Teungkoe Id-cen / Mohamad Said — also written Mohamad Said, Mohammad Said — was, in Kruisheer’s ATJEH ‘96, the overall commander of the Achehnese stelling east of the old Kroeng-Kali benteng on Tjot Karieng during the battle of Kroeng-Kali on 23 June 1896, the culminating engagement of the first semester of 1896. Kruisheer describes him as “candehoold-eigenly Mohamad Said” — that is, his actual name was Mohamad Said — and identifies him as “from the XIII Moekims Toengkoeb / III Moekims Lam-Rebo area”, a territorial origin which places him in the eastern sector of Groot-Atjeh where the principal June 1896 operations unfolded. His command at Tjot Karieng brought together the eastern Achehnese forces — including T. Tjoet Toengkoeb and Teungkoe Panté Gelimah — in a defensive stelling which the Dutch maréchaussée, bergartillerie and infantry were forced to assault in the course of the Ladoeng landing operation of 22–23 June 1896.
Territorial Origin and Command Authority
Kruisheer’s identification of Teungkoe Id-cen / Mohamad Said as “from the XIII Moekims Toengkoeb / III Moekims Lam-Rebo area” places him in the eastern sector of Groot-Atjeh, where the XIII Moekims Toengkoeb formed the territorial base of T. Tjoet Toengkoeb and where the III Moekims Lam-Rebo formed the southern part of the Tjot Karieng stelling. The combination of these two territorial identifications suggests that Teungkoe Id-cen was a figure whose religious-military authority crossed moekim boundaries, and his designation as algemeen aanvoerder — overall commander — of the Achehnese stelling east of the Kroeng-Kali benteng indicates that he had been given command authority over Achehnese forces from multiple moekims. The southern part of the Tjot Karieng stelling “belonged to” the III Moekims Lam-Rebo, and the eastern stelling on Tjot Karieng was the principal Achehnese defensive position which the Dutch 2e Colonne under Kolonel Stemfoort assaulted on 23 June 1896 in the course of the Ladoeng landing operation. The fact that an algemeen aanvoerder had been appointed at all is significant: it suggests that the Achehnese had developed a unified command structure for the eastern stelling, in contrast to the more fragmented command patterns which characterised the western IV/VI Moekims operations.
The 23 June 1896 Battle of Kroeng-Kali
The 23 June 1896 battle of Kroeng-Kali was the culminating engagement of the first semester of 1896. The operation involved two Dutch colonnes: the 1e Colonne (sea-landing) under Lt.-Col. Hansen which landed at Ladoeng in the early hours of 23 June 1896 and marched over Glé Broeë to the XXVI Moekims plain, and the 2e Colonne (land) under Kolonel Stemfoort which advanced from Lam-Njong at 6:45 AM. The 2e Colonne’s advance brought it to the old Kroeng-Kali benteng — 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 — which was stormed by the compagnie of Kapitein Linck of the 5e Bataljon, with 2e Luit. Heyligers the first to enter (with hoornblazer van Spanje and fusilier Veeges No. 31895). Teungkoe Id-cen’s command of the eastern stelling on Tjot Karieng thus placed him at the centre of the culminating Dutch tactical success of the first semester of 1896. The Achehnese forces under his command — including T. Tjoet Toengkoeb and Teungkoe Panté Gelimah — retreated after the storming of the Kroeng-Kali benteng, with T. Tjoet Toengkoeb and Panglima Nja Makam retreating to Lam-Tobah.
Significance
Teungkoe Id-cen / Mohamad Said’s significance in ATJEH ‘96 lies in his embodiment of the unified Achehnese command authority which the eastern sector had developed by June 1896 — the algemeen aanvoerder whose territorial origin in the XIII Moekims Toengkoeb / III Moekims Lam-Rebo area gave him cross-moekim authority, and whose command at Tjot Karieng placed him at the centre of the culminating Dutch tactical success of the first semester. His identity as a religious teacher confirms the continuing religious-military character of the Achehnese command, and his survival through the engagement (Kruisheer does not record his death) suggests that he continued to play a role in the second-semester resistance.
See Also
- Kroeng-Kali benteng
- Battle of Kroeng-Kali (23 June 1896)
- XIII Moekims Toengkoeb
- III Moekims Lam-Rebo
- T. Tjoet Toengkoeb
- Teungkoe Panté Gelimah
- P. Linck
- Ladoeng Landing and Glé Broeë Attack (22–23 June 1896)
- 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, pp. 178, 322.