to return to Orcades, as the Japanese were only away from Oosthaven. They were transported back to the ship in the dark, and they weighed anchor in the early hours of the following day. While they had been on their abortive mission, Singapore had fallen. Orcades was escorted across the Sunda Strait, and about 14:00 on 16 February, it anchored in the outer harbour of Tanjung Priok, the port of Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies. At noon the following day Orcades entered the port, which was gripped by considerable confusion. Australian looters and deserters from Singapore pelted Orcades with tins and other objects. Blackburn sent a party of pioneers ashore to round them up. He gave them the choice of either joining his force or being charged with desertion. Many joined, but their commitment to the force was questionable. The majority of the troops aboard Orcades remained on the ship throughout the rest of the day and all of the next. On 19 February, Blackburn received orders to disembark about 2,000 men, and after several false starts, they went ashore in the early evening. On 21 February, Blackburn was temporarily promoted to brigadier and appointed to command all 3,000 Australian troops on Java, collectively known as "Blackforce". Blackforce consisted of the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion, the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion, 2/6th Field Company (engineers), a platoon of over-age headquarters guards, 105th General Transport Company, 2/3rd Reserve Motor Transport Company, 2/2nd Casualty Clearing Station, about 165 stragglers and 73 reinforcements. About half of the troops were support rather than combat troops. Blackburn organised his soldiers into three infantry battalions, based on the machine gunners, pioneers and engineers respectively, created a headquarters, and formed a supporting transport and supply unit from the 2/3rd Reserve Motor Transport Company. Blackforce was instructed to fight alongside local Dutch forces under the overall command of the Dutch Luitenant-generaal Hein ter Poorten, but was subordinate to the local Dutch divisional commander, Generaal-majoor W. Schilling, and to the General Officer Commanding British Troops in the Dutch East Indies, Major General Hervey Sitwell. Blackforce was essentially deployed to achieve the political purpose of strengthening the resolve of the Dutch, who, according to the Australian Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee, were "entirely immobile ... inexperienced and probably not highly trained". Based on lessons learnt from the fighting in Malaya and Singapore that highlighted the