Planning Hurdt wanted to attack Trunajaya's stronghold Kediri from Surabaya in coastal East Java, which would be the shortest route. In contrast, Amangkurat II proposed that the troops be divided into columns and march along multiple lengthy overland routes. He wanted the VOC-Mataram forces to march slowly through more areas in order to impress factions that were wavering over which side to take. This argument convinced Hurdt, and they decided to split the army into three different columns travelling via different overland routes from coastal Central Java to Kediri in inland East Java. In addition, a VOC merchant, Willem Bastinck, was to go to Surabaya to seek out
Karaeng Galesong—a former Trunajaya ally, whose allegiance was wavering, and whose help and followers Mataram and the VOC hoped to enlist.
March to Kediri The VOC and Mataram forces marched in three columns using different routes from coastal central Java to Kediri. Captain
François Tack led what was to be the westernmost column and he left Jepara on 21 August for Semarang where the column started its overland march. To the east, a column led by Captains Abraham Daniel van Renesse and Frederik Hendrik Mulder left
Rembang on 26 August. Meanwhile, the central column, which was to be the main force, was mobilized in Jepara led by Hurdt and Amangkurat. The central column sent advance detachments southward on 27 August and 2 September, while Hurdt and Amangkurat departed on 5 September. The western column was reinforced by the garrison of Semarang and marched southward to the
Pajang district, where it fought the followers of Trunajaya's ally
Raden Kajoran. After an initial march, the central column re-assembled in
Godong on the
Serang River and stayed there for six days. Their artillery and supplies were brought there by river, but now had to join the southward march overland through enemy territory. The central and western columns then met in the
Semanggi (now Solo) River valley and marched together from there, led by Hurdt and Amangkurat. Meanwhile, the eastern column passed Pati, was joined by the VOC troops there, and marched along a different route towards Kediri. Throughout the march, the loyalist forces faced problems such as desertions, lack of discipline, illness, food shortages, and poor navigation. The march included several river crossings, which were made difficult by the lack of bridges, rivers swollen by heavy rain, as well as bogged down wagons and cannon. It was particularly difficult for the VOC forces, who marched through areas previously unexplored by them and were unfamiliar with the conditions of the Javanese interior. Hurdt wanted to stay in the Semanggi River valley, and to continue the campaign in the following year. Amangkurat preferred to keep marching, and his opinion prevailed. As the loyalist forces marched eastwards, the rebel forces avoided major battles. Instead, they fought skirmishes which continuously harassed the loyalists' foragers and stragglers. The loyalists scoured the countryside to collect food, causing panic among its inhabitants. During the march, Amangkurat tried to gain the loyalty of the lords in the territories he passed through. Many were previously loyal to Kajoran, who sided with Trunajaya, or were wavering between the two sides. The presence of the King and his forces, as well as the possible booty to be gained in the campaign, motivated many of them to declare allegiance to Amangkurat and join his forces. At some point, the Javanese forces in the column reached 13,000.
Crossing of the Brantas The Hurdt-Amangkurat army arrived at Singkal (today part of
Nganjuk), on the west bank of the Brantas River north of Kediri, on 13 October. Kediri stood on the east bank of this river, and finding a way to cross it proved a major challenge for the loyalists. The Brantas was swollen by monsoon rains, and the army did not have the boats necessary to cross it. Rain, desertion and lack of supplies continued to plague them. Amangkurat's forces dropped to about 1,000, while the VOC had 1,750 soldiers left, 659 of them Europeans. Many of the soldiers had
dysentery. Meanwhile, Trunajaya's forces harassed the loyalist army. They had fortified posts along the river, especially on the east bank. These were equipped with cannon of various sizes up to
twelve-pounders. Trunajaya's artillery continuously pounded the loyalists, even reaching Hurdt and Amangkurat's lodgings, as well as the army's field hospital. The loyalist army also had cannon, but it did not return fire, saving its limited ammunition for the eventual attack on Kediri. In addition, Trunajaya's cavalry engaged in skirmishes with the loyalists, causing casualties and undermining their morale. On 21 October, a night attack led by Raden Suradipa burned the VOC's
Malay troops' quarters. The attack was eventually repelled and Suradipa, one of Trunajaya's brothers, was fatally wounded. On the night of 2–3 November, Trunajaya's skirmishers intimidated the VOC's sentries with the music of
