Joannes Benedictus van Heutsz (3 February 1851 – 11 July 1924) was a Dutch military officer who was appointed governor general of the Dutch East Indies in 1904, years after he had become famous years by bringing to an end to the long Aceh War. Early life and education Joannes Benedictus van Heutsz was born on 3 February 1851, in Coevorden in the Netherlands. He was the second son of Joannes Franciscus van Heutsz and Maria Lucilla Kocken. Both his father and his grandfather were artillery officers. Van Heutsz, who was a difficult and talkative student, went to school in Breda. His family could not afford to send him to the Royal Military Academy, in Breda, and so he later went to the Instruction Battalion in Kampen from 1867 to 1872. Aceh War After 25 years of protracted warfare, van Heutsz was appointed as Military Governor of Aceh. In consort with the Islamic scholar Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, van Heutsz succeeded in weakening the Acehnese resistance by exploiting tensions between the Acehnese aristocracy and the religious ulama. He also solicited the support of the Acehnese ruling classes and isolated the rebels from their rural bases. On the advice of an Acehnese noble, he also altered the tactics of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army by introducing small mobile forces, which were successful against the Acehnese guerrilla tactics. Van Heutsz commissioned Colonel Gotfried Coenraad Ernst van Daalen with the challenge of breaking any remaining resistance. Van Daalen destroyed several villages, killing at least 2,900 Acehnese, among whom were 1,150 women and children. Dutch losses numbered just 26, and van Daalen was promoted. By today's standards, these actions would be considered war crimes. By 1903, van Heutsz's tactics had succeeded in convincing several secular Acehnese resistance leaders, including Sultan Muhammad Daud, Tuanku Raja Keumala, Tuanku Mahmud and Teuku Panglima Polem Muda Perkasa, to surrender to the colonial authorities. Having overcome the secular elements of the resistance, Aceh was declared by the Dutch to be officially pacified by 1903. However, resistance from the ulama continued until 1913. Hendrikus Colijn, a future Dutch prime minister, was the adjutant of van Heutsz. In the Netherlands, van Heutsz was then considered a hero, named as the "Pacificator of Aceh" and was promoted to the position of Governor-General in 1904. His efforts boosted support for imperialism in Dutch society and government and weakened the position of the anti-imperialists.