and burning it subsequently. On 20 June 20 June he commanded two companies of the 5e Bataljon through the III Moekims Daroe during the four-column machtsvertoon — the operation in which T. Panglima Bintang made his first appearance before the Dutch administration and Teuku Umar held his chandoeri at Lepong — and his passage through the III Moekims Daroe encountered no resistance, confirming the relative stability of that sector after the V Moekims Montassik tuchtiging. Linck’s culminating command was the storm of the Kroeng-Kali benteng on 23 June 1896 — the final engagement of the first semester. The Kroeng-Kali benteng was a square earthen redoubt with 15 m sides, walls 1.5 m high and 0.75 m thick, with a 4 m-wide bamboe-doeri pagger and a small swivel gun; Linck’s compagnie stormed the work under fire from the lilla, with 2e Luit. Heyligers the first to enter (with hoornblazer van Spanje and fusilier Veeges No. 31895). 1e Luit. Van der Molen and two European fusiliers were wounded in the assault, and the benteng was destroyed. The Kroeng-Kali assault forced the retreat of T. Tjoet Toengkoeb and Panglima Nja Makam to Lam-Tobah and effectively closed the first-semester operations.

Significance

Linck’s significance in ATJEH ‘96 lies in his embodiment of the kapitein whose compagnie provided the storm assault capacity in three of the most important Dutch tactical successes of the first semester of 1896 — the storming of the versterking Belang on 21 May, the entry into Lam-Pisang on 24 May, and the storm of the Kroeng-Kali benteng on 23 June. His compagnie’s role in the Kroeng-Kali assault — with 2e Luit. Heyligers the first to enter the redoubt — marks the high point of his command record and one of the most celebrated Dutch infantry assaults of the spring operations. His sustained command of the 4e compagnie of the 5e Bataljon through the full operational arc of the first semester confirms his institutional centrality to the Dutch infantry war effort.

See Also

Source

ATJEH ‘96, door A. Kruisheer, Kapitein der Infanterie O.I.L., met 2 kaarten en 4 portretten (Weltevreden: N.V. Boekhandel Visser & Co, 1913). Instituut Kern, Leiden. OCR-filename: 20260715_163243_DLP-89-Atjeh_96_Met_2_kaarten_en4_DOORA_KRUISHEER_Kapiteinder_Infanterie_nemoretriever-ocr-v1_OCR.txt, pp. 163, 172, 173, 212, 220, 222, 313–314, 316, 320.

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