1879

Properties3
descriptionThe year of the XXVI Moekims campaign and the Selimoen tocht, of the 5 September 1879 day-order declaring 'geheel Groot-Atjeh ten onder gebragt', of Van der Heijden's second harbor closure of 5 July 1879, and of the G.-G.'s 7 February 1879 brief revoking the first closure.
tagsyear, aceh-war, dutch-colonial, colonial, timeline, meusigit-raja, dutch, achehnese, military, 19th-century, atjeh, aceh
aliasesYear 1879, 1879 AD, 1879 (year), het jaar 1879, Halewijn's column over Glé Broeë, Halewijn kolonne 1879, 1879 (Van Heutsz 1893 perspective), the year 1879

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1879 was the year of the campaign against the XXII Moekims of 23 March 23 March – 9 July 9 July, of the campaign against the XXVI Moekims of 1 July 1 July – 4 July 4 July, and of the Selimoen expedition of 13 August 13 August – 15 August 15 August, which together completed the first conquest of Groot-Atjeh. The year also saw the laying of the first stone for the new missigit at Kota Radja by the governor Van der Heyden on 9 October 9 October, the reduction of the garrison by Indies decree of 18 May 18 May 1880 to 253 officers and 6372 rank-and-file, the dissolution of the active columns on 5 September 5 September, and the visit to Atjeh of the commander of the Indies army, Lieutenant-general H. G. Boumeester, on 19 August 19 August [1879].

1879 was also the year of the Captain Halewijn’s military column — one company strong — over Glé Broeë in the reverse direction to that of the Dompseler column of 1877, and the second of the only two pre-1896 Dutch references for the Ladoeng–Glé Broeë mountain route that would, in June 1896, become the axis of the sea-borne Ladoeng landing under Lt.-Col. Hansen. As recorded by Kruisheer in p. 324, Halewijn’s column made the reverse-direction march over Glé Broeë in 9.5 hours and considered the way “zeer bruikbaar” — very usable — except for the ravines. Together with Maj. Dompseler’s 1877 march, Halewijn’s reconnaissance furnished Kolonel Stemfoort’s staff with the only pre-1896 terrain intelligence on the Glé Broeë axis, and shaped the planning of the 22–23 June 1896 amphibious operation against the Acehnese stelling east of Kroeng-Kali.

Account from De geschiedenis van Nederland in onzen tijd (1912) — The Campaigns of 1879

March: The Capture of Indrapuri

After the submission of Habib Abdurrahman on 13 October 1878 the campaign against the XXII Moekims was decided upon. In his cabinet letter of 21 March 21 March [1879] the Governor-General Van Lansberge instructed Van der Heyden that “the war must now come to an end.” On 23 March 23 March [1879] the columns marched; on 24 March 24 March [1879] the missigit of Indrapuri was taken by a stratagem.

May-July: The Continuation

Heavy fighting followed at Djerreek, Redep, Panteh Karang in May. On 6 May 6 May and 7 May 7 May [1879] great losses were inflicted on the Dutch at Panteh Karang, but in the end the enemy was driven out. On 31 May 31 May [1879] the troops again advanced on Gleiêng, the fortified and well-armed chief place of Panglima Polem; on 9 July 9 July [1879] Gleiêng was taken. With the fall of Gleiêng the campaign in the XXII Moekims was over.

July: The Submission of the XXVI Moekims

On 1 July 1 July [1879] the columns marched from various points into the XXVI Moekims. The principal fortified points — the missigit Melajoe, the missigit Boëng Tjala, the missigit Lambaroe, and the missigit Toengkoep — were taken at the first storm or had already been evacuated. On 4 July 4 July [1879] the Dutch were wholly master of the XXVI Moekims.

August: The Selimoen Expedition

On 27 July 27 July [1879] the troops disembarked at Lampanas and reached Lamtobah on 29 July 29 July. On 30 July 30 July [1879] envoys of the blind priest Habib Machmoed arrived at Indrapuri with the submission of Toekoe Moeda Daoed. On 13 August 13 August – 15 August 15 August [1879] the Selimoen expedition was carried out; Toekoe Moeda Daoed and other chiefs submitted; Panglima Polem and the Imam Longbatta fled to the upper lands of Pedir.

