P. B. van Merlen was a major general of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army who served in the Aceh operational theater during the mid-1870s.
Role in Contemporary Military Critique
In Atjeh gedurende de tweede expeditie en later (1876), General P. B. van Merlen is cited in connection with ongoing debates among colonial general officers regarding tactical mobility and transport limitations in Aceh.
The author noted that critics who demanded that officers advance rapidly in the tropics without regard for the Transport and Coolie System in Aceh ignored the operational realities experienced by veteran commanders such as P. B. van Merlen and General J. L. J. H. Pel.
See Also
Source
Atjeh gedurende de tweede expeditie en later, Een Oud Officier, Batavia: Ogilvie & Co., 1876, pp. 14-17.