Lam-Tobah — written in Dutch as Lam-Tobah — was the place to which T. Tjoet Toengkoeb and Panglima Nja Makam retreated after the 23 June 1896 Dutch attack on Kroeng-Kali. As described in Kruisheer’s ATJEH ‘96, Lam-Tobah was the destination of the Achehnese retreat after the battle of Kroeng-Kali in which the compagnie of Kapitein Linck stormed the old fort of Kroeng-Kali and 2nd Lt. Heyligers was first inside. The kampong is mentioned only briefly in the present volume as the refuge of the defeated Achehnese leaders.
Description and Location
Lam-Tobah lay in the XIII Moekims Toengkoeb of T. Tjoet Toengkoeb to the south or south-east of Kroeng-Kali. The kampong was the destination of the Achehnese retreat after the 23 June 1896 Dutch attack on Kroeng-Kali, and served as a refuge for the defeated Achehnese leaders T. Tjoet Toengkoeb and Panglima Nja Makam. The kampong was situated in the country between Kroeng-Kali and the mountain wall at whose edge Habib Lengkong’s fort stood, and was presumably accessible by the routes that led from Kroeng-Kali into the mountainous interior of the XIII Moekims Toengkoeb. The kampong’s specific location and fortifications are not detailed in ATJEH ‘96.
Historical Background
Lam-Tobah had presumably been part of the territory of the hoeloebalang T. Tjoet Toengkoeb throughout the Atjeh-oorlog. The kampong’s role as a refuge for the defeated Achehnese leaders after the 23 June 1896 Dutch attack on Kroeng-Kali indicates that it lay outside the immediate sone of Dutch operations and was accessible to the retreating Achehnese. The kampong had presumably been used as a refuge on earlier occasions as well, given the persistence of Achehnese resistance in the XIII Moekims Toengkoeb despite repeated Dutch expeditions.
Role in the 1896 Operations
Lam-Tobah is mentioned in ATJEH ‘96 only in connection with the 23 June 1896 Dutch attack on Kroeng-Kali. After the compagnie of Kapitein Linck stormed the old benteng of Kroeng-Kali — a square redoubt of 15 metres side, walls 1.5 metres high, with a small swivel cannon — and 2nd Lt. Heyligers was first inside, the benteng was destroyed. T. Tjoet Toengkoeb and Panglima Nja Makam retreated to Lam-Tobah. The kampong thereby served as the immediate refuge of the principal Achehnese leaders of the XIII Moekims Toengkoeb after the loss of their principal benteng.
Significance
Lam-Tobah was the immediate refuge of the defeated Achehnese leaders T. Tjoet Toengkoeb and Panglima Nja Makam after the 23 June 1896 Dutch attack on Kroeng-Kali, and thus the temporary destination of the eastern Achehnese resistance after the loss of its principal benteng. The kampong’s mention in ATJEH ‘96 is brief, but its role as a refuge indicates the persistence of Achehnese resistance in the XIII Moekims Toengkoeb despite the repeated Dutch expeditions against Kroeng-Kali.
See Also
- T. Tjoet Toengkoeb
- Panglima Nja Makam
- Battle of Kroeng-Kali (23 June 1896)
- Kroeng-Kali
- XIII Moekims Toengkoeb
- P. Linck
- Heyligers
- benteng
- lilla
- 1896
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. 330.