Attack on Koerong Raba was the successful amphibious landing and coastal assault executed in December 1873 by the Second Aceh Expedition under General J. van Swieten, which secured the strategic beachhead at Koerong Raba Bay on the Acehnese coast.
Narrative of the Amphibious Invasion
Seeking to bypass the heavily fortified coastal redoubts guarding Meuraxa and the Aceh River estuary (Coastal Fortifications in Aceh), General J. van Swieten directed his invasion armada to anchor off Koerong Raba Bay.
In late December 1873, naval gunfire suppressed Acehnese coastal batteries, and landing craft carried infantry battalions and the Marine Corps in Aceh ashore. Dutch troops charged across the surf, capturing the beachhead and securing the western flank of the Acehnese coastal plain.
Strategic Consequences
The capture of Koerong Raba provided the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army with a safe debarkation port free from the worst hazards of the northeast monsoon. From this base, J. van Swieten organized his logistical train (Transport and Coolie System in Aceh) and launched the overland advance that led to the capture of Pekan Badak and Kraton of Aceh in January 1874.
See Also
Source
Atjeh gedurende de tweede expeditie en later, Een Oud Officier, Batavia: Ogilvie & Co., 1876, pp. 16-22.