September: The End of Large-Scale Operations

On 5 September 5 September [1879] the active columns were dissolved. “To be sure, the principal among the hostile chiefs — Toewankoe Haschim, who still kept watch over the young pretender to the sultanship Toewankoe Daoed [destined for the sultan’s rank in 1874], Imam Longbatta, Panglima Polem, his son Radja Koelala and others — persisted in their hostile attitude, but their means were scattered and they had placed themselves beyond the reach of our troops, namely at Kemala, in the interior south of Pedir.”

October: The New Missigit

On 9 October 9 October [1879] the governor laid the first stone for the new missigit at Kota Radja. “From far and near the Acehnese chiefs were invited to attend this ceremony and the festivities to be connected with it, and they came in great numbers, both from Great Acheh and from the Onderhoorigheden. Also from the lesser people thousands streamed together; and although the necessary measures were taken for possible disturbances of the peace, everything passed off in the best order.”

The Visit of Boumeester

On 19 August 19 August [1879] the commander of the Indies army, Lieutenant-general H. G. Boumeester, arrived in Atjeh to inform himself personally of the state of affairs. In his report he paid great tribute to Van der Heyden: “On the whole it appears to me that the course followed since June 1878 has produced the expected results, and it is certain that the favourable and, comparatively speaking, even very favourable outcome that has now been obtained is due in very considerable measure to the energetic and skilful way in which the commander has carried out the instructions given him by the government… The nation is undoubtedly greatly indebted to him.”

The Koffiebladziekte

In 1879 the koffiebladziekte penetrated to Java, at first only sporadically, but soon more generally and of a serious character.

Account from Oost-Indisch Journael (1947) — 1879

1879 was the year of the laying of the first stone of the Meusigit Raja of Koeta Radja on 9 October 1879 — in the presence of Governor-General Johan Willem van Lansberge, all the civil and military authorities, and many Acehnese chiefs and clergy. The first stone — the colonial state’s formal beginning of the rebuilding — is the marker of the colonial state’s consent and cooperation in the rebuilding of the Meusigit Raja, which had been promised in Van Swieten’s missive of 8 February 1874 following the 1873 storming of the mosque.

The book’s sequence is: the 1873 storming of the mosque (the burning-down and demolition) — the 1874 Van Swieten missive (the well-known lines) — the 1879 laying of the first stone (in the presence of Van Lansberge) — the 1881 completion and the 27 December 1881 solemn transfer (by A. Pruys van der Hoeven). The 1879 first stone is therefore the marker of the formal beginning of the rebuilding: the colonial state’s laying of the first stone of the Meusigit Raja.

People

Places

  • Glé Broeë (mountain route; axis of the 1879 reverse march)
  • Ladoeng (Dutch landing beach on the Westkust; terminus of the 1879 reverse march)
  • Lam-Baroe Angin (destination of Dompseler’s 1877 column; starting point of Halewijn’s reverse march)
  • Lam-Baroe (kampong near the battle area)
  • XXVI Moekims (plain reached by crossing Glé Broeë)
  • Kroeng-Kali (Dutch 1896 target; reached after crossing Glé Broeë)
  • Kroeng-Angin (bridge crossed by Hansen’s 1896 column)
  • Boekit Karang (post reached by 1896 Hansen column)
  • Kraton (final destination of Hansen’s 1896 column)
  • Koeta Radja (Dutch seat; eventual destination of 1896 column)
  • Oleh-leh (port of embarkation for the 1896 Ladoeng landing)

Events

Organizations

Documents

  • Terrain report of Captain Halewijn — “zeer bruikbaar” except for ravines (p. 324)
  • Landingsbevel issued aboard by Lt. Col. Hansen for the 1896 Ladoeng landing (which referenced the 1877 and 1879 marches as terrain precedents)
  • Kaart 1:25000 (detailed map referenced for kampong locations on the Glé Broeë axis)
  • Overzichtskaart Groot-Atjeh (overview map of Greater Aceh)

Concepts

  • Kroeng (Topographic prefixes) — mountain/hill and river/stream; the ravines that Halewijn noted are typical of the Kroeng gorges cutting through the Glé Broeë massif
  • Koeta (Acehnese fortifications) (Glé Broeë was defended by Acehnese stelling in 1896; Kroeng-Kali benteng stormed by compagnie Linck 23 June 1896)
  • Colonne (Dutch column formation)
  • Bergbatterijen (mountain artillery, the only type of artillery that could accompany a column over Glé Broeë)
  • Vivres (the supply echelons of a column over the mountain)
  • Machtsvertoon (show of force; the 1896 Ladoeng landing was in part a machtsvertoon)
  • Voetpad — footpath
  • Ravijn — ravine (the only obstacle noted by Halewijn)

