1821 - The Battle for Palembang

Author's and Historical Notes

The events taking place in this story are based on historical events of which I shall flesh out under this section. The chronology of historical events and major historical figures of the book was taken from the doctoral thesis later published commercially as a book titled Seizure of Power in the Palembang Sultanate (1804-1825) by Dr. Farida Wargadalem, now senior faculty member at Universitas Srivijaya, Palembang, as a requirement in earning her doctoral degree from the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia. I trust in the peer review system and defence processes done in such academic works should be adequate to review the quality of the research and narrative, aside from the fact that Dr. Wargadalem is in possession of a doctoral degree in history and I do not.

Pre-1821

The First Palembang War, 1819–The Dutch colonial government in the East Indies (now Indonesia) had been at war with the Palembangese Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II since 1819, when the Resident's (a colonial official with the same functions as an ambassador to the native rulers of which the colonial administration was in diplomatic relations with or through treaties, are under the protectorate of) lodge in Palembang was attacked by the Sultan's troops, under the reasoning that the Dutch have breached a prior treaty and transgressed their control over Palembangese trade policies. The Dutch garrison was overrun and the Resident, Muntinghe, was pushed away from the city after deserpately fighting attacks directly from keraton (the Sultan's palace and residence). They withdrew after a night of hard fighting. With mounting casualties, the Dutch garrison and civil service personnel had to evacuate the city and performed a fighting retreat throughout the countryside until they reached the eastern coast of Sumatra. They managed to hold out for a couple of weeks near the coast until a rescue fleet from the Island of Banca/Duke of York Island came to evacuate them. Nonetheless, casualties were heavy, and the Dutch had lost completely their foothold in Southern Sumatra.

The First Dutch Expedition, 1819–Later that year, the Dutch launched an expedition to retake Palembang led by Commodore Wolterbeek of the Royal Dutch-Belgian Navy, though this expedition ended in failure. Despite bringing thousands of land troops and dozens of armed and troop vessels, the Dutch were halted by the Sultan's army and navy at the many riverine fortresses such as Gombora and Plaju, of which would be the centrepoint of fighting in the Second War in 1821. The Palembangese were known as skilled defenders, utilizing not only cannon but also fireships that were driven into the Dutch fleet, while simultaneously waging a naval war composing of the royal fleet, armed merchantmen, and pirates.

During the first expedition, the Dutch land component (consisting of marines and soldiers from the Royal Netherlands Indies Army) did not succeed in taking the fortresses, and after about a month of constant fighting on the rough tides of the Musi, they were forced to retreat back to Batavia and Banca. between 1819 and 1821, small skirmishes took place on the shores of Sumatra as well in the sea, while a long-drawn campaign in securing Banca Island took place. The Dutch continued blockading the mouth of the Musi River (Muara Sunsang), though the Palembangese, skilled seamen by all accounts, managed to continue trade by way of smuggling, and perhaps through the British-held Bencoolen (now Bengkulu).

Designing the Second Expedition–as a consequence of the failures taken place in 1819, Governor-General van der Capellen assigned a commission to devise a plan on how to take Palembang in a later assault. The commission then appointed Major-General Merkus Hendrik de Kock, a prominent military commander in the East Indies, to lead the military operation, consisting of Navy (under Commodore Wolterbeek), Army, and Marine elements; so meticulous was the planning that the Javanese princes were involved. Prominent offices within the occupation force were filled by Javanese officials. One of them was Aria Kertanegara, who would head the civil administration after Palembang was conquered. A greater operation was then planned, with a sophisticated lighting-like attack to be performed by over twenty vessels, many of them capable of bombardment, and a larger land component, with Colonel Bischoff at the head of the infantry and Major Riesz at the head of artillery. Also featuring again from the first war is engineering officer Major Cochius, a 'specialist on fortifications;' he would later on reach the rank of major-general as a highly-professional and reliable officer that served in many colonial wars: the Java War and the Padri War (in West Sumatra), amongst others. One officer of note is the mathematically-inclined Captain van der Wijck, who dealt with most plans in taking the river forts while planning where artillery would be emplaced to assist the naval bombardments of the forts, which alone had proven ineffective in the previous operation. By the start of 1821, the plans were set: over 2,500 land troops including both European and Javanese troops (some from the principality) and a regiment of artillery would be shipped over to Sumatra aboard twenty-five or more ships, all tasked with the conquest of Palembang for sure.