The Encirclement and Fall of the Kraton took place between 24 January and 26 January 1874, marking the climax of the Second Aceh Expedition and the capture of the royal palace of the Sultanate of Aceh.
Detailed Narrative
Recognizing that a direct frontal breach was impossible, General Jan van Swieten designed an encirclement maneuver to envelop the southern and eastern faces of the Kraton of Aceh.
At 4:30 AM on 24 January 1874, Major-General G.M. Verspijck led a main column of 10 infantry companies across the Kroeng Daroe river, while Lieutenant-Colonel Karel van der Heijden commanded a secondary column 1,000 meters further south. Van der Heijden cleared Acehnese outposts at Gitjiel Olejlo and occupied the white stone mosque (Mandarsah poetih). The two columns reunited at Kampong Nesoeh at 2:00 PM.
On 25 January 1874, Van der Heijden led three half-battalions through swampy terrain near Lohong to cut off the retreat line toward Longbatta.
On 26 January 1874 at 9:00 AM, a reconnaissance company from the 14th Battalion crossed the Kroeng Daroe near Kota Goenoengan and discovered that the royal palace wall was unguarded. Infantrymen scaled the main wall and entered the Kraton of Aceh to find it completely deserted; Sultan Alauddin Mahmud Syah IX and his garrison had evacuated under cover of darkness.
At 11:30 AM, buglers inside the palace grounds played the Dutch national anthem (Wilhelmus). Dutch forces seized 56 cannons inside the palace walls and permanently occupied the royal grounds, renaming the complex Kota Radja.
See Also
Source
De expeditiën naar Atjeh 1873-1874, W.W.F. Herfkens, Koninklijke Militaire Academie, 1900, pp. 57-61.