Pekan Badak was a strategically vital settlement, marketplace, and fortified military outpost of the Aceh Sultanate situated approximately 1,600 meters (18 minutes’ march) from Sinangri and 5,000 meters from Kraton of Aceh in modern Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Role in the Second Expedition and Occupation
During the Second Aceh Expedition in late December 1873, General J. van Swieten’s forces captured Pekan Badak from Acehnese defenders, incorporating it into the northern supply line connecting Koerong Raba Bay with the interior.
Following the Capture of the Aceh Kraton in January 1874, Pekan Badak became a primary forward garrison of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. Throughout 1875, Acehnese resistance forces repeatedly skirmished around the post.
Staging Ground for General Pel’s Offensives
In December 1875, General J. L. J. H. Pel concentrated his field army at Pekan Badak. On 26 December 1875, Dutch columns marched out from Pekan Badak to execute the Attack on Mibouw and the Crossing of Blankala Pass.
As reported in colonial newspapers on 30 December 1875 and 2 January 1876, Pekan Badak served as the central logistical depot for the Intendance and Supply Service in Aceh, where forced convict laborers (dwangarbeiders) (Forced Labor in Aceh Military Campaigns) gathered munitions for the March through the XXII Moekims in early 1876.
See Also
Source
Atjeh gedurende de tweede expeditie en later, Een Oud Officier, Batavia: Ogilvie & Co., 1876, pp. 11-17, 25-30.