First Aceh Expedition

First Aceh Expedition
Sultanate of Aceh
Result	Acehnese Victory

Belligerents  Netherlands Commanders and leaders Panglima Polim
Sultan Alauddin Mahmud Syah II

The First Aceh Expedition, was a military campaign undertaken by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) against the sultanate of Aceh in the north of Sumatra in 1873. The expedition was launched as a punitive measure by the Dutch colonial authorities in response to perceived challenges to their control over the region and Aceh's resistance to Dutch interference in its affairs.^[1]

The campaign resulted in a Dutch victory. However, it was costly for both sides, with significant loss of life on both sides and extensive destruction of Aceh's infrastructure and economy.^[2]

First Capture of Mosque Baiturrahman (1873)

Dutch troops led by General Johan Harmen Rudolf Köhler landed on the coast of Aceh on April 5 1873. He brought 3,198 soldiers and around 168 officers. The first war broke out. The colonial troops initially succeeded in controlling the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque. Acehnese fighters did not remain silent. They made a counterattack, causing General Kohler to die after being hit by a bullet in the chest.^[3]

Early in 1873, the American Consul in Singapore had discussions with an Acehnese emissary about a possible Acehnese-American treaty, which the Dutch saw as justification for intervention. In March 1873, the Dutch bombed the Acehnese capital

. Having misjudged their Acehnese opposition, the Dutch were forced to withdraw losing Köhler and eighty men. They then established a blockade and Acehnese troops (estimates of whom range from 10,000 to 100,000) prepared for battle.

This was followed by the Second Aceh Expedition in late 1873.

See also

• History of Indonesia
• Second Aceh Expedition

References

Sources

• Ricklefs, M. C. (1991). A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1300 (2nd ed.). Macmillan.
  ISBN 0-333-57689-6
  .