The Glé Poetih — glossed by P. H. R. Beuming as Blankenberg, the white mountain — was the height east of Lampisang in Groot-Atjeh whose capture by the column of Overste Van Heutsz opened the three-day battle in the Beradin pass on 23 May 1896.
The ascent of 23 May 1896
Under the general plan of attack, the 3e Bataljon and the marechaussée — ons keurkorps, the Dutch élite corps — under Van Heutsz were to climb the mountains east of Lampisang and occupy the Glé Poetih. While the 6e Bataljon took position about 900 metres south of Ketapan Doea and the artillery brought a fortification on the Boekit Kasoemba under fire, the climb began.
With very great difficulty the 3e Bataljon and the 2nd mountain battery succeeded in scaling the very steep slopes. Beuming singles out the Ambonese fusiliers of the 3rd, who gaven hierbij de stoutste stukjes van durf te zien; ze klommen letterlijk als apen tegen de rotsen omhoog — showed the boldest feats of daring, climbing literally like apes up the rocks. On arrival, preparations were made at once for a defensible bivouac, but the space on the summit proved too small to hold all the troops, so that a section of artillery with the horses and mules had to be sent away.
The bombardment from the summit
By the climb the Dutch won een prachtige positie… die het geheele terrein domineerde en vis-à-vis Lampisang was gelegen — a splendid position dominating the whole terrain and lying opposite Lampisang. Scarcely having taken position, the artillery began to bombard the surrounding enemy positions in tremendous fashion. Het waren gewoonweg prachtschoten, die van den Glé Poetih vielen — they were simply magnificent shots that fell from the Glé Poetih — and the effect in the enemy bentings was frightful.
See Also
- Three-day battle in the Beradin pass (23-25 May 1896)
- Lampisang
- Boekit Kasoemba
- J. B. van Heutsz
- Ketapan Doea
- Ambonese soldiers
- 23 May
- 1896
Source
Schetsen uit den strijd op Groot-Atjeh, met speciaal vervaardigde kaart en toepasselijke photo’s, bewerkt door P. H. R. Beuming, oud-onderofficier van het Ned.-Indische Leger (Amsterdam, December 1911; uitgegeven ten bate van het te stichten Herstellingsoord voor Rijks-Ambtenaren). Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, Br N 82-144
Acknowledgement of sources. The material in this article derives from Schetsen uit den strijd op Groot-Atjeh, met speciaal vervaardigde kaart en toepasselijke photo’s, bewerkt door P. H. R. Beuming, oud-onderofficier van het Ned.-Indische Leger (Amsterdam, December 1911). Dutch passages are quoted in the original with an English rendering.