Tjot Rang

Tjot Rang was a Dutch military post in the XXII Moekims of Groot-Atjeh — reached by a bruikbaar pad (serviceable path) from Tjot Iri, the post in the geconcentreerde linie. The post was, in April 1896, the site of the battle of Tjot Rang — one of the engagements of the spring 1896 crisis that followed Toekoe Oemar’s defection — in which Lieutenant Maarschalk and three subordinates were killed and 47 subordinates were wounded. As described in Kruisheer’s ATJEH ‘96, the name Tjot Rang is also borne by a Dutch post in the sagi of the XXVI Moekims — one of the largest markets in this sagi — that was garrisoned in 1895 by 2 officers, 78 infantry, 9 artilleristen, and 1 European hospital attendant, and was the object of an supply attempt on 14 April 1896 that failed, was lifted on 20 April 1896, and was evacuated and burned on 21 April 1896. The two posts share a name but lie in different sagi of Groot-Atjeh.

Note on the shared place-name. Two distinct Dutch posts named Tjot Rang are documented in the sources for the spring 1896 crisis: (i) the post in the XXII Moekims — the site of the battle of 14 April 1896 in which Lieutenant Maarschalk was killed (treated in the upper sections); and (ii) the post in the XXVI Moekims — garrisoned in 1895, besieged in the spring of 1896, and evacuated on 21 April 1896 (treated in the lower sections). Both events are dated to 14 April 1896 in the sources, but the commanders and outcomes differ, and the two posts lay in different sagi.

The strategic position (XXII Moekims post)

The Atjeh-Album of 1896 records that Tjot Rang was reached by a bruikbaar pad (serviceable path) from Tjot Iri — the post in the geconcentreerde linie. The post thus formed part of the network of Dutch positions that extended southward from the geconcentreerde linie into the XXII Moekims — the sagi of Groot-Atjeh that contained Indrapuri, Montassik, Anagaloeng and Senelop.

The battle of 14 April 1896 (XXII Moekims post)

The Atjeh-Album records that the battle of Tjot Rang was fought on 14 April 1896 — five days after the relief of Biloel and Lamkoenjit of 9 April 9 April 1896. The engagement was, in the album’s account, niet minder hevig dan die bij Biloel had plaats gehad — not less fierce than that which had taken place at Biloel. The cost of the engagement was high: Lieutenant Maarschalk and three subordinates were killed, and 47 subordinates were wounded. The album’s terse Luitenant Maarschalk en drie minderen daarbij sneuvelden en dat er 47 minderen gewond werden — Lieutenant Maarschalk and three subordinates fell there, and 47 subordinates were wounded — is the principal record of the engagement.

The burning of Lamgoet

The Atjeh-Album records that the battle of Tjot Rang also saw the burning of Lamgoet — the former seat of Teungku di Tiro that had den generaals Demmenie en Van Teijn zoo lastig (so troubled the generals Demmenie and Van Teijn). The album notes that Lamgoet had been briefly occupied by Toekoe Bantah in 1893, that Toekoe Bantah had been unable to maintain himself there, and that it had been Toekoe Oemar who had brought Lamgoet a second time under Dutch control. The simultaneous relief of Tjot Rang and burning of Lamgoet on 14 April 1896 — both costly engagements — was, in the album’s narrative, the moment at which the Dutch began to recover the initiative from Toekoe Oemar’s defected forces.

The sound of the engagement at Anagaloeng

The Atjeh-Album records that the besieged garrison at Anagaloeng — some four days’ march from Tjot Rang — heard the sound of the battle of Tjot Rang, but could not distinguish it from the sound of the relief of Biloel and Lamkoenjit of 9 April 9 April 1896, because the sound of Tjot Rang was niet weerkaatst … tegen den hoogen en steilen bergwand (not echoed against the high and steep mountain wall) to the south of Anagaloeng. The besieged garrison could only judge from the sound of de strijd nog veel noordelijker, bij Toengkoop gevoerd werd — whether the battle was still being conducted much more to the north, near Toengkoop.

Tjot Rang in the Sagi der XXVI Moekims (ATJEH ‘96 account)

As described in Kruisheer’s ATJEH ‘96, a separate Tjot Rang was a Dutch outpost in the sagi of the XXVI Moekims, one of the largest markets in this sagi, and from 1881 to 1885 a favourite residence of marauding bands in the Boeng Tjala Moekim. The post was garrisoned in 1895 by 2 officers, 78 infantry, 9 artilleristen, and 1 European hospital attendant. The post was the object of an supply attempt on 14 April 1896 that failed, was lifted on 20 April 1896, and was evacuated and burned on 21 April 1896 at 11:30 AM after a three-column operation to free the beleaguered garrisons. The Boeng Tjala Moekims remained hostile “kwaadwilligen” (malcontents) that the post could not stop.

