Lemboecq was a kampong to the north-east of Kota Radja whose fortified positions were captured by Dutch troops on 7 November 7 November 1874 and incorporated into the Dutch defensive perimeter in the middle phase of the Atjeh-oorlog. Together with the neighbouring kampongs of Lemboe, Berauw, and the Rivierbenting, Lemboecq was one of the chain of fortified villages that Kolonel PEL took and held in the first week of November 1874 as the eastern outwork of the Dutch position at Kota Radja. The capture of Lemboecq was the immediate prelude to the Benting Kota Alam operation of 13 November 1874: it was at Lemboecq that the reconnaissance of the southwest part of the kampong was made for which Tweede-Luitenant C. J. Snijders was later cited in his Militaire Willemsorde recommendation.
The Capture of 7 November 1874
On 7 November 7 November 1874 Dutch troops “hadden zich meester gemaakt van eenige krachtig versterkte vijandelijke stellingen in de kampong Lemboecq (ten N.O. van Kota Radja) en aldaar nieuwe versterkingen Lemboe. Berauw en de Rivierbenting ingericht en bezet.” The capture of Lemboecq was the first step in the extension of the Dutch perimeter north-east of Kota Radja in the autumn of 1874. The original intention had been to follow up the capture by also occupying Kota Alam further east, but for want of troops this was postponed — a postponement that was reversed on 11 November 11 November when intelligence indicated that the Atjehers were preparing to occupy Kota Alam themselves, leading directly to the Benting Kota Alam operation of 13 November.
The Willemsorde Citation
The recommendation for Snijders’s Ridderkruis der Militaire Willemsorde 4th class, made by Koninklijk Besluit of 12 November 1875 No. 18|Koninklijk Besluit of 12 November 12 November 1875 No. 18, cites — under the heading “a. 13 November 13 November 1874” — “Verkenning zuidwestelijk gedeelte van Lemboecq en oprichting eener versterking bij Kota Alam: onder het vuur des vijands het tot stand brengen der sterkte Kota Alam hoofdzakelijk met vrije koelies te helpen op touw zetten en de daaraan verbonden werkzaamheden met beleid en kalmte te hebben geleid.” The reconnaissance of the south-western part of Lemboecq was thus part of the same operation as the Benting Kota Alam construction, and was the action for which Snijders received the Ridderkruis.
See Also
- Cornelis Jacobus Snijders
- J. L. J. H. Pel
- Kuta Alam
- Longbatta
- Benting Kota Alam operation (13 November 1874)
- Koninklijk Besluit of 12 November 1875 No. 18
- Militaire Willemsorde
- Benting
- Aceh War
- Koeta Radja
- 1874
- 1875
Source
D. van den Berg, Cornelis Jacobus Snijders (1852–1939): Een leven in dienst van zijn Land en zijn Volk (Voorburg: September 1944), pp. 24–25, 35. Koninklijke Bibliotheek shelfmark 0301 4872.