Jonkheer G. J. W. C. Graafland was a Dutch military officer and Captain of the Korps Maréchaussée, celebrated in colonial historiography as the ‘father of the Marechaussees’ (vader der Maréchaussées).
Military Career and Service in Aceh
In 1896, following the Treason of Teuku Umar, Captain Graafland took the military initiative to convert the Marechaussee from static police guards into aggressive mobile pursuit units. On 29 June 1896, he led 224 Marechaussee soldiers in the decisive Battle of Aneuk Galung, capturing the Acehnese fort in 15 minutes. In 1897, he became the first Marechaussee officer awarded the Knight 3rd Class Military William Order (M.W.O.).
See Also
- Korps Maréchaussée te voet in Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden
- Joannes Benedictus van Heutsz
- Louis Adriaan Snell
Source
Het Korps Maréchaussée in Atjeh: De Atjehsche Garde 1890 - 2 April 1930, Het Nieuws van den Dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië, Extra Jubileum-nummer, Batavia, 2 April 1930, pp. 5–20.