Mirandolle — a Lieutenant in the Korps Mariniers — was a Dutch marine officer who served in the Aceh expedition of 1875–1876. He commanded a marine peloton (platoon) that provided covering fire for artillery units, took over command of Lieutenant Ahn’s artillery-covering section after Ahn was wounded at Adjoen on 30 December 1875, and was himself wounded on 30 January 1876 while leading about twenty marines against the enemy camp of Daroe.
The Aceh Expedition of 1875-1876
Mirandolle’s marine section formed part of the VIIIe battalion during the Acehnese campaign of 1875–1876. The section’s role was to provide covering fire for the artillery units attached to the column, and Mirandolle is recorded in two distinct episodes — at Adjoen in December 1875 and at Daroe in January 1876 — in the operational history of the Korps Mariniers.
Action at Adjoen (30 December 1875)
On 30 December 1875, at the assault on the kampong of Adjoen, Lieutenant Ahn — the officer commanding the artillery-covering section — was wounded. Mirandolle immediately assumed command of Ahn’s section and led the marines in providing fire support for the VIIIe battalion during the assault on the kampong, coordinating with Lieutenant Cambier and Captain Cramer von Baumgarten (DLP-55, p. 135).
Action at Daroe (28-30 January 1876)
During the assault on the enemy camp of Daroe, Mirandolle’s peloton protected the artillery section. On 28 January 1876, the peloton formed the covering force for the artillery during the fighting. Two days later, on 30 January 1876, Mirandolle assembled about twenty marines on a height to fire upon the enemy, sustaining a wound in the process (Cambier, Verslagen der Marine-Vereeniging III 1889-1890, pp. 229-233; DLP-55, pp. 138-141).
Later Service
Mirandolle continued to serve with the marine corps after the Aceh campaign, later taking part in other colonial expeditions in the Netherlands Indies.
Significance
Mirandolle’s quick assumption of command at Adjoen after Lieutenant Ahn’s wounding illustrates the flexibility of Dutch marine units in the field — a factor contributing to their ability to maintain pressure on Acehnese positions throughout the Aceh campaign. His subsequent wounding at Daroe on 30 January 1876 places him among the marine officers decorated or wounded in the closing phase of the 1875–1876 expedition.
See Also
- Lieutenant Ahn
- Lieutenant Cambier
- Captain Cramer von Baumgarten
- Lieutenant Verhey
- VIIIe battalion
- Adjoen
- Daroe
- Royal Netherlands Marine Corps
- Aceh War
- 1875
- 1876
Source
J. R. J. P. Cambier, Verslagen der Marine-Vereeniging III 1889-1890, pp. 229-233.
De geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Korps Mariniers van 1665-1945, OCR text, pp. 135, 138-141.