Java campaign of 1806–1807: Difference between revisions

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The '''Java campaign of 1806–1807''' was a minor campaign during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] by British [[Royal Navy]] forces against a naval squadron of the [[Kingdom of Holland]], a client state of the [[First French Empire|French Empire]], based on the island of [[Java]] in the [[Dutch East Indies]]. Seeking to eliminate any threat to valuable British merchant convoys passing through the [[Malacca Straits]], Rear-Admiral [[Edward Pellew|Sir Edward Pellew]] determined in early 1806 that the Dutch naval forces based at Java, which included several [[ships of the line]] and three [[frigate]]s, had to be defeated to ensure British dominance in the region. Lacking the forces to effect an invasion of the Dutch colony, Pellew instead sought to isolate and [[blockade]] the Dutch squadron based at [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]] in preparation for raids specifically targeting the Dutch ships with his main force.

Although his plans were delayed by inadequate resources and the [[Vellore Mutiny]] in [[British India|India]], Pellew sent the frigate HMS Greyhound to the [[Java Sea]] in July 1806. ''Greyhound'' intercepted and defeated a Dutch convoy off the coast of [[Sulawesi]] on 25 July and three months later the frigate [[HMS Caroline (1795)|HMS ''Caroline'']] managed to capture the Dutch frigate Maria Riggersbergen at the entrance to Batavia harbour. Following these successes, Pellew was able to bring his main force to bear on the island and in November 1806 launched a major raid on Batavia, destroying the remaining frigate and a number of minor warships from the Dutch squadron. The Dutch ships of the line had escaped prior to Pellew's attack to the harbour of [[Gresik|Griessie]] near [[Surabaya]], and although they were old and in a poor state of repair Pellew was forced to lead a second operation to Java in October 1807, capturing the port and eliminating the last Dutch naval forces in the east.

The victory gave Britain dominance over its European rivals in the western Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean, allowing free passage of British trade through the region and allowing British forces to focus on the one remaining threat to their merchant convoys in the Indian Ocean: the French islands of [[Île Bonaparte]] and [[Isle de France (Mauritius)|Isle de France]] (now [[Mauritius]]).

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Pellew's efforts to launch a major deployment in 1806—initially planned to be against Isle de France in conjunction with Rear-Admiral [[Thomas Troubridge|Sir Thomas Troubridge]] before the target was changed to Java—were delayed by the diversion of his [[Royal Marines]] to put down the [[Vellore Mutiny]].<ref name="RG81">Gardiner, p. 81</ref> Nevertheless, Pellew despatched several frigates to the [[Java Sea]] to reconnoitre the region, attack Dutch shipping and report on the state of the Dutch squadron maintained at Batavia. The first ships despatched were the 32-gun frigate HMS Greyhound under Captain Edward Elphinstone and the 18-gun [[brig|brig-sloop]] HMS Harrier under Commander [[Sir Edward Troubridge, 2nd Baronet|Edward Troubridge]], son of Admiral Troubridge.<ref name="LG3">{{London Gazette|issue=16016|page=422|date=4 April 1807}}</ref> Elphinstone initially cruised through the [[Molucca Islands]] in June and July with some success, and on 25 July he discovered four Dutch ships passing through the [[Selayar Strait]]. Cautious of the larger force, Elphinstone observed the Dutch ships during the night and on the morning of 26 July identified the ships as a frigate, a corvette and two merchant ships, including a large [[East Indiaman]]. In response to the British ships, the Dutch commander N. L. Aalbers formed his convoy into a [[line of battle]], hoping to dissuade Elphinstone from pressing home his attack.<ref name= "WJ251">James, Vol. 4, p. 251</ref> The British were not deterred and ''Greyhound'' engaged the Dutch frigate ''Pallas'' directly while ''Harrier'' passed between the frigate and the merchant ship next in line, [[raking fire|raking]] them both. Within 40 minutes, ''Pallas'' had surrendered and ''Harrier'' then successfully chased down and captured the two merchant ships while the corvette fled to the [[Sulawesi]] coast, evading pursuit.<ref name= "WLC386">Clowes, p. 386.</ref>

In the wake of Elphinstone's success, a second frigate entered Dutch waters, [[HMS Caroline (1795)|HMS ''Caroline'']] under Captain Peter Rainier (nephew of Admiral Rainier) cruising the Java Sea during October. There Rainer discovered that the Dutch [[ships of the line]] had sailed eastward from Batavia,<ref name="LG2">{{London Gazette|issue=16139|page=568|date=23 April 1808}}</ref> except Schrikverwekker, which had been wrecked in the [[Thousand Islands (Indonesia)|Thousand Islands]] on 18 May with the loss of two men.<ref name="G213">Grocott, p. 213</ref> He also learned that the Dutch frigate {{Ship|Dutch frigate|Phoenix||2}} was undergoing repairs at an exposed anchorage on Onrust Island close to Batavia harbour. Sailing to investigate, ''Caroline'' arrived off the port on 18 October, but encountered two Dutch brigs that raised the alarm, allowing ''Phoenix'' to escape into the main harbour.<ref name="WLC392"/> Undeterred, Rainier sailed into Batavia [[roadstead]] and there discovered a number of small warships and the frigate Maria Riggersbergen. The smaller ships drove themselves on shore rather than fight the larger British vessel, but Captain Claas Jager on ''Maria Riggersbergen'' engaged ''Caroline''. In a battle lasting 30 minutes, the Dutch ship was defeated and captured, Rainier sending the prisoners on shore and removing the frigate, which was later renamed HMS ''Java''.<ref name="WJ267">James, Vol. 4, p. 267</ref>

===Attack on Batavia===