Van Swieten’s Dagorder of 20 November 1873 was the order of the day issued by Lieutenant-General Van Swieten upon assuming command of the Second Aceh Expedition at Soerabaja, two days before the embarkation of the troops. In it, Van Swieten set out the ethical and legal framework within which the expedition was to operate — a framework that explicitly prohibited the burning of kampongs and the harming of non-combatants, and that invoked the criminal penalties of the military code. The dagorder became one of the most significant documents of the campaign and was cited repeatedly by Van Swieten in his subsequent defence of his policy against critics such as Captain Borel.
Text of the Dagorder
“By the King appointed civil Government Commissioner and military Supreme Commander of the Second Expedition against Atjeh, I declare that I have assumed command over the combined means of combat.
The resumption of war operations will impose upon many of you privations and exertions, which you will, however, I trust, bear with patience and perseverance.
Do not permit your colours, once transferred to enemy soil, to be dishonoured by robbery and arson. Those who turn arms against you, you shall fight with courage and perseverance, but to women and children and to men who conduct themselves peacefully, you may do no harm.
Enemy fortifications you shall render harmless, but the dwellings and the kampongs you may not burn or destroy. These are crimes that are punished with death, and which would deprive you of the means of finding shelter or protection.
The Fatherland and the King expect that you shall do your duty. Let us ensure that that expectation is not disappointed.”
The dagorder concluded with Van Swieten’s signature as: “Adjudant of the King in extraordinary service, civil Government Commissioner and military Supreme Commander of the Second Expedition against Atjeh, The Lieutenant-General, (sd.) J. VAN SWIETEN.”
Legal Basis
Van Swieten’s prohibition on kampong-burning was not merely a matter of personal preference or moral sentiment — it was grounded in explicit provisions of the criminal code for the Indies army. He cited Articles 172 and 173 of the Criminal Code for the Land Forces, which prohibited the destruction of dwellings and property under penalty of death. In his subsequent account, Van Swieten emphasized that the prohibition applied without exception: no one could contravene it except in cases of extreme necessity, and the necessity had to be real and demonstrable. Even an order from a superior, Van Swieten noted, could exempt the executor from responsibility but not the commander who gave the order.
This legal framework distinguished Van Swieten’s approach from that of later commanders, who permitted or encouraged the systematic burning of kampongs — an act that Van Swieten regarded not merely as a moral failing but as a violation of existing law.
Significance
The dagorder of 20 November 1873 established the ethical and legal framework for the entire conduct of the Second Expedition. It was consistent with the conciliatory policy that Van Swieten had outlined in his letters to the Sultan of 1 December 1873 — the proposal for mutual observance of the laws of civilized warfare — and with his broader conviction that the Aceh War could only be won through the eventual reconciliation of the Acehnese people to Dutch rule, not through their destruction.
The dagorder was vindicated, in Van Swieten’s view, by the relatively swift submission of several subordinate states in the weeks following the capture of the Kraton — a submission that he attributed directly to the reputation the Dutch forces had earned for moderation and restraint. It was violated, in his view, by the kampong-burning policies adopted by subsequent commanders, which he regarded as both morally indefensible and strategically counterproductive, producing only bitterness and prolonging the war.
See Also
- Jan van Swieten
- Second Aceh Expedition (1873-1874)
- Van Swieten’s Letter on Civilized Warfare (1 December 1873)
- Van Swieten’s Proclamation of 31 January 1874
- Van Swieten’s Proclamation of 28 January 1874
- G. F. W. Borel
- Aceh War
Source
De waarheid over onze vestiging in Atjeh, door den Luitenant-Generaal J. van Swieten, Zalt-Bommel, Joh. Noman en Zoon, [1879], Bijlage B, pp. 467.