Description and Location (XXVI Moekims post)

Tjot Rang lay in the sagi of the XXVI Moekims and was one of the largest markets in this sagi. The post had been, from 1881 to 1885, a favourite residence of marauding bands in the Boeng Tjala Moekim — a circumstance that had originally motivated the Dutch establishment of a post there. The garrison in 1895 consisted of 2 officers, 78 infantry, 9 artilleristen (artillerymen), and 1 European hospital attendant. The floor of the officers’ quarters and parts of the bunks had been torn up to make horizontal coverings, reflecting the exposed nature of the post. The post commanded the road from the XXVI Moekims toward the V Moekims Montassik and the III Moekims Daroe. Tjot Preh (also Lam Preh) was nearby, and the strijders (fighters) of T. Hoesin Longbattah left from there.

Historical Background (XXVI Moekims post)

Tjot Rang had been constructed as part of the buitenlinie to dominate one of the largest pasars (markets) in the XXVI Moekims and to suppress the marauding bands that had made the Boeng Tjala Moekim their favourite residence from 1881 to 1885. The post was unable, however, to stop the hostile “kwaadwilligen” (malcontents) of the Boeng Tjala Moekims, who continued to operate in the area. The post was linked by road to Kroeng Gloempang and Toengkoeb in the eastern buitenlinie, and served as a forward base for operations against the V Moekims Montassik and the III Moekims Daroe.

Role in the 1896 Operations (XXVI Moekims post)

Tjot Rang was one of the eastern buitenposten besieged in the spring of 1896. On 3 April 1896 Inl. fuselier Wirodrono was killed at Tjot Rang. On 13 April 1896 an supply attempt on Tjot Rang failed. On 14 April 1896 the Sergeant Carli who had deserted to the enemy sent a letter from the enemy side to Kroeng Gloempang, on behalf of Toekoe Brahim der V Moekims Montassik, demanding the post be handed over in exchange for free retreat and retention of weapons. On 16 April 1896 the Kroeng Gloempang post was successfully approviandeerd (provisioned); Tjot Rang was not. On 20 April 1896 Tjot Rang, Kroeng Gloempang, and Toengkoeb were lifted by order of the Regeeringscommissaris. On 21 April 1896 a three-column operation — Noordercolonne, Middencolonne, and Zuidercolonne — moved to free the beleaguered garrisons; Tjot Rang was evacuated and burned at 11:30 AM. The Noordercolonne from Tjot Iri reached Tjot Paklat at approximately 5:30 AM, the Middencolonne occupied Ateuh-Zuid and Tjot Si Boeloeh at 5:40 AM, and the Zuidercolonne occupied Gani. On 17 June 1896 Tjot Rang served as an assembly point for the tuchtiging (chastisement) of the V Moekims Montassik. On 26 June 1896 the area between Lamsoet and Senelop, including the Paja-Oe-Senelop, was patrolled.

Significance (XXVI Moekims post)

Tjot Rang was the principal Dutch buitenpost in the XXVI Moekims and the eastern anchor of the buitenlinie in this sagi. Its siege, the failed approviandeering (provisioning) of 14 April 1896, and the three-column operation of 21 April 1896 demonstrated the depth of the crisis that followed the defection of 29 March 1896. The post’s inability to suppress the Boeng Tjala Moekims “kwaadwilligen” was a microcosm of the broader failure of the buitenlinie policy.

Significance (overall)

Tjot Rang’s significance in the documentary record of the Atjeh-oorlog is as the site of the battle of 14 April 1896 — the second of the April 1896 relief expeditions, and the engagement that produced the fourth officer fatality of the spring crisis, Lieutenant Maarschalk. The engagement was also the occasion of the burning of Lamgoet — the former seat of Teungku di Tiro — and it was, in the album’s narrative, one of the moments at which the Dutch began to recover the initiative from Toekoe Oemar’s defected forces. In Kruisheer’s ATJEH ‘96, the second Tjot Rang — that in the XXVI Moekims — was the principal Dutch buitenpost of the eastern linie, and its evacuation on 21 April 1896 together with Kroeng Gloempang and Toengkoeb marked the formal abandonment of the eastern buitenlinie in the spring 1896 crisis.

Account in Hooijer’s De verlaten posten in Groot-Atjeh (1897)

Tjot Rang was a Dutch temporary post established in November 1893 in an old Achehnese fortification on a height by the passer of Tjot Rang in the XXVI Moekims of Groot-Atjeh, occupied at the request of Toekoe Djohan to secure his conquests, invested after his defection in March 1896, relieved on 16 April 1896 and abandoned and slighted a few days later.

Foundation

After Toekoe Djohan had met unexpectedly little resistance in the XXVI Moekims and had taken a couple of days’ rest from fighting, the Dutch made it easier for him to resume by complying with his request to send troops to the terrain he had conquered at Tjot Rang. Thus covered, he was able in the following days to disperse Mad Amin’s bands entirely. In order to secure the conquered terrain further against the Moslemin and to hold firm ground there, it was determined that Dutch soldiers should quarter themselves temporarily in an old Achehnese fortification on a height by the passer at Tjot Rang.

