On June 11, the British armada set out on the final stage of its journey. We can imagine the imposing show it made as it lay in the roadstead of Malacca, now shorn of its ancient importance and long since superseded as the foremost shipping port in the Far East.
The squadron consisted of four line of battle ships, fourteen frigates, seven sloops, eight Honourable East India Company's cruisers, fifty-seven transports and several gunboats—altogether over 100 sail. Composed equally of European and Indian troops, there were upwards of 10,000 men under Sir Samuel Auchmuty's command. The European troops included the 14th, 59th, 69th, 78th, and 89th Regiments of Infantry, Royal Artillery, and Royal Marines, and a small detachment of Royal Engineers.
A course was set for a rendezvous off the coast of Borneo, and on August 4, 1811, a landing was effected at Chillingching, a village about ten miles east of Batavia. To the astonishment of the British Commander, his landing was not opposed, the defending force being concentrated in the neighbourhood of Weltevreden and Meister Cornelius, to-day the thriving residential suburbs of Batavia.
General Janssens rejected Lord Minto's summons to surrender.
On August 10, Batavia was in the hands of the British troops, and on that day, after two hours of hard fighting, Weltervreden was captured, the 78th Highlanders having a heavy casualty list amongst their officers.
The French troops bravely contended every foot of ground, and battles, with heavy losses on both sides, were fought on August 22, August 24, and August 26. Colonel Gillespie, who led the advance in each of these engagements, performed prodigies of bravery in the latter fight, for we read that "Colonel Gillespie took one General in the batteries, one in the charge, and a Colonel, besides having a personal affair in which another Colonel fell by his arm."
Altogether, the British captured three General officers, 34 field officers, 70 captains and 150 subaltern officers in these fights.
The rout of the enemy was complete. General Janssens made his escape to Buitenzorg, thirty miles distant, with a few cavalrymen and the remnants of his army of 13,000 men. He did not remain here long, but fled eastwards.
A British force was shipped to Cheribon, where a large number of French officers were captured; and the port of Samarang was next attacked, with the object of forcing General Janssens back upon Solo, while the eastern end of the island was occupied by another British force. On September 10, an action was fought outside Samarang, and Janssens, defeated, retreated to Fort Salatiga; but eventually, being deserted by his troops, he opened up negotiations for capitulation.
This must have been a bitter experience for General Janssens, for it was not only the crowning misery of his defeat but marked the end of his military career, assuming that his Imperial master retained his power in Europe.