George Frederik Willem Borel

George Frederik Willem Borel
Borel as first lieutenant at the time of the expedition to Bandjarmasin
Born	August 22, 1837 Maastricht, United Kingdom of the Netherlands
Died	August 4, 1907 Bad Nauheim, German Empire
Buried	Bad Bauheim
Allegiance	Netherlands
Service/branch	Royal Netherlands East Indies Army
Years of service	41
Rank	Major General
Unit	Artillery
Battles/wars	Aceh War, Banjarmasin War, Second Aceh Expedition
Awards	Military William Order, Honorary Sabre, Order of Orange-Nassau
Other work	Published two books about the Aceh War
Signature

George Frederik Willem Borel (Maastricht, Netherlands 22 August 1837 to Bad Nauheim, Germany, 4 August 1907) was a major general in the Netherlands, notable for his involvement in the Banjarmasin and Aceh Wars.

Borel began his career in 1852 as a cadet in the artillery for the Dutch army at the Royal Military Academy in Breda, and by the Royal Decree of 14 July 1857 he was appointed as second lieutenant in the second regiment of fortress artillery. On September 22, 1857, he served in the artillery of the Indian army. He left on 13 November from the Colonial Wharf Depot to Harderwijk with a detachment replacement troops.

The Royal Decree of 17 August 1859 promoted Borel to first lieutenant and commander of the expeditionary artillery. In the same year he began an expedition to the South and East Division of Borneo. After repeated defeats by the enemy, the war moved gradually to the north of the sultan's empire. By a slight gain of 4 officers, 162 man infantry and 20 artillerymen who arrived on September 28 from Surabaya, as commander it was now possible to apprehend insurgents in more remote areas. So when it became known that Antaloedin, leader of affairs north of the Allalak River, was going to Mata Raman in secrecy, a strongly armed Dutch garrison, composed of hundreds of bayonets, a howitzer and a hand mortar under the command of Captain Van Oijen prepared to engage Antaloedin. After a march of seven hours and many other complications, Van Oijen rushed into the battle the next day and took many casualties. In desperation, Borel and Lieutenant Perelaer threw themselves into the river, swam to the other side and shocked the enemy into withdrawing. The Dutch victory was crucial in the war effort and had breached many of Antaloedin's defensive positions. An uneasy peace was acquired, but the peace did not last as Demang Lehman tried to assassinate Colonel Andresen. Borel took part in the expedition until December 1860 and distinguished himself mainly during the conquest of Tjinta Puri on 21 October 1859. The target was surrounded by an almost impenetrable swamp, and an impassable river. Many soldiers were distinguished in this victory and Borel, by Royal Decree of February 18, 1861 was appointed knight of the Military Order of William. On Borels request he was allowed (October 1862) to return to the Netherlands. He departed on December 24 on the steamship Batavia. In The Netherlands he was assigned to the third regiment of fortress-artillery (15 September 1863). He was promoted to captain third class (by age of rank).