Pungej Blang Tjoet (also written Poengej Blang Tjoet) was a kampong to the south of Kota Radja whose post was occupied by Dutch troops under Kolonel PEL on 23 January 23 January 1875 and fortified by Tweede-Luitenant C. J. Snijders of the Compagnie Mineurs en Sappeurs in the days following, as the first of the southward clearing operations of January 1875 that continued with the capture of Mandarsah Poetih five days later and culminated in the Lamara Olejlo fortification of 15 February.
The Capture of 23 January 1875
After the Missigit Longbatta operation was largely complete by 13 January 13 January 1875, PEL “wende hij zich meer in zuidelijke richting, waar hij op 23 Januari den post Poengej Blang Tjoet deed bezetten.” The post was taken without Snijders’ participation in the action itself: he “had aan de actie zelve niet had deelgenomen,” but was tasked with the subsequent engineer work.
The Fortification
“In de daarop volgende dagen door den Luitenant SNIJDERS […] met een detachement mineurs en een aantal koelies in staat van verdediging gebracht en voor logies ingericht.” The work thus consisted of two parts: putting the captured post in a state of defence, and fitting it up with logies (quarters) for the garrison. The same pattern was repeated at Mandarsah Poetih five days later.
Significance
The capture and fortification of Pungej Blang Tjoet marks the beginning of the systematic extension of the Dutch perimeter south of the Atjeh River in the late winter of 1875 — the movement that would culminate in the Lamara Olejlo fortification and the end of Snijders’ field service.
See Also
- Cornelis Jacobus Snijders
- J. L. J. H. Pel
- Mandarsah Poetih
- Lamara Olejlo
- Capture of Pungej Blang Tjoet (23 January 1875)
- Capture of Mandarsah Poetih (28 January 1875)
- Missigit Longbatta operation (31 December 1874 – 13 January 1875)
- Lamara Olejlo fortification (15 February 1875)
- Benting
- Bataillon Mineurs en Sappeurs
- Aceh War
- Koeta Radja
- 1875
Source
D. van den Berg, Cornelis Jacobus Snijders (1852–1939): Een leven in dienst van zijn Land en zijn Volk (Voorburg: September 1944), p. 32. Koninklijke Bibliotheek shelfmark 0301 4872.