Account from De onderwerping van Atjeh (Van Heutsz, 1893) — the operational climax of the Atjeh-oorlog

Van Heutsz’s 1893 tract De onderwerping van Atjeh identifies 1879 as the operational climax of the Atjeh-oorlog: the year of the XXVI Moekims campaign — the veldtocht tegen de XXVI Moekims, opened by Generaal van der Heijden in July 1879 and “schitterend besloten door den tocht naar Selimoen” — and of the day-order of 5 September 1879 declaring “geheel Groot-Atjeh ten onder gebragt”. The year was the moment at which “nog geen 14 maanden na het begin van zijne zegerijke veldtochten”, Van der Heijden had “aan alle verzet een einde gemaakt” and was, in the Atjehnese reading of the conquest, “de door den vijand gevreesde overwinnaar van het aloude machtige Atjehsche rijk”.

The XXVI Moekims campaign and the Selimoen tocht

The campaign opened in July 1879 as the natural continuation of the XXII Moekims campaign of the previous year. Van Heutsz’s general formulation:

“In September 1879, nog geen 14 maanden na het begin van zijne zegerige veldtochten, had Generaal v. d. Heijden aan alle verzet een einde gemaakt, was hij de door den vijand gevreesde overwinnaar van het aloude machtige Atjehsche rijk, zetelde het Ned. bestuur volgens de Atjehsche begrippen, door het recht van verovering, op den troon van den Sultan”.

The phrase zetelde het Ned. bestuur volgens de Atjehsche begrippen, door het recht van verovering, op den troon van den Sultan — the Dutch administration sat, by Atjehnese understanding, by right of conquest, on the throne of the Sultan — is Van Heutsz’s formula for the political accomplishment of the campaign. The campaign’s culminating operation was the tocht naar Selimoen — the expedition to Selimoen in the XXVI Moekims in September 1879. Van Heutsz’s name for it — schitterend besloten door den tocht naar Selimoen — marks it as the schitterende (splendid) close of the XXVI campaign.

The day-order of 5 September 1879

The campaign closed, on 5 September 1879, with the day-order Van Heutsz reproduces in full from the original Dagorder issued at Kota-Radja:

“Dagorder. Officieren, Ambtenaren, Onderofficieren en Soldaten! Met den veldtocht tegen de XXVI Moekims, schitterend besloten door den tocht naar Selimoen; is geheel Groot-Atjeh ten onder gebragt. De bevolking keert van lieverlede in hare kampongs terug; enkele aanzienlijke hoofden zijn reeds in onderwerping gekomen; er bestaat gegronde hoop dat velen dat voorbeeld zullen volgen. Krijgsbewegingen van grooten omvang zullen vermoedelijk niet meer noodig zijn, maar nog geruimen tijd wordt de krachtige steun der troepenmacht vereischt om een goed bestuur in te voeren en eene geregelde orde van zaken te scheppen. (1) Officieren, Onderofficieren en minderen! De krijgsoperatiën in de XXII en XXVI Moekims, die in Juli van het vorige jaar zijn aangevangen en zoo schitterende uitkomsten hebben opgeleverd, hebben Uwen krijgsroem verhoogd en glansrijk bevestigd dat Z. M. onze geëerbiedigde Koning recht heeft, trotsch te zijn op het leger en de vloot, die in Zijnen naam, Neerland’s gezag in Indië helpen handhaven. LEVE DE KONING! Kota-Radja, 5 September 1879. De generaal-majoor, adjudant des Konings in buitengewonen dienst, Gouverneur tevens militair bevelhebber van Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden. K. VAN DER HEUDEN”.

Van Heutsz’s footnote — “(1) Deze cursiveering is van mij” — marks his editorial intervention: the italicised “nog geruimen tijd wordt de krachtige steun der troepenmacht vereischt om een goed bestuur in te voeren en eene geregelde orde van zaken te scheppen” is Van Heutsz’s own emphasis, drawing the reader’s attention to the General’s measured warning that the military conquest would not, by itself, produce the political order. The day-order was independently confirmed by the September 1879 inspection report of the Commandant of the Indian army — who visited Atjeh in the same month and submitted his verslag to the Regeering.

