for three days and killed around 500 Japanese and wounded another 500. The Japanese later stated that they believed that Blackforce was of divisional strength, despite it being only a weak brigade. Blackburn conducted a fighting withdrawal through a series of fall-back positions to a point just southeast of Buitenzorg, then disengaged and moved back to Sukabumi, about southeast of Buitenzorg. Blackburn was then given orders to deploy Blackforce into the Bandung perimeter as a mobile reserve. It soon became clear that the Dutch were about to capitulate, and the Commonwealth commanders decided to leave the Dutch and make a stand south of Bandung. Poorten surrendered Java on 8 March, but Blackburn was reluctant to do so, and sought medical advice on the idea of continuing resistance in the hills. He was advised against this course of action due to the likelihood of many soldiers becoming sick with tropical and other diseases, and surrendered his force on 11 March. During the fighting on Java, 36 Australians were killed and 60 were wounded. In his last order to his commanders Blackburn wrote: Captivity Until the end of March, Blackforce was held in towns, including in the Leles market square which had been surrounded by barbed wire. It was then split up, with troops dispersed to different camps. Blackburn was initially told that a significant number of his troops would be sent to Batavia, and that they would have to march the at a rate of a day, camping beside the road without shelter during the wet season. Many of the troops already had dysentery and/or malaria, and some were unaccustomed to marching long distances. Blackburn wrote a letter, signed by other Allied commanders, protesting this order. The letter said that men would die if the order was carried out, and that he would hold the Japanese responsible for their deaths. The Japanese rescinded the order and the troops travelled by train, leaving on 13 April. Many of the 2/3rd were sent to another camp. Bicycle Camp Blackburn arrived at the so-called "Bicycle Camp" in Batavia on 14 April. Sitwell and other more senior officers were sequestered in a fenced-off part of the camp, so Blackburn became the senior officer, with an American colonel, Albert Searle, as his deputy. The camp contained about 2,600 POWs: 2,000 Australians, 200 British, 200 Americans, 100 Indians and 100 Dutch, all packed into a former Dutch