The Battle of Bital occurred on 12 February 1874 during the Second Aceh Expedition when a Dutch expeditionary column led by Lieutenant-Colonel Karel van der Heijden assaulted fortified Acehnese positions at Kampong Bital to protect the allied chief Teuku Nja.
Detailed Narrative
In early February 1874, Teuku Nanta, chieftain of the VI Mukims, destroyed the bridge connecting his territory with Marassa and built stockades at Bital to attack Teuku Nja for his neutrality.
At 5:30 AM on 12 February 1874, Lieutenant-Colonel Van der Heijden marched from Peunayong with eight half-battalions, a Barisan half-battalion, mountain guns, and cavalry. The column advanced along the left bank of the Kroeng Daroe to Lamtemen before turning west to flank Bital.
Coming under heavy artillery fire that disabled a Dutch field gun, infantry units advanced across open ground to within 50 paces of the stockade. At 2:00 PM, Dutch troops executed a bayonet charge, storming Bital and routing Teuku Nanta’s garrison. Dutch forces suffered 2 killed and 15 wounded before returning to Peunayong at 10:30 PM.
See Also
Source
De expeditiën naar Atjeh 1873-1874, W.W.F. Herfkens, Koninklijke Militaire Academie, 1900, pp. 63-64.