|
| |
THE LOMBOK WAR The wounded were provided with fresh band ages. After a sojourn in the palace they were released with a letter from the Crown Prince stating that he was releasing the prisoners a gesture of friendship and as proof that he wished to end hostilities. But the letter was ignored by the commander-inchief, and at the seashore the decimated army erected new fortifications protected by the warships at anchor. When the news of the defeat reached Java and Holland, the press flared up with indignation against " the sinister treachery " of the Balinese. Immediately large reinforcements of men and heavy artillery were sent from Java. New fortifications were built and the Sasaks were forced to fight against the Balinese. The offensive was started against the capital, the army advancing cautiously, bombarding the village's along the way, and burning them to the ground after the Sasaks had looted them. Mataram and Tjakra Negara, the two residences of the princes, were shelled and the Dutch succeeded in blowing up their arsenals and rice stores. The city of Mataram was captured first. Men and women, caught unawares, stabbed themselves rather than fall into the hands of the soldiers. Once occupied, Mataram was ordered razed to the ground. Every wall was laid low and all the trees chopped down. The work of destruction took over a month. Next came the attack on Tjakra Negara, the last important city of the Balinese in Lombok.
They defended it tenaciously, but could not long resist the effects
of artillery, and every palace and house that showed resistance was
soon in flames. The Crown Prince, Anak Agung Ktut, the greatest enemy
of the Dutch, was killed. The city was taken, the old Radja captured
and exiled to Batavia, where he soon died of a broken heart. Thus ended
Balinese rule in Lombok. The new conquest cost the Dutch 214 dead and
476 wounded, besides 246 who died of sickness and fatigue.
|