The Regiment van Heutsz is a line

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

. The regiment was named after J.B. van Heutsz, a former Governor-General of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...

, and was formed on July 1, 1950. It is notable for its service as part of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

force sent to fight during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. It is still operational and has served tours as part of the

ISAF ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

Afghanistan Mission.

Origin

From 1832 to 1950 a substantial colonial army was maintained in the Dutch East Indies under the title of the

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. Th ...

(KNIL). Following Indonesian independence the Dutch and indigenous personnel of this force were demobilised but with the establishment of the Regiment van Heutsz on July 1, 1950 the traditions and distinctions of the KNIL were transferred to the new regiment. These included the inscription 'Military Operations Royal Dutch East Indies Army 1816-1950', still carried on the King's Colour.

Korean War

:''See also Battles of the Korean War involving the Netherlands (Category)'' The van Heutsz Regiment was incorporated into the ''Nederlands Detachement Verenigde Naties'' (NDVN) (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

: ''Netherlands Detachment United Nations''), which also included the Dutch Naval component sent to Korea. While 16,225 people volunteered for service in Korea, only 3,418 men were accepted and sent. 2,980 of those participated in the actual war, as the units that arrived after the armistice (July 27, 1953) did not participate in any fighting.Netherlands
from Korean-War.com The van Heutsz regiment had only recently been raised when the

battalion was formed on October 26, 1950, but took the detachment as its first battalion. The regiment has the

battle honor A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

''Korea 1950–1954'' on its colors. In Korea, the van Heutsz troops (being understrength) were re-enforced by South Korean "

KATCOM KATCOM, or in full Korean Augmentation to Commonwealth Division or Korean Augmentation Troops to Commonwealth Division or Korean Attached Commonwealth Division, refers to significant numbers of South Korean soldiers who, during the Korean War, we ...

" troops. The Dutch served at three key battles, all around the Iron Triangle sector between 1951 and 1953. Since the Regiment van Heutsz did not have its colors in 1950, a Dutch flag that was used in Korea as the battle flag of the ''Nederlands Detachement Verenigde Naties'' became the regimental colour. This flag now has official status and is shown on every parade and function of the regiment in tandem with the Sovereign's Colour awarded years after (which makes the regiment the only one in the RNA to carry a UK-style strand of colours). American and Korean battle streamers, representing the US Presidential Unit Citation, are attached to this flag. The Regiment suffered 116 Dutch and 20 attached-Korean soldiers killed in action, three soldiers are still

MIA Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 1983) ...

, while one Dutchman was taken prisoner and died in a North Korean POW camp. The Dutch casualties are buried at the

United Nations Memorial Cemetery The United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea (UNMCK; ), located at Tanggok in the Nam District,; also seeKorea 1:50,000 Pusan Sheet 7019 III (1947) an City of Busan,As a transliteration from Korean, the city name 부산 () was typically spe ...

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...

, including their commander, Lt. Col. Marinus Petrus Antonius den Ouden, who was killed in action during the

Battle of Hoengsong The Battle of Hoengsong, also known as Hoengsong Counteroffensive ( zh, 橫城反擊戰) was a battle during the Korean War that took place between February 11–15, 1951. It was part of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) Fourth Phase Offe ...

in February 1951. (Posthumously, den Ouden was received Netherlands' highest military award, the Military Order of William.) A total of 381 soldiers were wounded. A total of 115 Surinamese soldiers also fought together with the Dutch, at least two died.

Post Korean Service and ISAF Deployment

The traditions of the Regiment van Heutsz are currently maintained by one battalion serving as part of

11 Luchtmobiele (Airmobile) Brigade The 11 Air Assault Brigade ( nl, 11 Luchtmobiele Brigade) is the rapid light infantry brigade of the Royal Netherlands Army, focused on conducting air assault operations. Troops of the brigade are qualified to wear the maroon beret upon completion ...

: *12 Infanterie Bataljon is one of three air assault infantry battalions within the air mobile brigade From 2006 to 2010, the battalion formed the basis of the battlegroup attached to

Task Force Uruzgan Task Force Uruzgan (TFU) was Australia's and the Netherlands' contribution to NATO's Regional Command South, International Security Assistance Force, in Afghanistan. The Dutch led one of the four Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the southern r ...

, the primary Dutch component of the multi-national forces in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

. For this, the regiment was awarded with the battle honour "Noord-Kandahar 2006 en Uruzgan 2006-2009" for operations in Afghanistan, especially for combat operations in 2006 and 2007, the operation Tura Ghar in 2008-2009 and the actions of the doorgunners between 2006 and 2009.

References

Bibliography

VOKS Vereniging Oud Korea Strijders / Korea Combatant Club
*

External links

Official history of the Dutch participation in KoreaWebsite Regiment van Heutsz

Dutch Re-enactment unit, NDVN 1953

{{Korean War United Nations contingents in Korea

van Heutsz 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. He had become famous years before by bringing to an end to the long Aceh War. Ear ...

Military units and formations established in 1950

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...