Panglima Hassan — also written Panglima Hassim — was, in Kruisheer’s ATJEH ‘96, the “hoofdpanglima van T. Moeda Baid” (chief panglima of Toekoe Moeda Baid) and one of the three co-commanders (alongside the Kling Habib Lhong and the oelama T. Mad Amin) of the approximately 250-man Achehnese force which engaged the patrol of Captain Van Blokland on 7 March 1896 at Ana’ Batée. His identification as the hoofdpanglima of Toekoe Moeda Baid — the hoeloebalang of the VII Moekims Baid — places him in the western sector of Groot-Atjeh, in the landschap which contained the historic Lamkrak mukims, and gives him a formal military command position subordinate to Baid but with operational authority over a substantial force. The combination of his territorial command in the VII Moekims Baid and his co-command of the 7 March engagement establishes him as one of the most active Achehnese field commanders in the pre-defection period.
Position as Hoofdpanglima of Toekoe Moeda Baid
The chief panglima was the senior military commander subordinate to a hoeloebalang, responsible for the operational command of the territorial chief’s military forces. Hassan’s service as hoofdpanglima to Toekoe Moeda Baid therefore placed him at the head of Baid’s military household — a position of considerable authority within the VII Moekims Baid, where Baid’s “promise to ensure peace in his landschap” had been a key element of the pre-defection Dutch bindingspolitiek. The VII Moekims Baid contained the Lamkrak, Kroeng Mak, Loetoe and Lam Lheue mukims — “welke steeds eene verblijfplaats van kwaad volk waren” (which had always been a refuge of bad people) — and Hassan’s hoofdpanglima-ship would have given him operational responsibility over this persistently hostile area. The fact that Hassan was hoofdpanglima to a Baid who was himself “initially neutral” before he “later conferred with Oemar” suggests that Hassan’s own military activity on 7 March 1896 may have preceded Baid’s full commitment to the Achehnese coalition — that is, the hoofdpanglima was more aggressive than his titular master, and his co-command of the 250-man force at Ana’ Batée represented an early assertion of the VII Moekims Baid’s military capacity.
Co-Command of the 7 March 1896 Engagement
The patrol of 7 March 1896 was, as Kruisheer narrates it, one of the most intense small engagements of the first semester of 1896. The approximately 250-man Achehnese force under Hassan, Habib Lhong and T. Mad Amin engaged the 15e Bataljon patrol of Kapitein Van Blokland — which included 1e Luit. Stakman (wounded in the right arm), Adj. ond. off. Krüger (wounded), Off. van gesondh. 2e klasse Dr. Van der Meer (wounded, head), 72 bajonetten, 2 minderen of the medical service, 9 dwangarbeiders with 3 stretchers and 1 hoornblazer — for five hours. The engagement produced heavy Dutch casualties: the severely wounded fusilier Monden was “afgemaakt” (finished off) by the enemy when he could no longer defend himself, and the fusilier Laurens was likewise “finished off” and his body left on the field. The relief detachment under Kapitein Kronouer — 40 bayonets from Lamsoet/Lambarih under Lt. Westendorp (severely wounded) and Lt. Ketjen — eventually allowed the patrol to withdraw to Ana’ Galong. Hassan’s co-command of this engagement, alongside the Kling Habib Lhong (who would be killed at Senelop on 17 April 1896) and the oelama T. Mad Amin, places him in the most active Achehnese military command circle of the pre-defection period.
Significance
Panglima Hassan’s significance in ATJEH ‘96 lies in his embodiment of the hoofdpanglima — the professional military commander subordinate to a hoeloebalang — whose operational activity on 7 March 1896 preceded the formal commitment of his titular master Toekoe Moeda Baid to the Achehnese coalition. His co-command of the 250-man force at Ana’ Batée, alongside the Kling Habib Lhong and the oelama T. Mad Amin, illustrates the multi-confessional, multi-ethnic composition of the Achehnese military coalition in the western sector before Umar’s defection. The engagement itself was one of the most intense small actions of the first semester of 1896 and produced some of the heaviest Dutch casualties of the spring operations.
See Also
- Patrol of Captain Van Blokland (7 March 1896)
- Habib Lhong
- T. Mad Amin
- Toekoe Moeda Baid
- VII Moekims Baid
- Ana’ Batée
- Ana’ Galong
- H. F. T. van Blokland
- C. T. J. Stakman
- 1896
- Aceh War
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, p. 35.