Langkroek was an Atjehnees kampong leaning against the middle of the Pedir-dijk on the right bank of the Atjeh-rivier, whose sawah (irrigated rice fields) were the scene of the famous padi-snijden concession of February–March 1874 and whose fortifications were carried by surprise on 28 September 1874 in the conquest of Langkroek by overste Wiegand. The plan was Pel’s, and the victory, “of great importance,” cost the Dutch almost nothing.
The padi-snijden concession
In February–March 1874, after the Ketapang Doewa expedition and van Swieten’s declaration of the afwachtende houding, the ripening padi (rice crop) on the Langkroek sawah became a point of contact between Dutch and Atjehneezen. Van Swieten “dreef de gemoedelijkheid zelfs zoo ver” — drove the good-naturedness so far — as to grant the bevolking of Langkroek permission to cut their ripe padi, provided they “de geweren aflegden” (laid down their rifles). Schildwachten were ordered not to shoot. Many spies took advantage. “Zoolang het padi-snijden duurde, werd werkelijk geen schot op het bivouak gelost” — so long as the padi-cutting lasted, no shot was fired at the bivouak — but as soon as the last bundle was harvested, the Atjehneezen “weder van alle zijden kwamen opdagen, ditmaal behoorlijk met hunne zware geweren gewapend” — reappeared from all sides, this time properly armed with their heavy rifles — and opened a “levendig vuur” on the bivouak.
The conquest
After several weeks of forced inactivity the Dutch struck again on 28 September 1874. The kampong of Langkroek, leaning against the middle of the Pedir-dijk, was taken by surprise. The plan was Pel’s; the execution Wiegand’s. The north side of Langkroek was heavily fortified — a continuous line of works armed with light guns — but on the Dutch arrival the works were un- or weakly-held and were captured before the enemy, streaming in from Pinang and the XXVI Moekims, could resist. The victory was “of great importance, cost almost nothing.” Three new posts were immediately erected around Langkroek. Borel criticises Wiegand for not pressing on to take Lampriet, which would have fallen almost without a blow. The post of Langkroek-oost was later replaced by the new post at Lampriet after the conquest of Lampriet of 4 February 1875 by majoor Romswinckel.
Account from H. F. Meijer (1883) — the Langkroek posts of 1876
Meijer includes Langkroek and Langkroek East, with Tibang and the two Lamara’s, among the small square earth redoubts along the left bank of the Kroeëng Titi Pandjang: small square earth redoubts in marsh ground scattered with salt pans and fish ponds, guarding the eastern approaches of Penajoeng. On the age-long Atjehnese work near Langkroek the Pidir dam came down out of the Kroeëng Raja high country to kampong Koewala; about 300 metres south of Langkroek is the coupure in that dike, by which the water of the ditch at its eastern side was carried away into the Atjeh River, and the way over the bridge of that dam came from Kota Radja by Berouw.
Across the moist ground between Langkroek and the farther northeast posts the garrisons made a clay road, completed with difficulty and usable only in dry weather, that joined these posts to each other and to Lamprit; with the whole chain of small works they were, in 1876, the near watch posts of the Dutch over all movement on the lagune side of the XXVI Moekims.
Account from Verstege’s Een beroep op het Nederlandsche volk (1886)
Verstege names Langkroek-Oost (Oost-Langkroek) in the chain of posts of the position at the end of April 1875, between Lampriet and Lamara Zuid-Oost (see Verstege’s folding map of Groot-Atjeh (1886)).
See Also
- Pedir-dijk
- Atjeh-rivier
- Lampriet
- Pinang
- Kolonel Wiegand
- Generaal Pel
- Padi-snijden on the Langkroek sawah (1874)
- Conquest of Langkroek (28 September 1874)
- Jan van Swieten
- Sawah
Source
Onze vestiging in Atjeh, critisch beschreven, by G. F. W. Borel, Kapitein der Artillerie. ‘s-Gravenhage: D. A. Thieme, 1878. pp. 52–54, 62–64, 73, 92, 95, 121, 125, 142, 165, 200–201.
Een beroep op het Nederlandsche volk in zake het Atjeh-vraagstuk, door J. J. W. E. Verstege (Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy, 1886), p. 53. OCR: DLP-158.