Description

The fortification was of the usual type: a vertical ijzerdraadversperring strengthened by a horizontal one, enclosing the earthen ramparts and the two bastions armed with 8 cm. pieces. The officers’ quarters lay behind the hut in the foreground of the plate, in which a jet of water afforded opportunity for washing the body. Before the main entrance the soldiers sat; on the rampart, where a bench had been set among flowers, stood the commandant of the garrison of three officers and seventy-five men, Kapitein Van der Wedden, in night-trousers and kabaai (loose jacket).

Garrison life

Life there was much as at Toengkoeb. No trouble was had from the enemy, and the few rifle-shots fired were aimed at the wild pigs roaming the neighbourhood, which when hit were brought in with cheering and eaten with relish. Hooijer noted that these pigs were the only representatives of game found in the Atjeh valley: the elephants whose tracks were found on the hill country to the east, the bears living in the heavily overgrown interior of Sumatra and the deer nesting in scrub and glaga (reed-grass) fields did not penetrate the inhabited low-lying districts. Of tigers scarcely anything was noticed; the one that Hooijer saw was an old royal tiger lying in a cage, offered to General van der Heijden as a token of appreciation. Had tigers been numerous, he remarked, they would have held a razzia among the many wild or at least feral dogs that roamed everywhere, dug up corpses and set up a pitiable howling around the Dutch posts and bivouacs at night.

The terrain

A further plate showed the terrain around Tjot Rang, which Hooijer used to explain the difficulty of fighting in such country: the marshy soil out of which rose the mounds carrying the kampongs (villages); the absence of made roads; the inner path from Tjot Rang by way of Ateuh to Tjot Iri, which counted as something particularly easy. Sinking into mud above the knees, floundering in foul pools up to the waist, becoming entangled in tough stalks covering the plain, stumbling over the little dams separating the rice-fields and scarcely distinguishable through the wild growth of grass and alang-alang — these, he wrote, were things to which the Dutch soldier had become as accustomed as to his daily kettle of rice.

Investment and relief

The condition of the garrison after Luitenant Neelmeyer delivered his warning may, Hooijer wrote, be imagined: the Achehnese-held watch-posts nearby were suddenly abandoned, and it appeared that both the great road from Tjot Rang to Tjot Iri — along which the lieutenant had been able to escape, and on which an Achehnese pedati (ox-cart) is seen moving beneath two high coconut palms in the plate — and the road to the right towards Toengkoeb were held by the enemy. At seventy-five metres from the benteng the Achehnese, so skilful with the patjol, made a trench fifty metres long from which the post was fired on with rifle and lilla. To send any message thence to Kota Radja proved impossible.

Day after day the garrison looked out for relief, while the kettingganger who served as lamplighter tried under enemy fire to catch some fish from the surrounding pools as a delicacy for the officers. At last, on 16 April 1896, cannon-fire was heard in the distance and two columns, together numbering 2,700 men, appeared to drive off the enemy and replace the garrison with fresh troops. The enemy’s resistance had not been great, but when the columns withdrew he pursued them and raised their losses to forty-five killed and wounded. A few days later the post was abandoned and slighted without the enemy offering serious opposition.

Sources

Atjeh-Album van Eigen Haard, uitgave van de N.V. Het Tijdschrift “Eigen Haard”, Amsterdam, 1896, p. 10 (Een Terugblik — Wat Reeds Verkregen Werd).

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, pp. 13–14, 22–23, 26, 39, 48, 50–51, 56–57, 75–76, 83–84, 87, 89, 92–93, 119, 121–135, 292, 296, 309–313, 318, 326, 537.

De verlaten posten in Groot-Atjeh, door G. B. Hooijer, Gep. Luit.-Kolonel O. I. Leger, met 24 platen (Haarlem: De Erven F. Bohn; Batavia: G. Kolff & Co., 1897). Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, Centrale Boekerij, Amsterdam. OCR-filename: 20260719_140140_DLP-134-De_verlaten_posten_in_Groot_Atjeh_Nemotron-OCR-v2_OCR.txt, pp. 34, 36, 38, 50.

Acknowledgement of sources. This article is a single consolidated account combining the material previously held in this entry with the account given in De verlaten posten in Groot-Atjeh (1897) by G. B. Hooijer. Dutch terminology has been rendered in English, the original Dutch being retained only in direct quotations and in bibliographic citations.

tags	place, military-post, aceh-war, 1896, aceh, xxii-moekims, xxvi-moekims, groot-atjeh, geconcentreerde-linie, relief, dutch, colonial, benteng
aliases	Cot Rang, Tjotrang, the post at Tjot Rang, Tjos Rang, post Tjot Rang, the temporary post at Tjot Rang

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