The 7 February 1879 brief and the 5 July 1879 telegram

Van der Heijden’s first harbor closure of 1878 had been revoked by G.-G. van Lansberge by brief of 7 February 1879 — “gelastte daarom bij brief van 7 Februari 1879 dien maatregel onverwijld in te trekken” — with the warning that “eene willekeurige daad van Generaal van Raders, Gouverneur van Suriname, tegenover een Oostenrijksch schip, gaf aanleiding tot eene aanklacht der Oostenrijksche Regeering, die de afzetting van Generaal Raders tengevolge had”. When, however, the veldtocht in de XXVI Moekims opened, “de Generaal opnieuw de vaste overtuiging kreeg dat, wilde men thans den oorlog beëindigd zien, de havens opnieuw moesten gesloten worden”, Van der Heijden “aarzelde geen oogenblik om daartoe over te gaan, hij sloot ze ten tweedemale en gaf bij telegram d.d. 5 Juli 1879 aan den Gouv. Generaal te kennen: Dat de havens opnieuw door hem waren gesloten, ditmaal op zijne persoonlijke verantwoordelijkheid”. The 5 July 1879 telegram — the second harbor closure, undertaken on Van der Heijden’s “persoonlijke verantwoordelijkheid” — was reluctantly tolerated by the G.-G., but under “uitdrukkelijk voorbehoud, dat daaraan het karakter van een zeer tijdelijken oorlogsmaatregel niet mocht worden ontnomen”. Van Heutsz’s verdict is that the closure was “geen daad van militaire willekeur” but “een krachtige door het gezond verstand geboden dwangmaatregel” — a measure in the direction that would have allowed the colony to put “de kroon op het werk” — the crown on the work — had the G.-G. not gedwarsboomd (thwarted) it.

De onderwerping van Atjeh, door J. B. van Heutsz, Majoor der Infanterie, gewezen Chef van den Staf in Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden. ‘s-Gravenhage: De Gebroeders van Cleef; Batavia: G. Kolff en Co., 1893, esp. pp. 18, 22, 23, 25, 45, 107. OCR-filename: 20260718_105749_DLP-107-De_onderwerping_van_Atjeh_Nemotron-OCR-v2_OCR.txt.

Account in du Croo’s Generaal Swart (1943)

In 1879 the Dutch evacuated from Atjeh 124 officers, 5,577 other ranks and 3,681 convicts, and had to send out as replacements in the same year 277 officers, 6,394 other ranks and 6,982 convicts.

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

1879 was the year in which Dutch troops first entered the terrain of the XXII Moekims around Anagaloeng in Groot-Atjeh, during the offensive operations of General van der Heijden.

In Hooijer’s account

G. B. Hooijer recorded of the plain around Anagaloeng that dit terrein, door onze troepen in 1879 voor het eerst betreden, was dan ook een lustoord in vergelijking met de lage landen, vol stinkende moerassen der XXVI Moekims, waaruit als het ware malaria opsteeg — this terrain, first entered by Dutch troops in 1879, was a place of delight compared with the low lands full of stinking marshes of the XXVI Moekims, out of which malaria seemed to rise. Fever-pale soldiers’ faces regained their healthy brown colour on the drier ground.

Account from Verstege’s Een beroep op het Nederlandsche volk (1886)

