Garouw was an Atjehnees kampong north-east of Lampoeloe on the right bank of the Atjeh-rivier, blocking access to the Pedir-dijk and the scene of the battle of 28 June 1874 in which majoor Romswinckel’s attack on a well-laid enemy fortification ended in a permanent Dutch victory — the first time, Borel notes, the enemy was driven permanently from the right bank below Penajoeng. Its capture opened the Pedir-dijk, the road to Koeala, and K. R. Bedil to Dutch occupation.
The battle
Intercepts showed the enemy at Garouw was resolved to cut river communication again and was trying to persuade Toekoe Nek of Marassa to turn against the Dutch. kolonel Pel decided to strike first. In the early morning of 28 June 1874 majoor Romswinckel attacked the well-laid fortification at Garouw; it was surrounded and, after brave resistance, taken. The cost was four dead and about thirty wounded, including three officers severely — two of them, lieutenants von Massow and Zwager, died shortly afterward. Borel’s verdict is that 28 June 1874 was “a very important and glorious day” — for the first time the enemy was permanently driven from the right bank below Penajoeng, and the Atjehneezen were so shocked that they abandoned other positions along the Pedir-dijk, the road to Koeala, and K. R. Bedil, all of which the Dutch occupied at once.
Aftermath and significance
The fall of Garouw opened the entire right bank of the Atjeh-rivier from Kwala Atjeh up to the bend at Lemboe to Dutch posts. The enemy’s plan to cut river communication between the marine-benteng and Penajoeng — which had nearly succeeded on 15 June 1874 when a waterprauw was fired on and the sailors saved themselves only by desperate rowing — was foiled. The Garouw battle was followed by the conquest of Langkroek of 28 September 1874, the conquest of Lemboe of 7 November 1874, and the conquest of Kota Alam of 13 November 1874, each of which extended the Dutch hold on the dike. Garouw itself, lying on the right bank near Lampoeloe, became one of the chain of posts that made up the right-bank line of the stelling-Pel in 1875.
See Also
- Lampoeloe
- Penajoeng
- Atjeh-rivier
- Pedir-dijk
- Kota Radja Bedil
- Langkroek
- Majoor Romswinckel
- Generaal Pel
- Battle of Garouw (28 June 1874)
- Conquest of Langkroek (28 September 1874)
Source
Onze vestiging in Atjeh, critisch beschreven, by G. F. W. Borel, Kapitein der Artillerie. ‘s-Gravenhage: D. A. Thieme, 1878. pp. 92, 141, 152, 162–163, 165, 200.