T. H. Kroesen was an army general and Commander of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army who repeatedly advocated for institutional reforms and naval reconnaissance prior to the Aceh War.
Proposals for Reconnaissance and General Staff
In 1871, anticipating conflict with the Aceh Sultanate following the Anglo-Dutch Sumatra Treaty, General T. H. Kroesen submitted a formal proposal to the Dutch East Indies Government to send a military staff officer aboard the steamship Djambi to survey the coast and approaches to Kraton of Aceh. As General G. G. Booms noted in 1875, this proposal was rejected over minor administrative disputes.
Furthermore, General T. H. Kroesen repeatedly lobbied for the establishment of a permanent General Staff of the KNIL to professionalize Military Intelligence in the Aceh War. His proposals were ignored until after the defeat of the First Aceh Expedition in 1873.
See Also
- G. G. Booms
- General Staff of the KNIL
- Military Intelligence in the Aceh War
- First Aceh Expedition
- 1871
Source
Over de eerste expeditie tegen Atjeh: Een antwoord aan Generaal de Stuers, G. G. Booms, ‘s-Gravenhage: A. van Hoogstraten & Zoon, 1875, pp. 14-16.