The Second Capture of Mesjid Raya occurred on 14 April 1873 during the First Aceh Expedition, marked by the storming of the Mesjid Raya Aceh and the death in action of Dutch Supreme Commander Major-General Johan Harmen Rudolf Köhler.
Detailed Narrative
At 5:30 AM on 14 April 1873, Major Cavaljé organized a reinforced storming column equipped with seven scaling ladders, supported by mountain guns and mortar batteries. The assault force advanced across open ground under heavy musket fire from Acehnese marksmen entrenched behind the mosque walls.
As infantry units reached the outer walls, gunners threw burning grenades over the parapets while soldiers placed scaling ladders against the masonry. Captain J. Huijer was the first officer to leap from a ladder into the interior court, followed immediately by assault squads. A fierce hand-to-hand melee ensued before Acehnese defenders retreated from the complex.
By 7:00 AM, Dutch forces held the mosque enclosure. Engineers immediately began barricading the open eastern wall with sandbags. At 9:00 AM, Major-General Johan Harmen Rudolf Köhler arrived at the mosque to inspect defensive arrangements. While walking along the exposed eastern parapet, Köhler was struck in the chest by a bullet fired by an Acehnese sniper hidden in nearby foliage. He died within minutes.
Aftermath
Köhler’s death severely impacted troop morale and disrupted senior leadership, leading directly to the ultimate failure of the First Aceh Expedition.
See Also
Source
De expeditiën naar Atjeh 1873-1874, W.W.F. Herfkens, Koninklijke Militaire Academie, 1900, pp. 19-21.