Lieutenant‑Colonel Raaff was a Dutch army officer who commanded the forces sent against the Padri insurgents in the interior of Sumatra during the early 1820s. His initial expedition in 1821 achieved little, but after reinforcement in February 1823 he led a larger force that attempted to capture the Padri stronghold at Marapalm.
Campaign against the Padri
Raaff’s troops, reinforced by a detachment of the Dutch Marine Corps under Lieutenant J. A. van den Velden, fought a bloody engagement from 13 April to 17 April 1824 at Marapalm, ultimately forced to retreat after heavy casualties.
Later Service
After the failure at Marapalm, Raaff withdrew his forces to Pagar Roejong and later participated in operations on Celebes and the southern Sumatra expeditions of 1824‑1825.
See Also
Source
De geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Korps Mariniers van 1665-1945, OCR text, pp. 95‑97.