gamelan and mocking voices. On 3 November, Hurdt and Amangkurat were joined by an additional column led by Willem Bastinck from Surabaya, accompanied by 800 ox-carts carrying supplies. This convoy was sent with help from the Duke of Tumapel, the VOC's Javanese ally, and Karaeng Galesong, a former ally of Trunajaya whose allegiance was wavering. On 6 November, rebel forces raided these carts, burnt around ten of them, and killed several people. The VOC later moved these supplies inside a
palisade fortification built in the aftermath of Suradipa's attack. With the arrival of fresh supplies, Hurdt and Amangkurat were emboldened to find ways to cross the river. Forces led by Dutch commander
Isaac de Saint Martin drove Trunajaya's forces from Manukan, on the west bank further south from Singkal. They tried to cross the river there, but were unsuccessful due to heavy opposing fire and the depth of the water. They made another attempt on the night of 6–7 November, but their boats were sunk and it too failed. Hurdt was frustrated by the lack of progress, and gave Amangkurat an ultimatum that the VOC would withdraw unless the King supplied
pontoons for the crossing, and matches for its soldiers'
matchlocks. The river's depth dropped during the night of 16–17 November. The Javanese chronicle () attributed this to Amangkurat's supernatural powers, and said that this happened as Amangkurat personally rode across the river leading his troops. The army's foot soldiers crossed in boats at Curing, just south of Singkal. Those on horseback did not need boats. The river was about wide at the crossing. Trunajaya's forces bombarded them with artillery as they crossed, before being driven out, leaving eleven cannon behind.
Capture of Kediri With a bridgehead successfully established at Curing, the loyalist army marched southward towards Kediri. At this point the VOC troops numbered 1,200, and Amangkurat's troops about 1,000. They were split into two columns under the respective commands of Hurdt and de Saint Martin. Amangkurat himself returned to the relative safety of Singkal. Trunajaya's forces tried unsuccessfully to stop this advance. On 25 November, the army attacked Kediri itself. The city was about in circumference, defended by 43 artillery batteries and by walls up to high and thick. According to Ricklefs, Kediri's fortifications "seem not to have been inferior to contemporary European fortresses". Hurdt's column entered the city from the east, while de Saint Martin entered from the northwest. As was common in Javanese siege warfare of the time, the assault was accompanied by cannon fire, as well as loud yelling and the playing of drums and
gongs to weaken the defender's morale. De Saint Martin arrived first in the
alun-alun (city square) of Kediri, near Trunajaya's residence. The defenders put up a fierce resistance. Four VOC companies, under the command of Tack, engaged in "courtyard-by-courtyard" fighting to conquer Trunajaya's residential compound in the city centre. VOC troops made use of
hand grenades which proved very useful in city fighting. The loyalist troops were victorious. Trunajaya fled southwards into the countryside, and his side suffered heavy losses. The VOC suffered light casualties of 7 dead and 27 wounded. Among Mataram troops, two senior noblemen died in the fighting; the first was Tumenggung Mangkuyuda, and sources disagree on the second, variously naming Tumenggung Melayu, Demang Mangunjaya or Tumenggung Mataram. The victorious army then plundered Trunajaya's abandoned court. The Mataram treasury, brought to Kediri by the rebels after their sack of the Mataram capital in 1677, was among the targets of the looting. Amangkurat and the VOC had hoped to recover this treasury and use it to pay for the VOC's assistance in the war, but it was completely looted by the soldiers instead. The VOC found, and executed, ten Europeans who had deserted to Trunajaya's side. The victors also found abducted Mataram women, horses, and holy regalia (
pusaka). The captured regalia included a special cannon, named "Nyai Setomi" and called '
("blessed cannon") and ' ("Mataram's heirloom"), which was considered an important
heirloom of the Mataram royal dynasty. Several pro-Trunajaya nobles, including the Duke of
Sampang, surrendered to Amangkurat.
The Golden Crown The victors also found a golden crown among the booty. It was reputed to be from the fifteenth-century
Majapahit empire, during which there were reports of the use of a golden crown. The crown was handed to Tack, who insisted on the payment of 1,000
rijkdaalders before giving it to Amangkurat. This behaviour seemed to offend the King and might have contributed to Tack's death at the Mataram court in 1686. On 27 November, Hurdt presented the crown to the King, who proceeded to wear it. In an act of cultural misunderstanding, the VOC fired musket and cannon salutes, thinking the event was a
coronation in the European sense. In reality, crowns did not have ceremonial importance in Javanese royal protocol. This episode attracted much attention among later historians. Dutch historian
H. J. de Graaf opined that the King would later consider this event as a symbol of the European's condescension and that they were instrumental to the King's legitimacy. ==Withdrawal==