Verstege describes this as the year of generaal van der Heyden, in whom the Dutch at last had a commander who made war “on the manner of war” (in oorlogs-manier): the operations in the XXII Moekims were resumed on 23 March and on 24 March 1879 the strong missigit Indrapoerie — the old and famous sanctuary of the highlands, held by the irreconcilable Imam Longbattah — was taken with insignificant loss. In May and June operations against the fortified lines of Sihong (Djerir), Gleieng and other principal centres of resistance followed; in the morning of 5 June the extensive strong positions of Gleieng — the dwelling-place of the feared sagie-head Panglima Polim, who had not dared to await the Dutch — were taken with slight loss, and 9-10 June were used to complete the success. There the veldtocht of the XXII Moekims ended: the resistance was broken at all points and those who wished to fight on repaired to the XXVI Moekims. On 19 June the robber-people of Ladoeng and Kroeng Rajal on the North Coast were punished without Dutch loss. After solid preparation the veldtocht against the XXVI Moekims opened on 30 June; brilliant successes were obtained within days, brightened by the continued pursuit of the scattered hostile bands. Trips to Lampanas (North Coast) and Lamtobah at the foot of the Selawa Djanten (Goldberg) in July caused the Imam and other heads of Lamtobah to come in person to submit themselves; Toekoe Moeda Daoed, one of the most tenacious enemies, who in remote Selimoen held the chief command in the XXII Moekims, now wrote to Toekoe Kadli (who had come over already in 1874) that the great misfortune brought by the war over the three Sagies decided him to offer his submission. When he did not show up quickly, Van der Heyden had him fetched by a column (27 July-2 September); Selimoen was reached, after several tiring day-marches, almost without resistance on 15 August; Toekoe Moeda Daoed awaited the column with a white flag, the population stayed in its kampongs, and on the same day Toekoe Tjoet Hadjet (Ajer-Alang), a brother of Panglima Polim, came into the bivouac to offer his submission. On 17 August both heads went with one of the columns to Indrapoerie — a triumphal march through kampongs planting white flags everywhere, even on the dominating hills — and on 20 August they swore their submission to the general. In the XXVI Moekims too the people returned to their kampongs and offered small presents. Van der Heyden’s Dagorder of 5 September 1879 could declare “met den veldtocht tegen de XXVI Moekims, schitterend besloten door den tocht naar Selimoen, is GEHEEL GROOT-ATJEH ten onder gebracht” (“with the campaign against the XXVI Moekims, brilliantly crowned by the march to Selimoen, ALL GREAT-ATJEH is subdued”). From 19 August to 20 September the commandant of the Indies army, luitenant-generaal Boumeester, visited Atjeh and crossed the whole territory with a small escort, “without hearing a shot, without seeing an enemy”, reporting “Naar het schijnt, is eindelijk de overtuiging tot de Atjehsche bevolking doorgedrongen, dat wij de sterksten zijn” (“It seems that at last the conviction has penetrated to the Atjehnese population that we are the stronger”). On 9 October 1879 the first foundation-stone of the new Dutch mosque near Kota Radja was laid in the presence of many chiefs of Groot-Atjeh, princes and regents of the vasal states, and of more than 6,000 Atjehers, who afterwards took part in the kendoerie-feast (see Laying of the first stone of Meusigit Raja); and on 18 November the Governor-General van Lansberge himself, at a great banquet, said that the splendid war deeds of the last two years had brought the goal very near. In the same year the later reports could record that of prisoners, in a surprise of 11 August, more than 67, on 2 August 79, and on 13 August 31 Atjehers were made, among whom Nja-Amoe, one of the most tenacious enemies, “whose band had plundered a kampong completely the night before” (Kielstra III).

See Also

Sources

  • De geschiedenis van Nederland in onzen tijd, by J. A. de Bruyne, Directeur der Hoogere Burgerschool te Zierikzee. Deel IV. 1872-1883. Nieuwe uitgave. Schiedam: J. F. Dupont, 1912, Hoofdstuk I.
  • The Achehnese, Vol. I, by Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje, translated by A.W.S. O’Sullivan, indexed by R.J. Wilkinson. Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1906.
  • Raffles’ Atjeh-overeenkomst van 1819, by P. H. van der Kemp, in Bijdragen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië, 6e Volgr., Deel VII (1900), pp. 159–239. Universiteitsbibliotheek Vrije Universiteit, LS.08781.
  • Oost-Indisch Journael: Palaver om de tafel met het gat, by Merac, Toekan-Serie no. 2, ed. G. L. Tichelman (Haarlem: De Gulden Pers, 1947), the chapter on the Meusigit Raja.
  • 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. 324.

Generaal Swart, Pacificator van Atjeh (“General Swart, Pacifier of Atjeh”), by M. H. du Croo, Colonel K.N.I.L. (retired), with the collaboration of H. J. Schmidt, Titular Colonel K.N.I.L. (retired), with a foreword by His Excellency Lieutenant-General K.N.I.L. (retired) G. K. Dijkstra (Maastricht: N.V. Leiter-Nypels, 1943), passim.

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, p. 40.

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.

De Geconcentreerde Stelling in Groot-Atjeh, ‘s-Gravenhage: De Gebroeders Van Cleef, 1885, pp. 9–12.

Een beroep op het Nederlandsche volk in zake het Atjeh-vraagstuk, door J. J. W. E. Verstege (Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy, 1886), pp. 19 note, 59-64. OCR: DLP-158.

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